Piranesi Review
Genre📚
Fiction: Fantasy/Mystery/Philosophy
Quick Summary 🗒
At its core Piranesi, is a study on how solitude and isolation affects the human psyche. It tells the story of a man named Piranesi who is inside a house and heavily studies all of its aspects. He takes note of every little detail of the house and writes it down in his journal(s). Slowly he begins to realize that everything is not as it seems…
Review🤔
The novel is told in a journal format, and as the readers we grow with Piranesi gaining new information as he gains new information. This format made me highly invested in the novel as more and more of the mystery of what was happening was unraveled, the novel quickly became a page turner.
Although the book is a relatively quick read, the true meaning is complex and has many interpretations. It is highly philosophical including allegories to Plato and many thought provoking questions. Clarke respects her readers not giving away all the answers immediately. She trusts that we are smart enough to come up with our own theories and ideas to fill in the gaps of information. As such, numerous of these questions are left unanswered by the end of the novel. I could see some people being frustrated with this, but to me the story’s ending had me sitting for many moments dissecting what it all truly meant.
I would recommend Piranesi as it is an enthralling mystery that mixes in many philosophical ideas to expand it’s meaning. It was also highly absorbing being inside of Piranesi’s thoughts and seeing his mind become altered.
Who is this for?🤷♂️🤷♀️
Fans of a good mystery
People interested in Philosophy and Psychology
Anyone who enjoys a story that doesn’t instantly give all it’s answers
Top 3 quotes💬
“For a moment I had an inkling of what it might be like if instead of two people in the World there were thousands.”
“Perhaps that is what it is like being with other people. Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not.”
“I realized that the search for the Knowledge has encouraged us to think of the House as if it were a sort of riddle to be unraveled, a text to be interpreted, and that if ever we discover the Knowledge, then it will be as if the Value has been wrested from the House and all that remains will be mere scenery.”
Criticism🧐
Not many complaints about the novel. Only real suggestion for readers is to trust its semi strange first few pages as the novel picks up speed real fast.
Reading Difficulty level: ⅖😌
It's a fairly simple narrative to follow and doesn’t contain multiple character perspectives or large time jumps. There are a few important names and locations to keep track of but it's nothing too complex.
Book vs Audiobook 📖/🎧
Having read the book version, I would say that you could go either way with this novel. The plot doesn’t contain the most specific details in the world that need to be jotted down so hearing it on the way to work or while cycling is just fine. I also listened to a sample of the audiobook and the narrator sounds quite good.
Final Score out of 10⭐️
7/10: Fun novel. Would recommend to most people.
