272 pages
English language
Published April 7, 2020 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
Piranesi's house is no ordinary building; its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.
There is one other person in the house--a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.
For readers of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, …
Piranesi's house is no ordinary building; its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.
There is one other person in the house--a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.
For readers of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth full of startling images of surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds.
intriguing, captivating, lingering. this story builds up together with the characters and the reader and never lets you go. amazing read!
sentinme atrapado pola Casa (o Mundo) de Piranesi, polo xeito en que describe todos os seus currunchos, as proporcións dos espazos, as alegorías que representan os elementos decorativos, os meteoros, a súa relación coa Casa, como se sinte agradecido e bendecido, como comparte (ao seu xeito) esas bendicións.
Que en dous días lese a novela xa fala do xeito en que me metín nela.
A historia... non vou contar nada para non quitarlle a emoción do descoñecido e de onde procede todo ese fluxo de pensamento compartido en primeira persoa.
Quizás algo positivo pero que no momento me fixo dubidar: durante unhas cuantas páxinas tiven a impresión de estar lendo unha novela de Dan Brown, diosmeperdone, pero non, non tirou por esa parte, se non por salientar a beleza e a bondade.
The most remarkable work of fiction I've read in a long time.
The most remarkable work of fiction I've read in a long time.
I read Piranesi over the course of a few days. In reality, I probably could have read it in 1 or 2 days tops but life catches up to you.
I don't want to post any spoilers or give any details about the book in this review. I went into Piranesi blind - meaning I had not read anything about the book up until I picked it up. I think what I liked most about this book is that despite its page count, most of the characters felt fleshed out. I felt some aspects of the story felt a bit rushed, but all things considered, it was still a fun read.
I read Piranesi over the course of a few days. In reality, I probably could have read it in 1 or 2 days tops but life catches up to you.
I don't want to post any spoilers or give any details about the book in this review. I went into Piranesi blind - meaning I had not read anything about the book up until I picked it up. I think what I liked most about this book is that despite its page count, most of the characters felt fleshed out. I felt some aspects of the story felt a bit rushed, but all things considered, it was still a fun read.
Piranesi is a stark contrast for me. Throughout the book, I swung like a pendulum between utter fascination and horror. I recommend it, but it left me hollow whereas Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel, the author's first book I also recently read, was much more high-spirited (although similar themes appear).
Piranesi is a stark contrast for me. Throughout the book, I swung like a pendulum between utter fascination and horror. I recommend it, but it left me hollow whereas Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel, the author's first book I also recently read, was much more high-spirited (although similar themes appear).
I loved the world in which this story is set. An infinite labyrinth of statues and sea, occupied by characters that I wanted deeply to know more about.
You follow the story through the journal of the point of view character. The best parts of the story are, to me, when the writer's and the reader's understanding of events diverge. It felt like a Hitchcock movie, where I, with full access to the main character's thoughts, started coming to different interpretations of information they've received - and what I knew compelled me to keep reading in hopes that the main character would catch up. I also appreciated the themes of the story: kindness, interaction with place, memory, ambition.
I loved the world in which this story is set. An infinite labyrinth of statues and sea, occupied by characters that I wanted deeply to know more about.
You follow the story through the journal of the point of view character. The best parts of the story are, to me, when the writer's and the reader's understanding of events diverge. It felt like a Hitchcock movie, where I, with full access to the main character's thoughts, started coming to different interpretations of information they've received - and what I knew compelled me to keep reading in hopes that the main character would catch up. I also appreciated the themes of the story: kindness, interaction with place, memory, ambition.
i was expecting an abstract philosophical story, what i got was more of a straight supernatural mystery with an interesting location. still, v engaging, glad i finished it.
To describe the book is to spoil the book. This is an Outer Wilds situation where every person of impeccable taste will beg you to experience it and never look it up online beforehand. This is a book that wants you to read it. It delights in being read. So do that. A perfect little book whose length feels neither wasteful nor lean. It is Just Right. The Beauty of the House is immeasureable; its Kindness infinte.
To describe the book is to spoil the book. This is an Outer Wilds situation where every person of impeccable taste will beg you to experience it and never look it up online beforehand. This is a book that wants you to read it. It delights in being read. So do that. A perfect little book whose length feels neither wasteful nor lean. It is Just Right. The Beauty of the House is immeasureable; its Kindness infinte.
Lu en cinq jours. Difficile exercice que de le résumer, et il n'est pas certain que cela serve à grand chose. Piranesi vit et explore La Maison Éternelle, peuplées de Statues gigantesques et d'Oiseaux. Le livre est captivant sur son début, où il en dit peu sur le pourquoi et montre cette Maison.
J'ai reçu cette lecture à un moment où j'avais besoin d'évasion, de plonger un peu en moi. La Maison Éternelle a constitué tout à la fois un échappatoire, un lieu de méditation et de refuge. Une réalité à expérimenter plutôt qu'une énigme à déchiffrer.
Lu en cinq jours. Difficile exercice que de le résumer, et il n'est pas certain que cela serve à grand chose. Piranesi vit et explore La Maison Éternelle, peuplées de Statues gigantesques et d'Oiseaux. Le livre est captivant sur son début, où il en dit peu sur le pourquoi et montre cette Maison.
J'ai reçu cette lecture à un moment où j'avais besoin d'évasion, de plonger un peu en moi. La Maison Éternelle a constitué tout à la fois un échappatoire, un lieu de méditation et de refuge. Une réalité à expérimenter plutôt qu'une énigme à déchiffrer.
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 …
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!
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.
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.
I guess this is what happens when a tremendously successful author with a single published novel to her name spends 16 years writing another one.
I read Susanna Clarke's first novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel, when I was a kid and, now, I've forgotten what it was about and if I enjoyed it (or not).
After reading Piranesi, I'm unlikely to forget this one and how I felt reading through it.
I guess this is what happens when a tremendously successful author with a single published novel to her name spends 16 years writing another one.
I read Susanna Clarke's first novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel, when I was a kid and, now, I've forgotten what it was about and if I enjoyed it (or not).
After reading Piranesi, I'm unlikely to forget this one and how I felt reading through it.
Quick to read, vividly written, more mystery than parable.
Unexpected, mysteryous and very engaging. A fresh fantasy with a touch of philosophy.
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.
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.
