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adventsnore 's review for:
Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke
4.5 - recommended unreservedly if the premise intrigues you.
A compact novel bringing together impossible architecture, diary entries and the sea. Great to discover Suzanne Clarke’s work without diving into Jonathan Strange.
Clarke reveals her surreal setting without pretension. I was put off by the cover's emblazoning of 'The Beauty of the House is immeasurable’, but these are the words of a character, not Clarke's conception of her imagined world. There are a handful of individuals populating the House, who respond variously to an infinite castle labyrinth - [b:Invisible Cities|9809|Invisible Cities|Italo Calvino|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1468623303l/9809._SY75_.jpg|68476] crossed with [a:Jessica Day George|359109|Jessica Day George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1668889062p2/359109.jpg].
The book took a direction I hadn’t expected: it is a mystery! Despite an SFF set-up, it fits well with contemporary crime writing - it has you whipping through pages for small revelations and features unsettling descriptions of neglect and abuse in the world we know. Personally, I’d have been happy to join Piranesi exploring his extraordinary home without asking why, or making an analogy of it, but this is cool too. Whenever the story lost my interest, there'd be a beautiful description of sea-washed statues and I'd get back on board.
A compact novel bringing together impossible architecture, diary entries and the sea. Great to discover Suzanne Clarke’s work without diving into Jonathan Strange.
Clarke reveals her surreal setting without pretension. I was put off by the cover's emblazoning of 'The Beauty of the House is immeasurable’, but these are the words of a character, not Clarke's conception of her imagined world. There are a handful of individuals populating the House, who respond variously to an infinite castle labyrinth - [b:Invisible Cities|9809|Invisible Cities|Italo Calvino|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1468623303l/9809._SY75_.jpg|68476] crossed with [a:Jessica Day George|359109|Jessica Day George|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1668889062p2/359109.jpg].
The book took a direction I hadn’t expected: it is a mystery! Despite an SFF set-up, it fits well with contemporary crime writing - it has you whipping through pages for small revelations and features unsettling descriptions of neglect and abuse in the world we know. Personally, I’d have been happy to join Piranesi exploring his extraordinary home without asking why, or making an analogy of it, but this is cool too. Whenever the story lost my interest, there'd be a beautiful description of sea-washed statues and I'd get back on board.