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There are currently 31 member reviews
for Piranesi
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Kay D. (Strongsville, OH)
An Amazing Read
So thrilled that I was able to read an advance copy of this book. Although a bit of a struggle at the beginning, I soon got into the rhythm of the writing and then found I didn't want to put it down. I was compelled to keep reading. The descriptive details were at first overwhelming, but became more easily digested as the story continued. I advise readers to just keep reading if they find themselves burdened at the beginning.
Seeing the "world" from Piranesi's perspective was a wonderful experience. His recording of everything in his journals and the use of the journals to tell the story was unique. It provided a platform for the entire storyline to play out. The interjection of the "real world" into Piranesi's "world", his eventual interjection back into the "real world" and then the melding of all experiences bends the mind just enough to challenge everything. At the same time, it make the reader want to experience Piranesi's "house of many rooms" for a long time.
Ms. Clarke has done an awesome job delivering a unique, compelling book. I am still contemplating the multiple levels of this book and absorbing the twists and turns. Is it another world? Is it real? Is it madness? Is is something else altogether? Each reader will gather their own conclusions.
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Elizabeth V. (Bellbrook, OH)
Not Enough of a Good Thing
Piranesi was a perfect story to read during the pandemic with its underlying themes of loneliness and isolation. The story was intriguing, the characters were memorable and the world building was exquisite. My only criticism is that there was not enough of any of it. I would have loved to spend more time wandering the Halls with Piranesi and to learn more of the history of the thirteen people who inhabited the Halls like like the Biscuit-Box Man, and the Folded-Up Child; who they were and how they came to be there. I would have liked more detail on how Piranesi learned to live in the strange world he found himself in. It feels like there are many stories left to tell in this world and I hated to see it end so soon.
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Allison
Piranesi
Piranesi is the long-awaited new book by Susanna Clarke, published 15 years after her international bestseller Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Piranesi's subject and feel is a departure from her first book, but it is by no means less brilliant and captivating. Clarke shows her skill of beautiful world building and creating characters that one feels like they know and will miss when the tale is ended.
The story of Piranesi and the House is both haunting and beautiful. I could tell fairly early on what was happening, but it in no way diminished the joy and thrill of seeing how it all played out. The end had a bittersweet feel that left me wanting to stay with the characters longer and continue to converse with them.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
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Lori L. (La Porte, IN)
Susanna Clarke's Piranesi
This book is set in a labyrinth-like palace made up of statue-filled halls and an ocean that moves in and out of rooms in shifting tides. Piranesi lives there alone, with periodic appearances by a mysterious Other, and catalogues the rooms, statues, and tides in a meticulous system of notebooks. Both Piranesi and the Other are in search of a lost form of Knowledge, and as a reader, we are also in the position of trying to figure out exactly what's going on in this dreamy, hypnotic world. Very different from her first book, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanne Clarke has created a beautiful, disorienting tale.
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Courtney N. (Chicago, IL)
A strange new world
This book is almost impossible to review. It's strange and haunting tale of the secrets of the universe and the evil that can be found inside humans. To say more would give away too much of the story. I will say that I was utterly confused at the beginning of the book and it was not until about halfway through that I started to understand enough to really enjoy the story.
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Linda S. (Tucker, GA)
Good Book for Fantasy Lovers
"Piranesi," Susanna Clarke's ethereal new novel is quite different from her previous novel, "Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell." Although both books tell unusual stories, "Piranesi" is set in an alternate reality, a dream-world, and features an unreliable narrator and a mystery. Ultimately, while I enjoyed Clarke's first book, her new book is not for me. I prefer real people with real world problems, however, readers who enjoy fantasy will undoubtedly enjoy this well-written novel.
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Borderlass
A Labyrinthine Tale
"Piranesi" is a charming story of fantastical fiction incorporating a parallel world to our own. The alternative universe consists of many interlinked stone structures laid out much as a labyrinth in which innumerable vestibules hold many large statuary and seemingly only two live human beings - all beholden to the tides and other features of sea-based existence. In reading this, despite absurd elements one might expect in a psychedelic-induced state, the writing carries the reader along to its conclusion sufficiently fast enough so that should one tire of its dream-like Piscean world, a satisfying, almost logical ending is our well-earned reward. This genre is not everyone's cup of tea, but for what it is, it seems nicely done. If a book group wanted to dabble in a bit of "magical sci-fi escape fiction" with broad appeal, this would be a good pick.
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