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thestorykeeper's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
every now and again i read a book that takes my little heart firmly in its clutches from the first few pages and this was without a doubt one of them. i need to either devour this book or let it devour me i loved it SO much
dirtylaundry's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
pineapple_soft_serve's review against another edition
1.0
Personally, couldn't get behind it. I like the concept but don't think it was done well. Very heavy on the anti-pagan themes and it doesn't sit well with me.
brief_n_bold_book_reviews's review against another edition
2.75
I am clearly in the minority here... unfortunately, I did not feel anything for this book. I could not get into it or engage at all with the storyline or characters. The only reason I didn't DNF was because I wanted to see why it is so popular. This maybe a case of "it's not the book, it's me" but I always find it interesting how some books can be an absolute masterpiece for some and misses for others. For me, I guess Piranesi was one of those reads.
samihoch's review against another edition
5.0
obsessed with susanna clarke’s mind. nobody’s doing it like her
margothmmohajir's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
goldrushx's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
deluciate's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know what words to use for this little mystery box... I couldn't put it down, and it's a quick read.
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Liked the book much more on second reading.
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Liked the book much more on second reading.
evamgbg's review against another edition
4.0
*4.25
As someone who loves magical realism and stories that expand imagination to hair-raising heights, I ate Piranesi up. I really and truly love this book. Piranesi is such a heartwarming character and his journey has my philosophically-inclined brain spinning. The world-building is beautiful and it felt like I was piecing pieces of the labyrinth together, just like Piranesi, the whole time. I went into this book with minimal information about what to expect, as recommended, and I can confidently say that I've never read anything like it. Not even the teaser captures Clarke's story. I'm eager to consume some more literary classics, more Borges and Greek mythology, and reread Piranesi in a few years to catch all the symbolism/references I know I missed.
**spoilers now below!** some of my qualms
While I loved the world-building, I wished to have received more answers about the logistics of the dimensions and such. Then again, I understand that that's not the point of the book and the message lies more in the House and Piranesi's (although that's not his real name) journey.
I also found myself a bit frustrated at the end when Rafael comes and saves him and it turns out she's a cop. Idk. I think considering the social-political climate in which the book was published, I'm tempted to unpack that. I'm still going through the various literary lenses to look at Piranesi, as my favorite high school English teacher taught me, and I'm thinking through the book with a feminist/womanist/socially-culturally-politically-aware lens. Because that is something that Clarke explicitly mentions in the book, the character's ethnic and racial identities, and it's compared to Madeline Miller's "Circe" which is very much in conversation with these topics. Maybe she didn't intend for much to be unpacked via this lens, given her general focus/interest/explorations of English literature, but I don't think it hurts to explore that.
Speaking of the book's teaser's comparison of "Circe", that's the reason I picked this book up in the first place. And while I have not regrets about having read Piranesi, I am annoyed at how this comparison is just like not true?? There are similar themes (i.e. ties to Greek mythology, beautiful and meaningful world-building, literary fiction), but not close enough to tie them together necessarily. I think this is part of the reason I was left a bit frustrated.
As someone who loves magical realism and stories that expand imagination to hair-raising heights, I ate Piranesi up. I really and truly love this book. Piranesi is such a heartwarming character and his journey has my philosophically-inclined brain spinning. The world-building is beautiful and it felt like I was piecing pieces of the labyrinth together, just like Piranesi, the whole time. I went into this book with minimal information about what to expect, as recommended, and I can confidently say that I've never read anything like it. Not even the teaser captures Clarke's story. I'm eager to consume some more literary classics, more Borges and Greek mythology, and reread Piranesi in a few years to catch all the symbolism/references I know I missed.
**spoilers now below!** some of my qualms
While I loved the world-building, I wished to have received more answers about the logistics of the dimensions and such. Then again, I understand that that's not the point of the book and the message lies more in the House and Piranesi's (although that's not his real name) journey.
I also found myself a bit frustrated at the end when Rafael comes and saves him and it turns out she's a cop. Idk. I think considering the social-political climate in which the book was published, I'm tempted to unpack that. I'm still going through the various literary lenses to look at Piranesi, as my favorite high school English teacher taught me, and I'm thinking through the book with a feminist/womanist/socially-culturally-politically-aware lens. Because that is something that Clarke explicitly mentions in the book, the character's ethnic and racial identities, and it's compared to Madeline Miller's "Circe" which is very much in conversation with these topics. Maybe she didn't intend for much to be unpacked via this lens, given her general focus/interest/explorations of English literature, but I don't think it hurts to explore that.
Speaking of the book's teaser's comparison of "Circe", that's the reason I picked this book up in the first place. And while I have not regrets about having read Piranesi, I am annoyed at how this comparison is just like not true?? There are similar themes (i.e. ties to Greek mythology, beautiful and meaningful world-building, literary fiction), but not close enough to tie them together necessarily. I think this is part of the reason I was left a bit frustrated.