Piranesi Review

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

“Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not.” – Piranesi

Overview:

So few books are suffused with such magic and whimsy from the jump.

I typically don’t go into books, especially popular ones, without at least some concept of what they are / what they’re about. I went into Piranesi completely blind and I am so glad I did. I picked it up wanting a break from thousand-page fantasy sloughs and was rewarded with a short book that is deep with endless imagination.

We are dropped into the infinite House immediately with our narrator Piranesi and a myriad of questions. While we are privy only to Piranesi’s whimsical view of this endlessly beautiful house, we slowly realize that it is not as peaceful as it may seem.

Characters – 78 / 100

This book revolves around mainly one character and we see the world through his eyes only. Piranesi is an overly naïve and gentle soul who does not realize the situation he is in, only learns to appreciate his life in the House for what it is. I loved getting to explore the oddities of the house and just go through the halls directed by Piranesi’s sense of curiosity.

The House itself is a major character in the book and the one I would be willing to spend a thousand pages exploring. However, the other characters are mostly there to usher Piranesi along his journey, for a short book like this, that’s perfectly fine, but there is limited depth to be had outside of determining who is there to help or harm Piranesi.

Plot – 75 / 100

The plot itself is structured very much like a mystery novel. There are clues and questions that stay with you from page to page and enough twists and turns to keep you guessing but without getting so convoluted that the story itself gets lost.

Overall, I think there are a lot of things that are done well, it’s not overly convoluted, it does just enough to keep things on the rails and keep us as readers engaged. It does not drag on, but it does not rush any revelations, and the ending evoked a sense of peace and melancholy at the same time.

Language – 80 / 100

It took me a few pages to get past some of the random capitalization of nouns in this book. I love the sentences and the way it’s written as journal entries for the most part, but coming from someone who reads a lot of fantasy where every proper noun needs its own catalogue, I spent the first part of this book wondering which things were important enough that I would have to remember them.

Once I got past that, it was easy to simply sit back and enjoy the charm that leaked through each page. The language, the style of storytelling, the limited perspective, it all came together in such a beautiful way.

When you have a shorter story such as this, there is so little room for wasted space and Susanna Clarke does an amazing job of keeping the language tight, but also not being afraid to throw in some passages that illustrate the immeasurable beauty of the infinite House.

Novelty – 85 / 100

This book felt familiar and magical, but also unlike anything else I have read. It was beautiful and haunting and uneasy. This book was quite simply: unique.

It does not try to be more complicated than it needs to be, you find things out exactly as Piranesi does and the ending felt earned. Still, at it’s core, it is a mystery that relies heavily on memory loss. That itself is not overly novel, but the setting, the delivery, our protagonist not being the one that’s haunted by his own memory loss; all of these are subtle differences that make the book feel like something entirely its own.

Final Rating - 79.5 / 100 – B+

Overall, this book encourages you to slow down and explore. I am glad it was 200 pages, but I almost wish it was 1000 just so I could have an 800 page appendix of Piranesi exploring the House and taking care of its inhabitants.

I am hard-pressed to think of many people who would not enjoy this book. It is accessible, full of wonder, and a great read for anyone.

I think we can all learn from Piranesi. We can all strive to slow down, to simply enjoy the beauty of what is, rather than worrying about what is not. The House provides for Piranesi and he is fine. Life provides for us all, and it is up to us to choose to see it.

“The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of Itself. It is not the means to an end.” - Piranesi