Paperback, 245 pages
Published Sept. 2, 2021 by Bloomsbury Publishing.
I don't want to say anything about this book, read it in one sitting. Puzzling, otherness, memory, permanence.
Oh. My. Goddess!
I will admit that I was very nervous about this book because the cover art, and some elements of the story brought on unpleasant memories of "The Starless Seas," which (alas) I detested.
I am SOOOO glad I ignored all that.
This book is a TREASURE. I will say no more, other than:
READ IT! READ IT! READ IT!
You're welcome.
First of all, if you like this book and haven't read [a:Jorge Luis Borges|500|Jorge Luis Borges|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1537559279p2/500.jpg], please do yourself a favor and grab [b:Ficciones|426504|Ficciones|Jorge Luis Borges|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388197956l/426504.SY75.jpg|1007116] or some other of his short story collections. There's no way you won't be pleasantly surprised.
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book; despite the fact that it is 100% in conversation with Borges' labyrinths, it's doubtlessly unique; the setting is exactly the right mix between wonderous and claustrophobic/labyrinthine to make it an alluring place one wants to learn more of but also provide a sense of hostility/wrongness and an implicit need of escape, a conflict increasingly reflected by the main character's respect for "the house" for most of the book and the stress inflicted by the plot's revelations. The short length also ensures the mystery moves at a brisk pace, no hint goes unresolved for very long (despite Piranesi's naivety when …
First of all, if you like this book and haven't read [a:Jorge Luis Borges|500|Jorge Luis Borges|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1537559279p2/500.jpg], please do yourself a favor and grab [b:Ficciones|426504|Ficciones|Jorge Luis Borges|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388197956l/426504.SY75.jpg|1007116] or some other of his short story collections. There's no way you won't be pleasantly surprised.
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book; despite the fact that it is 100% in conversation with Borges' labyrinths, it's doubtlessly unique; the setting is exactly the right mix between wonderous and claustrophobic/labyrinthine to make it an alluring place one wants to learn more of but also provide a sense of hostility/wrongness and an implicit need of escape, a conflict increasingly reflected by the main character's respect for "the house" for most of the book and the stress inflicted by the plot's revelations. The short length also ensures the mystery moves at a brisk pace, no hint goes unresolved for very long (despite Piranesi's naivety when it comes to interacting with at least one character that obviously knows more of what's going on) and the developments come quick. I was also satisfied with the ending which I found surprisingly sweet. All in all, a very good read.
Are you like me? Have you struggled to find the motivation to read during the pandemic? You'd think a lockdown would be the perfect environment to make a dent in your TBR pile, but maybe it's been school changes and stress, changing jobs, moving across the country, changing jobs again, or maybe it's just the fear that your life is falling apart and will never get back to the way it was. Whatever the reason, maybe you've lacked a desire to read, instead choosing to rewatch old favorites like 30 Rock and Bob's Burgers and Guy's Grocery Games over and over again. Maybe you've tried to start a couple of books but you haven't made any progress in them. Maybe you're looking for a book to break you out of your reading funk. If so, Piranesi might be the book for you. It's fairly short, chunked into manageable chapters, and …
Are you like me? Have you struggled to find the motivation to read during the pandemic? You'd think a lockdown would be the perfect environment to make a dent in your TBR pile, but maybe it's been school changes and stress, changing jobs, moving across the country, changing jobs again, or maybe it's just the fear that your life is falling apart and will never get back to the way it was. Whatever the reason, maybe you've lacked a desire to read, instead choosing to rewatch old favorites like 30 Rock and Bob's Burgers and Guy's Grocery Games over and over again. Maybe you've tried to start a couple of books but you haven't made any progress in them. Maybe you're looking for a book to break you out of your reading funk. If so, Piranesi might be the book for you. It's fairly short, chunked into manageable chapters, and eminently readable. It's a great mix of metaphysical fantasy and mystery, without any exposition-heavy world-building to slow things down. A perfect book for reading while half-watching the baseball playoff games you're interested in but don't really care about. And, hopefully, a perfect book for reinvigorating the reader within you.
Don’t worry about knowing anything going in. If you like your present day magic rinsed in a bucket of gothic sensibilities, just start reading.
I really wanted to write about this book. I've been pondering how to do it for a few weeks now. The thing is, it's really very difficult to do so without giving anything away, and this is the sort of book where I feel like being spoiled would really take away from it.
I greatly enjoyed exploring the world alongside the characters, and parts of it just wouldn't have been the same had I known in advance. For me, it was a huge part of the enjoyment to guess along with the progression of the story and be proven right or wrong about the significance of this or that. Some things I guessed, others I didn't, and everything came to a satisfactory conclusion. No loose ends that I can think of.
In some ways this book kind of reminded me of House of Leaves, except it's not horror. And it's …
I really wanted to write about this book. I've been pondering how to do it for a few weeks now. The thing is, it's really very difficult to do so without giving anything away, and this is the sort of book where I feel like being spoiled would really take away from it.
I greatly enjoyed exploring the world alongside the characters, and parts of it just wouldn't have been the same had I known in advance. For me, it was a huge part of the enjoyment to guess along with the progression of the story and be proven right or wrong about the significance of this or that. Some things I guessed, others I didn't, and everything came to a satisfactory conclusion. No loose ends that I can think of.
In some ways this book kind of reminded me of House of Leaves, except it's not horror. And it's a completely different plot. And not the same writing style. It's difficult to explain, especially without giving anything away. It's to do with the world. I could also imagine that this book could be turned into a beautiful film. I would certainly quite like to watch it.
This book was near perfect?? Like it was written for the exact strange set of tropes and settings I’m most in love with?? Anyway, fanatic book, equals or surpasses Strange & Norrell amazingly, will go on my reread shelf.
