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A review by nothingforpomegranted
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.5
This book was eerie and beautiful, with heavy themes and a deliberate, complex writing style. Written in epistolary journal entries by the main character, we discover the intricacies of the House, replete with Statues, sea, birds, and inhabited by Piranesi himself, the Other, and the skeletons of presumed former inhabitants. Piranesi’s utter trust in the House is a chilling portrait of faith, especially with the clear impression that something is wrong. Even writing about this book now, I have goosebumps.
The arrival of the Sixteenth Person creates tremendous tension between Piranesi and the Other and questions of memory. After an encounter with the Prophet in which names are revealed, Piranesi begins to review his Journals and Index, discovering unfamiliar words and concepts and missing pages. With heavy suspicion, Piranesi encounters a message from 16, questioning his identity as Matthew Rose Sorenson and leading to more distress, fear, and tension until the final flood of the novel, in which Piranesi and Raphael (16) are saved, while the Other, Valentine Ketterly, is killed by the waters. Piranesi/Matthew eventually agrees to leave and return to the regular word with Raphael, despite his misgivings, his fear of people, and his enduring love for the House and the sea.
This was beautiful and chilling, disturbing and bizarre. I am not a huge fantasy reader, but this book sucked me in, and I read the entire thing in two sittings. Admittedly, the first few chapters were slow-moving for me, and I was uninterested in the strange writing style and capitalization. However, with the reviews and with my intention to listen to the podcast episode of The Novel Tea, I preserved and was quickly drawn into the story and, in fact, impressed by the shifting writing styles, all by one author.
The podcast suggested a fascinating reading of the book and the House as a trauma process and coping mechanisms. My inclination is actually to approach this as fantasy more than allegory, but the idea that Matthew/Piranesi’s returns to the House from the other world with Raphael are representations of therapy is quite moving.
The arrival of the Sixteenth Person creates tremendous tension between Piranesi and the Other and questions of memory. After an encounter with the Prophet in which names are revealed, Piranesi begins to review his Journals and Index, discovering unfamiliar words and concepts and missing pages. With heavy suspicion, Piranesi encounters a message from 16, questioning his identity as Matthew Rose Sorenson and leading to more distress, fear, and tension until the final flood of the novel, in which Piranesi and Raphael (16) are saved, while the Other, Valentine Ketterly, is killed by the waters. Piranesi/Matthew eventually agrees to leave and return to the regular word with Raphael, despite his misgivings, his fear of people, and his enduring love for the House and the sea.
This was beautiful and chilling, disturbing and bizarre. I am not a huge fantasy reader, but this book sucked me in, and I read the entire thing in two sittings. Admittedly, the first few chapters were slow-moving for me, and I was uninterested in the strange writing style and capitalization. However, with the reviews and with my intention to listen to the podcast episode of The Novel Tea, I preserved and was quickly drawn into the story and, in fact, impressed by the shifting writing styles, all by one author.
The podcast suggested a fascinating reading of the book and the House as a trauma process and coping mechanisms. My inclination is actually to approach this as fantasy more than allegory, but the idea that Matthew/Piranesi’s returns to the House from the other world with Raphael are representations of therapy is quite moving.