Piranesi — Book Review with Content Warnings

Author: Susanna Clarke

Genre: Literary/Mythic fantasy

Series: Standalone

Age Rating: Mature teens & adults (Suitable for older teens, but the themes and pacing are more adult in tone and complexity)

Synopsis

Piranesi’s House is strange and unusual—a labyrinth built of stone and statues, inundated by dangerous Tides. He is alone in the world, visited by only one man, called The Other, who provides him with tools to survive in the harsh world. One day, his life is upended by the appearance of another person, and all that he knows is true begins to unravel.

Content Warnings

General Rating: Teen+ (PG-13 / TV-14 /14A)

• Spice Rating: None

• Violence Rating: Moderate—physical altercations, gun violence, man vs. nature, descriptions of corpses and skeletons, death

• Profanity Rating: Moderate— <10 uses of f*ck

• Other Trigger Warnings: abusive/toxic relationships, gaslighting, coercion/manipulation, institutionalization

Overall Rating: 5/5

A bewildering and deeply insightful exploration of truth and reality; Piranesi’s knowledge is limited, and the reader discovers truth through his eyes. Insights are slowly revealed as Piranesi begins to notice the things that don’t add up.

What I Liked

• Piranesi’s voice: He is enthusiastic, eager, innocent, and always reverential toward the House.

• Linear narration: The reader discovers revelations as Piranesi does. There is no dramatic irony, where the reader knows things before Piranesi does. It is a stylistically unique choice, and Clarke pulled it off beautifully.

• The reveals: No spoilers here! The reveals are absolutely worth the initial confusion and disorientation.

What I Didn’t Like

• Slow pacing and revelation: It takes the reader quite some time to figure out what is going on. Since we are in Piranesi’s head through his journal entries, we only see and experience what he does, and the world, its occupants, and reason for being are gradually revealed. It’s not a quick dive; it’s a slow journey, which ultimately I enjoyed once I got underneath the skin of the story.

Themes and Reflections

• The belief that a benevolent deity protects its own: Piranesi is absolutely convinced of the benevolence of the House. He respects and honours it, and believes that he will be treated kindly in return. Even when things don’t go well, he steadfastly believes in the goodness of the House.

• Identity and forgetfulness are inversely correlated (spoiler): As Piranesi rediscovers his identity, his memory is restored. Conversely, as he lost his memory, his identity, too, was lost.

“May your Paths be safe, your Floors unbroken and may the House fill your eyes with Beauty.”

— Susanna Clarke, Piranesi

Writing Style

• Enigmatic, poetic prose

• Reflective, measured pace

• Enchanting, foreboding atmosphere

• Vibrant and dynamic first-person POV

• Conversational, snappy dialogue

• Atmospheric, inventive, and immersive worldbuilding

• Memorable and thought-provoking narrative
  

Tropes

• Isolated scholar

• Unreliable narrator

• Amnesia/lost identity

• Innocence as wisdom/knowledge as corruption
  

More Like This

• The Truman Show

• The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss

Publisher Info

• Publisher: Bloomsbury

• Release Date: September 15, 2020

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