Clarke’s descriptions of the “House” make it out to be as magnificent to the reader as it is to Piranesi. The bottom floor is filled with seas, the first floor with birds, and the top floor with clouds. Clarke drops readers into this confusing world of seas and statues, and only clarifies what the “House” is in the next entry: three floors of halls and vestibules filled with statues. The “Other” is the only other living person he knows in the “House.”Ĭlarke first introduces the reader to Piranesi’s mind through a journal entry. Even his age and true name are unknown to him, as “Piranesi” is the name the “Other” calls him. He does not know how long he has been in the house, or much else for that matter. Piranesi only knows the labyrinth and the statues within, and he fills his ten journals with his thoughts and any information he wishes to record. Piranesi consists of Piranesi’s journal entries, which span over the course of six months.
Clarke fills the book with metaphors and oxymorons, while breadcrumbing information about who Piranesi truly is, not only to the reader but also to Piranesi himself. I believe that anyone can gain some sense of tranquility by reading his simple and methodic entries, which detail his love for the “House” (his name for the labyrinth) and his slow discovery of how he came to be. Throughout Piranesi, Clarke collects the thoughts of Piranesi as he lives his life in an infinite labyrinth of halls, statues, and vestibules. A mystery embedded in a fantastical setting, Piranesi is the book for puzzle-solvers and dreamers alike.Piranesi, the protagonist of the novel Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, takes you with him on his thrilling pursuit for the truth of his own origins. I reveled in each uncovered scrap of information, hoarding clues until I reached that satisfying moment of revelation. You know there’s a bigger picture, but you can’t quite make it out until certain pieces fall into place.
Reading Piranesi is like putting together a puzzle without the image on the box as reference. But cracks start to form in the foundation of his beloved House when a 16th person makes an appearance-and Piranesi’s understanding of the world begins to splinter alongside it. Both scientists and men of utmost reason, he and “The Other”-the only other living human-search vast statue-lined halls for a Great and Secret Knowledge. Piranesi is absolutely certain that there are 15 people in the world: two living and 13 dead. I’m thrilled to report it was a leap worth taking. So when I cracked open Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi with very little idea of what to expect, I took an uncharacteristic leap of faith. Listen, no one would ever accuse me of being particularly comfortable with ambiguity-which is why I rarely pick up a book without knowing exactly what I’m getting myself into.
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