A review by turnaboutcafe
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

 

“the Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.” 

 

piranesi was a book gifted to me when i left for university, and i’ve been procrastinating on it because of the style of the prose. even if it’s beautiful and lyrical, it feels like it’s trying to say many things at the same time, which i found too overwhelming at a time of great change. 

 

a good six months later, i finally found the time to sit down and read this book, and was very happy to find that the prose wasn’t as inaccessible as it seems. the prose and diary-style entries transports you into the world of piranesi, who seems to be one of the only two remaining people in the House, a labyrinth filled with gorgeous architecture and many, many bodies of water. the only other person in the House is the Other, who piranesi considers his greatest friend, but we know very little about. as the book progresses and as piranesi continues to narrate his life through his entries, he slowly figures out that another person has made their way into the House, and he makes it his mission to discover how they entered, and what they want. 

 

i came into piranesi with fairly high expectations because i love magical realism, and because it was highly praised by many people, including r.f. kuang. because of this, i believe my rating was heavily impacted by the high expectations i set for the story. though i did enjoy reading it, i did find the end fairly predictable and one-dimensional, which left me unsatisfied. of course, there is a lot to unpack in terms of theme and symbolism in the style of the prose itself, but i honestly was expecting a more intricate, dynamic reasoning behind why piranesi was in the House in the first place, and who the newcomer was. 

 

in all, an enjoyable read, but not one that left me fully satisfied!