![]() Although Piranesi shows an almost childlike wonderment at the World around him, and seems content in roaming the House from day to day, we begin to understand that his character suffers from loneliness and seclusion. The more we follow Piranesi‘s character the more empathetic we become to his situation. And so I have to ask Myself: whose memory is at fault? Mine or his? Might he in fact be remembering conversations that never happened?” The only part of my existence in which I experience any sense of fragmentation is in the strange conversation with the Other. ![]() Nowhere is there any disjuncture where I ought to remember something but do not, where I ought to understand something but do not. “The World feels Complete and Whole, and I, its Child, fit into it seamlessly. It becomes clear to us that something isn’t quite right, and The Other may hold all the answers. We do not know, as Piranesi too does not know, how he came to be in the World of the House. He has a store of stationary, and many other paraphernalia either found around the House, or given by the Other, which frankly begins to raise some questions. From the onset we discover that he has formed his own unique structural calendar to record the day, month and year of his entries, he has found a sustainable way to source food, and it soon becomes apparent Piranesi has been living within the House for a long time and never leaves. The book is written as a series of journal entries made by Piranesi as he records his day to day life within the House. Throughout the book Piranesi must aid the Other in his quest to uncover this Knowledge. An enigmatic character, The Other believes there is A Great and Secret Knowledge hidden somewhere in the World, and once discovered it will grant untold power. There is one more living person within the House too though – The Other. We also see that Piranesi is fairly secluded, his company consists of the array of statues found in each ‘vestibule’, and the bones of the dead. The House is frequently hit with Tidal waves, floors are regularly flooded, and Piranesi spends his days tracking where and when the waves will strike next. You see The World Piranesi lives in is the House, consisting of a multitude of hallways, corridors and rooms, a labyrinth if you will. Our main protagonist, Piranesi, is a man who believes he is in his thirties, and we immediately see he’s confined inside a house quite like no other. ![]() Piranesi begins with Clarke throwing us into the middle of the story. Clarke whisked me away on a surreal, magical and somewhat sinister journey, written with such grace. However, with Piranesi being rather short, at around 245 pages, I thought this would be a perfect read to sample the author’s work, and I was not left disappointed. I had heard much praise for her previous novel Jonathan Strange and Mr Norell, but I hadn’t actually read it myself. Piranesi, by award winning author Susanna Clarke, is a novel which left me awed by its charm and beauty. ![]()
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