Piranesi, a wonderful experience - Susanna Clarke
Piranesi is one of those books that will be hard to forget. I also think that is one of those books that I wish I could have written myself as it feels like the most delightful book to experience as the story unfolds.
The story takes place in the House in an area that the readers don’t understand at first. It took me about three chapters to start to understand what he even meant with the House- it was confusing but very satisfying to understand at last. Again, the more you read, the more you know and experience a beautiful feeling. The writing is constantly Capitalised In most Random places, but soon you start to realise that All makes sense and that everything Capitalised is something that the Main Character is also new to. Piranesi is like a kid who explores the World but can also speak.
Not only are you discovering a new world, but you also get to unsolve the mystery of why Piranesi is there. Susanna is a great mystery writer. She doesn’t tell you everything you need to know, she shows you in the most subtle wording, and it’s very clever. I loved the slow unravelling of the ‘whys’ and the ‘hows’. And finally, when you start to understand everything, the story just ends, on paper of course, because the ending is open and you can by yourself and as an observer imagine where next the story could be taken.
Loneliness is a great theme discussed in this book, and it’s used as a clue to unfold the mystery and understand Piranesi. Piranesi, of course, is a magnificent character. Usually, characters in books have perks that you can never love fully, but Piranesi, to me, was the most lovable and cleverly written character in a fantasy novel.
Clarke also uses imagery brilliantly. Birds are very prominent in this world, as well as the statues. Birds are your friends and Piranesi’s friends, so you end up looking for them in the story itself.
I cannot imagine a world without Piranesi, the character. I love that I read it and sometimes go back and think of him and his story.