Piranesi By Susanna Clarke

 

Piranesi

By Susanna Clarke

Piranesi spends his days as a scientist exploring the labyrinth of rooms in the house he inhabits near the sea. A house full of statues and the bones of others Piranesi makes up names for. And with him lives the Other, a man Piranesi meets periodically and assists in his academic interests. Piranesi is at one with his home, believing it will provide what he needs and it is a place he finds solace in.

Until someone else shows up and Piranesi's world and beliefs are challenged. The Other claims someone has come to kill him and to turn Piranesi mad, that the two of them must do everything they can to keep that from happening.

But Piranesi has been keeping journals all his life, and when this new person starts leaving messages for Piranise, the journals become a font of knowledge about a past he cannot remember. As he puts the pieces together he realizes that what he believes is a lie and that the trust he had in the Other was unfounded. A whole other life existed for him and now he has to reconcile with it.

This was a beautiful and heartbreaking book. I was expecting a fantasy and what I got was a mystery. A clever misdirection by Susanna Clarke. I found Piranesi's innocence and trust to be incredibly endearing and when the truth of his life cam out I was so sad for him. The twists in this book were well done and totally unexpected. The story unfolded in such an incredible way, slowly peeling back the layers of fog that surrounded Piranesi's mind. It was a compulsive read that kept me enthralled and turning the pages. The atmosphere was enchanting and immersive, and the characters had depth, the pace spot on.

Piranesi is easily a 5-star read.