A review by pbeeandj
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I'm not the same person I was in highschool, or college, or my 20s. I'm not the same person I was when I was in a bad relationship. But acknowledging my prior ignorance while I was living as those past myselves does not make what I experienced any less meaningful. Our protagonist may have been ignorant of the existence of House as one version of himself, and then ignorant of the abusive relationship he was in as another, but he doesn't scorn the parts of himself that made those decisions, that did the best with what they knew at a time. He accepts his past selves as a part of who he is now, personalities and mindsets he can never return to, but that have led to him becoming someone totally new. A little bit of both, but more than the sum of his past parts.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings