Piranesi
Ratings1,268
Average rating4.2
CAWPILE SCORE
C-7
A-9
W-9
P-7
I-7
L-8
E-5
TOTAL-7.43/10
A good book, with a unique story. wasn't really my thing. very quick after i got about 1/2 way through.
Great Prose and Characters.
CharactersPiranesi is a great character, the rest we barely see, but Piranesi is definitely super crazy. Living in a world of abstract where ideas are represented. But I've never met anyone in my entire life who writes journals the way he does, even before he goes crazy.AtmosphereElegent descriptions with emotional resonance make me feel like I'm really there or that I can easily imagine seeing what is there. Between the light fluffiness of the House or the way she writes his interactions with the other characters. WritingGreat writing, but it was overly descriptive to me. Makes sense in the story. Very interesting to write everything as journal entries. Which was well done.PlotThe plot is limited. Piranesi is investigating the house for the Other. 16 comes and rescues him. We are left wondering what is going on through part 3-4. I prefer to have a bit more of a direction earlier. The leisurely pace is definitely consistent with the story being toldInvestmentThe start of the story put me off a little bit, because I felt no connection to Piranesi. I'm not much for art and that's what the first first 2 parts felt like. Like I was stuck in an art lecture. After I was able to start piecing the picture together of what happened, I started to fell more invested in what was happening.LogicThe logic was consistent internally, but I have to wonder about how long Piranesi was in there before he went crazy.EnjoymentOverall I enjoyed this book. Probably not worth a reread, but a good idea that was turned into a good book.
I will be talking about it on Libromancy 04/06/2022 https://libromancy.podbean.com/
This story was so amazing. It is sad and happy at the same time!
Totally deserves all the hype !
Wow. I don't even know what to say about this novel that won't spoil the experience for anyone thinking of reading it, but I really enjoyed this. The descriptions of the world are fascinating, the main character is charming and his ways of thinking are described in a way that makes them make sense, and the plot took plenty of turns.
Por un lado, el principio de este libro es muy interesante.
Algo no tiene mucho sentido en lo que esta ocurriendo, claramente hay algo detras y los protagonistas no tienen ni idea de que es.
Esa sensacion de misterio desaparece mas o menos a mitad del libro donde se van a dar detalles suficiente como para suponer o saber lo que esta pasando.
Lo que ocurre desde entonces esta bien pero ya no tiene esa sensacion magica del principio del libro, se podia haber acortado y no hubiera pasado nada, si despues de la mitad del libro el asunto acaba en 10 paginas en vez de 100, hubiera sido mejor, o si hubieramos tenido la incertidumble por mas tiempo.
not trying to dunk on YA, but if you told me this was actually YA, i'd 1000% believe you. enjoyed the world a lot (as does everyone) and some of the ideas the book presented about what the world could represent, but i really wasn't a fan of the writing style and many decisions involving the characters (why is piranesi so dumb???) and plot.
I have gathered that I love books that are super confusing. I know recommending this book to anyone would probably not be helpful but I loved it with all my heart. The ending felt well done and all the questions I had were revolved.
Reading about two minds within one person is always fascinating and this book does that well, as others I have read. I read most of it in one day and what a ride this one. Almost enough to drive you insane and then reel you back again.
3.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
A man lives in an immense House populated mainly by statues, and whose top level is full of clouds, while the bottom level is full of water. There is only one other living person - at first.
Review
I tried Susanna Clarke's first big success, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, but wasn't really drawn in; the same with the filmed version of it. However, when I read reviews of Piranesi, the descriptions intrigued me. I suppose I've come out now somewhere in the middle.
The actuality of Piranesi didn't quite match what I thought I recalled from the reviews – I had understood there to more traveling through a labyrinth involved, and less human contact. In fact, though, while there is a possibly endless labyrinth, most of the action takes place in a few rooms or “Halls” of it. And the narrator is in contact with another person from near the start. That said, the setup is still intriguing.
Clarke treads dangerously close to one of the oldest and most threadbare tropes of speculative fiction, but gradually addresses it, if not head on, then obliquely and for a long period – enough that my initial concern about the story's direction faded away. The result, for much of the book, is effective, though I found the end a little underwhelming.
Equally, I thought that Clarke had created an intriguing setting in the House, but then largely ignored it to focus on the narrator. It's not a bad decision, but in a book this short (158 pages for me), I felt there was much more she could have done to explore the location the characters spend so much time discussing – what it is, how it works, what it's for, why it's shaped as it is. Much of the discussion is about where knowledge goes and how it shapes its surroundings, but the former is never really addressed.
All in all, an interesting book, and a quick, engaging read, but not one that necessarily makes me a fan of Clarke's work. I'd be willing to try again, for the right premise, but wouldn't automatically buy her next book.
This wonderful novel is a surprise 5-star read for me. Uncategorizable and riveting, in a dreamlike way, Piranesi flows with an immersive sense of place, a magical sense of time and an incredible beauty. Clarke plumbs what it means to be alive and what constitutes a home.
A beautiful story with, probably, my favourite protagonist. He is so earnest, curious and reflective.
A real perspective changer of a story, and they are my favourite kinds of stories.
I loved that this book can be read and understood on multiple levels.
I enjoyed the superficial level of the mystery of the house and characters. The author made it fast-paced and I couldn't wait for all of the pieces to come together.
I also enjoyed it on a deeper spiritual level...as a fable for the human condition. I highly recommend it for any reader looking for a unique read.
If you want to read a book about an idiot wandering aimlessly around a giant, mostly empty, statue museum then boy do I have a recommendation for you!
Ok so idiot is unfair. Piranesi's childlike naivety is at once endearing and frustrating. But what is this book? It feels like a concept piece, as in abstract and metaphorical and not fleshed out at all. That's the problem with allegories. They're all too often paper thin.
Let's assume the House is a metaphor (if it's not, then it really is just a book about an idiot trapped in a house). Once you get that, or begin to suspect it, what else does the book offer? Really, nothing. Nothing much else happens. Piranesi eats some seaweed. Pieces together at last the idea that Other is abusive. Uses the word Vestibule twelve million times. Gets rescued. The end.
And even now, I'm not sure it really is an allegory because, and I cannot stress this enough, nothing happens. There's a whiff of an idea that it could be about exiting an abusive relationship, and the half-broken, half-free way you might continue to exist after that. But the House is benevolent and actually somewhat yearned-for by the people who've visited it. So I think it's a metaphor for a life-changing enlightenment from which you can't return to normality, such as a religious or philosophical awakening that at the same time traps you within its world view and whisks you away from reality.
But it's only a hint! Only a possible interpretation, if you squint. Maybe it's just about a guy trapped in a House.
edit: Oh, wow, I've just read a review that suggests the House is a metaphor for drumroll the worlds you enter when you read books. So. It's worse than I thought.
I've given worse books 2 stars, I didn't hate it like some of them, it just passed through me without leaving much impression.
Other reviews have praised the ‘world building'. What world building? It's just endless halls full of statues. The occasional bird. What have I missed? Was there a chapter I skipped where something other than birds, water, and marble existed in the world?
Beautiful. Reminded me of a more vivid & fantastical version of David Malouf's An Imaginary Life. A beautiful allegory of connection with the natural world, & the subjectivity of “sanity”. Evocative & singular with moments of awe, wonder, & peace
I know it's only January but this is the best book I've read this year. Beautifully crafted, Clarke guides the reader into Piranesi's world through his notebooks.
Re-read because I rushed through it last time for book club. I enjoyed it so much more this time. The labyrinth, the mystery, the journals ... there was so much going on, but it was really beautiful and sad.
I'm not sure how much it should matter, but I guessed what was going to happen pretty early on in the novel. So, I was looking forward to being proved wrong most of the way through. Unfortunately, I wasn't. But maybe that's not so important. What is important is that I thoroughly enjoyed the concept and the story, and Clarke's writing was excellent.
Piranesi isn't really my genre, although I did enjoy Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell a few years ago. Anyway, it was a very enjoyable deviation from my usual reading.
Our main character, Piranesi, lives in an enormous house, hall after hall after hall, endlessly, each hall filled with statues, and with an ocean inside the house.Piranesi spends his days keeping track of the rooms and the tides in a series of journals and twice a week he meets with the only other person in the house, a man he calls The Other, and The Other questions Piranesi and then Piranesi is alone. And Piranesi is happy.
But is there anything more to this world? Could there be...another person here? Piranesi tries to piece together his discoveries to make sense of the new things he learns, as he explores and keeps notes in his journals.
I loved this freshly novel story and I loved the character of Piranesi with his innocence and charm.
On the honest note, I felt the secondhand overthinking and anxiety from Piransi when they was working for the Other. Loved the inspiration from other books' characters, realms, etc. it was fascinating to imagine the Halls would be like. The notes were interesting and observations. The halls or labyrinth was a “prison”
The negative was the writing and pacing. Maybe it was the library's ebook format? I lost track of the plot a couple of times. Many things were happening as well.
The last sentence explains well of the book's realm, “The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.”
I would re-read and annotate to understand the story better.
This was not what I expected.. and I'm not sure if that was a good thing?
May be better on a 2nd read, but there were parts I didn't particularly enjoy and where I flirted with DNF'ing, so I won't be re-reading this anytime soon.
Großartig!
Gerne würde ich das Gelesene vergessen, nur um es nochmal erleben zu können.
https://www.flore.nz/blog/piranesi-susanna-clarke
Stupendo!
Anche se è impostato con un fantasy aggiungerei che confina con elementi gialli che rendono il tutto più realistico e interessante. Il fatto che si veda tutto dal punto di vista molto intimo del protagonista - essendo scritto sotto forma di annotazioni in un diario - rende la vicenda ancora più magica e, per l'appunto, intima.
Davvero molto molto bello.