Piranesi by Susanna Clarke Review

Let me start by saying, Piranesi is best when gone into blind. The less you know the better. It’s short so there is little time wasted if you end up not liking it, I suggest you just go and read it. It’s great.

The briefest synopsis I can give, is that we are reading the journal entries of a man who inhabits a world he refers to as the house. This is a huge building full of labyrinthine halls and classical statues. There are tides of water that flow through these halls like multiple ocean tides. That’s all I’m going to say.

Clarke builds a wonderful character and a world that is atmospheric in a beautifully haunting way. The epistolary format works well, and allows us to learn with our protagonist without it feeling cheap that he knows more than us. As the story progresses we get to slowly knit together what we know and deconstruct the mysteries of this world.

I really don’t want to say anymore about this book. Just read it and find out for yourself.

Seriously…

5 stars

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