Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

 September 12, 2020

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi lives by the sea in a vast house filled with statues.  There is only one other inhabitant that he refers to as the Other.  Piranesi has contact with him only twice a week, when the Other issues his latest request for Piranesi's help with his research.  Piranesi's life work is to map the vast halls and chambers of the place where he lives, drawing the statues along with his maps, and to chart the tides.  But when the Other warns him about a third person in the house, Piranesi begins to suspect that there is something going on that is not right.

I'm not even sure what to say about this book.  It is vastly different from Clarke's previous novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.  The beginning of the novel is very confusing, and while the story does come together eventually, it takes about 200 pages to get there.  There are also a lot of things that aren't explained.  Not sure who I recommend this to, if anyone.  A reader would have to be a huge fan of speculative fiction to really enjoy it.  I admit it, I like books that have characters and a story line.

Piranesi knows that that is not his real name, it is just the name that it amuses the Other to call him.  Giovanni Batista Piranesi was an Italian artist who lived in the 18th century, known for his etchings of fictitious and fantastical prisons.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in return for a review.