Piranesi

A Hypnotic Dive into a Beautiful World

This might just be the perfect book to choose as a COVID companion. At its core, this is a story about a man who sees his world for what it is, and loves it dearly. His world is not ours though. It's an endless maze of halls packed with unique and intricately detailed statues. And he is one of two known living humans in this world. Because he knows nothing else, he does not find this odd.

Fashioning himself a scientist, he studies the world relentlessly and finds beauty in all of it.
Contrasting this is the Other. He tries only to utilize the world. He believes there is ancient power to be harnessed in these halls, and tries tirelessly to manipulate the world to its will. Because he has such a singular and selfish goal, he fails to see the beauty and perceives the halls as only a prison.

The first half of the book is beautiful and meditative, familiarizing the reader with this strange world. Meanwhile, the writing leaves a bunch of curious tidbits and clues that there is much more to the world than what's being revealed. Then slowly but surely it picks up momentum, as more puzzle pieces fall into place, until the tension silently builds up into a gripping climax.

Seemingly out of nowhere, this pleasant little book becomes a total page turner, and by the time I was done, I knew it would be a long time before I read a book this fantastically woven together. I call this a perfect COVID companion because first and foremost, it always elevated my mood and enveloped my mind completely. But also, it brings a unique perspective to concepts such as solitude, and the separation between oneself and the world. Long story short, this book did much more than simply entertain me, and I highly recommend it.