Piranesi

Lulu/ Lucien reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Potential that I felt wasted

3 stars

Content warning a rare spoilery post

I read this book as part of LucieBulle's bookclub monthly community read.

I liked certain aspects:

already, that the journey to this world was not an "astral" or magical journey, as it seemed to be at the start. I was a little afraid of the end of the novel with the "manisfestation".

*The gradual discovery of the key points of each character's past, and the main one saved by a woman and it does not end in a transfer romance

*The question of identity that comes with experiences and memories, and acceptance from family/friends that he must have had a seizure, and everyone accepts that he needs to go to therapy

Neutral:

Its scientific methodology is interesting, although repetitive (the statements in each entry are long)

However :

a lot of repetition of words and above all, long sentences.

*Narrative style not rich enough for my personal tastes.

Lack of answers concerning the sizes of statues and of this universe that Piranesi lived in... did he measure correctly as it would seem from his writings? or are all sizes exaggerated by the same effect of forgetfulness / on the verge of losing ones bearings?
By what were these caused? I would have liked, for example, that his executioner had given him drugs or something, which would explain the notions of altered space and time because, at the end, we learn that he must have been a prisoner somewhere near a isolated beach or island; however, to my knowledge, no real place would correspond with Piranesi's measurements...

Arisu reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Una historia que alberga muchas historias

5 stars

En primer lugar, debo decir que leer a cualquiera de las ganadoras del Women's Prize for Fiction siempre es una excelente idea.

Piranesi es una novela breve, pero que alberga muchas historias en sí misma: desde la encantadora vida del protagonista en su Casa-Mundo hasta los secretos del Mundo más allá de ella. Quizá la historia pierde un poco de impacto con todas las pistas que la autora incluye en la misma, empezando por el título, pero se presta a tantas reflexiones que igual me merece 5 estrellas.

"La Hermosura de la Casa es inconmesurable; su Bondad, infinita."

Unruly Stacks reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Well Worth Waiting For

5 stars

I've been excited by Susanna Clarke's writing since I first picked up Jonathan Strange, and when I first heard this book was coming out, I was suddenly aware that I hadn't heard about her in a long while! Some Googling revealed that she'd been suffering from severe health issues for years now, and this book was the result of more years of hardship than I could fathom. I preordered it immediately, and read it the moment it arrived.

Wow. So different, so quiet, and so, so good.

I've read plenty of reviews that disparage the book (usually because they felt the plot was thin or easily deduced, or because the narration was too simple or unrelatable), but I enjoyed the hell out of it. I was surprised when reveals came, I was drawn into the narration and worldbuilding, and I found the narrator endearing, if a bit alien in perspective. …

I've been excited by Susanna Clarke's writing since I first picked up Jonathan Strange, and when I first heard this book was coming out, I was suddenly aware that I hadn't heard about her in a long while! Some Googling revealed that she'd been suffering from severe health issues for years now, and this book was the result of more years of hardship than I could fathom. I preordered it immediately, and read it the moment it arrived.

Wow. So different, so quiet, and so, so good.

I've read plenty of reviews that disparage the book (usually because they felt the plot was thin or easily deduced, or because the narration was too simple or unrelatable), but I enjoyed the hell out of it. I was surprised when reveals came, I was drawn into the narration and worldbuilding, and I found the narrator endearing, if a bit alien in perspective. It even holds up to rereads!

All told, I found it delightful, and hopefully you will/have too!

screamsbeneath reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Unfolding into the (Un)known

5 stars

I didn't know what to expect coming into this and I firmly recommend trying to go in with as little knowledge as you possibly can. The unfolding that occurs throughout the narrative was the payoff, the end just another event along a wave of experience.

A library book that has inevitably made it to my own collection, amongst the shelf of favorites that are destined to be reread over and over again.

Wolfgang Wopperer reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

A strange story in a strange house

4 stars

Quick to read, vividly written, more mystery than parable.

Jonathan Hartley reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Splendid tale, in a symbolic setting which is strikingly and evocatively minimal.

4 stars

Content warning Minor spoiler, which reveals a mid-book event which is very different in setting than the consistency of the opening chapters might suggest.

I really enjoyed this. I was captured by the reliable hook of an initially confounding fantastic or symbolic setting, gradually made comprehensible as information is revealed and the reader acclimatizes to the concepts in play. The infinite architectures of The House reminds me of the similarly spectacular House of Leaves, or the YouTube Backrooms phenomenon. It makes me want to revisit the symbolic locations of Banks "The Bridge". It reminds me of deeply evocative late nights, lost in endless videogame worlds.

About 2/3 of the way through, I caught a reference as a character is using childhood memories as part of a ritual to reopen a doorway to a lost world, from the rose garden of his childhood home. As potential doorways begin appearing, he notes "The color of the roses was supernaturally bright."

This is no doubt a deliberate reference to Aldus Huxley's "Doors of Perception" (bookwyrm.social/book/168195/s/the-doors-of-perception-and-heaven-and-hell-perennial-classics), a trip report on the opening of said doors during the psychedelic experience of mescaline, in which repeated reference is made to a supernaturally bright and vivid vase of flowers, "shining with their own inner light and all but quivering under the pressure of the significance with which they were charged".

mark reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Perfectly Crafted... Fantasy Novel? Oneiric Mystery?

5 stars

It's hard to overstate how much this book feels written specifically for me - I love books with any sort of physically improbable gigantic building, fantasy books where people enter other worlds, academic thrillers, etc - and Piranesi nails the blend perfectly. A sheer delight with an extremely thoughtful denouement.

Shauna reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

5 stars

This is one of those books that's unlike any other. It's surreal and dreamy and the sheer "what the heck's going on?" factor compelled me to read it all in one day.

A novel like this - light on plot, with an extremely limited cast of characters, told in an epistolary style - really sinks or swims on the narrative voice. Luckily the titular Piranesi is fun to read, and comes across as practical and clever, curious and sweet. His ignorance is charming rather than frustrating, and of course his naivete is all part of the mystery.

Highly recommended to anyone who loves an atmospheric and/or experimental story.

Karvala@lectura.social reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Review of 'Piranesi' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Al principio no sabía muy bien dónde me había metido y estaba un poco perdida, pero enseguida me ha enganchado. En cuanto estás apunto de aburrirte, pasan cosas y te enganchas más. La segunda mitad no podía dejarlo.

m₂ reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

I liked this

4 stars

I really liked this story! Glad it got put on my radar from Jacob Geller's video on infinity.

lep@bookwyrm.social reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

No rating

Nice little book. Had to read it in one sitting.

James reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Reality plus a little magic

4 stars

I really enjoyed the book, the smaller world that the protagonist lives in is very simple and is intriguing, but not somewhere I feel I need to return to. The larger universe though is interesting, with its reality plus a little magic vibe. I enjoyed the unravelling mystery and it compelled me to read it much faster than I've read books of similar size. The first few chapters describing the House reminded me of the descriptions of The Sleeper Service in Iain M Banks' book Excession. To the point where I thought the book was going to go in a sci-fi direction.

bookafnd reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

slow to start, but it does get very good

5 stars

I found this book a bit slow for the first 50–60 pages, which are spent mostly describing the World without much of any sort of Plot happening. It only really begins to pick up around Part 3, when the mystery inherent to the setting starts to unravel, all through the eyes of a narrator not so much unreliable as naïve and lacking in knowledge, which makes him unable to understand things which are clear to the reader. It's the sort of book where it's worth reading (or at least skimming) the first few parts again to see what you missed the first read through.

polymerwitch reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

A beautiful book that quiets and comforts my mind

5 stars

If we were born in another world what form would the shadows cast upon the walls of our cave take? What mythologies and art would inform our identity? What are the limits that malicious people have to do harm through warping and confining our realities? How does the society around me shape the person I am at any given time?

Piranesi explores these questions in a labyrinth of an endless house full of statues that is flooded by the sea. The answers are in the faces of our neighbors and in the hushing pose of the faun.

Antonis reads reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Multilayered, mysterious & delightful

4 stars

I'm a big sucker for mysterious spaces and Piranesi delivers in spades. Characters are very interesting too, the story's theme resonates as well.

Tim Rogers

rated it

Dec. 19, 2022

IMcPwn

rated it

Oct. 19, 2022