Piranesi is fantasy fiction but at its heart, it is a mystery. And what a mind-boggling, thought-provoking mystery it is.
A house with at least 7000 halls, giant statues, sea tides and migratory birds has only 2 inhabitants: Piranesi and The Other. Where have all the other humans gone? Does the House leave secret messages for Piranesi, even as he struggles to record all that he sees there? And why is The Other searching for secrets of immortality and other occultist knowledge?
Here are our three leads.
Piranesi is optimistic and naïve, The Other is ambitious and paranoid. The House, with its “immeasurable beauty and infinite kindness” is labyrinthine and lonely. The first one-third describes the House, draws a map within. I am in awe of the way Clarke sets up the pieces:
Another – perhaps the Statue that I love above all others – stands at a Door between the Fifth and Fourth North-Western Halls. It is the Statue of a Faun, a creature half-man and half-goat, with a head of exuberant curls. He smiles slightly and presses his forefinger to his lips. I have always felt that he meant to tell me something or perhaps to warn me of something: Quiet! he seems to say. Be careful! But what danger there could possibly be I have never known. I dreamt of him once; he was standing in a snowy forest and speaking to a female child.
Why Piranesi?
Long before the book actually came out, to get through the waiting period, I did a general search for “Piranesi”. And it turns out Giovanni Piranesi was an Italian archeologist (1720-78), famous for his lavish architectural sketches. See some of the astounding designs from him below:
The pictures also reminded me of the work of artist M.C. Escher: unique, feedback-loop worlds – again, see images below:
It made me curious why an author would pick this particular name for the book title. Certainly, mysterious house designs are all very well, but the book can’t just be about that.…
And it isn’t.
Midway, the plan changes. The House reveals itself – or rather, the other insiders of the House show up. If you like plot twists that you could never see coming, here’s a perfect match.
In Clarke’s earlier work (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell), she had touched upon the possibility of accessing other parallel worlds. Strange wanted to travel to the lost faery lands, and one way to go about it was opening his mind to “hallucinations”. What we call hallucination might actually be a doorway. We’ve certainly known of shamans and oracles who fell into “trances” to access otherworldly energy. Clarke raises this subject again in Piranesi, but this time a different route is proposed.
I know I can’t give up more information here, else I’d risk completely spilling the beans. Believe me, I’ve really tried to avoid spoilers, but it’s difficult. It’s difficult to capture the brilliance of this book without even skirting the key themes. It’s a mesmerizing tale, slow to pick up, melancholic in tone, and impossible to forget. If you like puzzles and wondering about all the what-ifs of this world, read Piranesi.
Rating: 10 of 10
Have you read this book? Would love to discuss the ending if you have! … And if you haven’t, what are you waiting for?
18 replies on “Piranesi by Susanna Clarke”
I have tried to read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell a few times and never gotten into it, this looks like another slow burn but ultimately satisfying tome and I really should make the effort with them.
I hear you. Jonathan Strange has a really slow start. It’s almost “dull” in those first few chapters… but really, the magic number is Chapter 3. Get to the end of Chapter 3, and you’ll want to keep on reading. It just keeps getting better and better, seriously.
I haven’t read this one, yet, but it’s high on my TBR list. I really loved Clarke’s other book, and I find the premise of this one so intriguing. 😀
This is a very different kind of work — don’t be fooled by the cover which seems to show an imp-like creature. This is less of SFF, and more of abstract mystery stuff. It’s quite short too, unlike Clarke’s other work! There, I think I’ve promoted it just about enough. 😉
You’ve absolutely captured the essence of this novel with subtle hints, and I’m glad you clearly enjoyed it as much as I did! As well as a review I felt I had to do a follow up post to explore some of the literary echoes this awoke: https://calmgrove.wordpress.com/tag/piranesi/
It was difficult to keep the “clues” to myself, because all I wanted to do was shout from the roofs that this book was wonderful because XYZ happens. 🙂 Thanks for sharing the link to your post, off to check it!
Hi Lex! This is a brilliant review! I think one of your best that I have read so far.
Piranisi is on my TBR. We’ve listened to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel last year on our way quite far away. We loved it! But never finished it. Gosh, we need to!
Eager to get my hands on this one and start reading it. Loved your review. Wait, I’ve said that already….
Hope you will have a good week ahead!
Thank you! I had fun writing this review because the book is so awesome. I tried the audiobook first, but the narrator’s pace felt a bit slow to me, so switched to the ebook version immediately. It’s rather like a novella, very short.
This one sounds much more interesting to me now than it did before I read your review, honestly. I tried reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, and couldn’t get interested in it enough to read a book THAT LONG, so I DNFed it. It sounds like I’ll have to give this book a try, though! Sounds much more interesting.
I do think that Clarke’s books are slower at the start, and then start getting better after the 20% mark. At least Piranesi is much shorter! For Strange / Norrell, I have heard the audiobook is pretty good — see if you want to give it a try again!
I’m waiting for my audiobook hold to come in on this one! I can’t wait to read it!
I tried the audiobook, and didn’t like the narrator’s voice or pace unfortunately. Switching to the ebook felt so much better!
Wonderful review, it’s crept up my TBR list now
I wanted to add so much more but really had to shut up near the end. Because: spoilers! I really hope you give it a try 🙂
OK, you managed to convince me on this one, even though I rarely read fantasy. It’s your fault if my TBR has now 893 titles, lol
Haha, sorry not sorry! I think Piranesi qualifies for many genres – even psychological thriller. So hope you don’t write it off as fantasy, do give it a try
Great review! I really want to read this. I love everything you mention about it and I think I will really love it. I had no idea about the architect though so that was an interesting tidbit to learn!
Thanks for saying that! The book totally consumed me. I wouldn’t call it “fantasy” even, it’s a philosophical mystery and since you like mysteries and puzzles — I think you’ll like this book!