Spooky and Beautiful: A Book Review of "Piranesi" by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

There is one other person in the house—a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.

-- “Piranesi”, a blurb from Goodreads

I want to be in Piranesi’s world. He lives in a labyrinthine house, with thousands of mysterious halls and countless stunning statues, a house in which an ocean flows, where birds roost. It’s an endless dreamworld that can potentially destroy its inhabitants’ mental stability, and I want to be there.

I’d never read Susanna Clarke before, but she’s the widely feted author of Johnathan Strange & Mr Norrell. After reading Piranesi, I’m officially a fan. The world of the book is captivating in its beauty, its strangeness. It’s spooky, but in a soft, atmospheric way that is in fact comforting. Piranesi loves his House, practically worships it, and had I been in his shoes, I would too.

Throughout the book, Piranesi makes copious notes of the various events and behaviours of his house. This is obvious even in the dating system that he uses when he writes in his journals. A majority of the story is set in The Year The Albatross Came To the South Western Halls.

The language of the book is stunning. Clarke uses the most delightful metaphors to describe the purpose and the source of House (one that I will not share, lest I spoil anything), but it’s obvious to the reader that her language is chosen carefully. The main character’s own voice changes throughout the book, as he undergoes changes himself, revealing deeper aspects of his personality effortlessly. (I would love to write more about this, but I would be giving away so many spoilers! Perhaps in another post.)

Do yourself a favour and read Piranesi. You deserve an escape after the year we’ve all had, and the House might just be the perfect place to run away to.