Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Bloomsbury, 2020. ISBN: 9781526622426.
(Age: Adult/Young Adult). Highly recommended. Piranesi knows many
things. He knows that he is a man of thirty five, that is one of
just 15 people to have lived throughout history and that his home is
the House, a labyrinthine complex of stone halls peopled by statues
and regularly visited by fierce tides from the surrounding ocean.
Piranesi has one friend, the Other, who he meets with twice a week
for an hour. Piranesi knows that he is helping the Other discover
the Great and Secret Knowledge of the world, even if he does not
understand what that knowledge is. Piranesi is content with his life
writing journals and surviving in his harsh environment until one
day the Other confirms something Piranesi has long suspected: that
there is a sixteenth person in the world and that this person wishes
to do them harm. Suddenly Piranesi's carefully regulated life is
plunged into chaos and intrigue as he begins to question everything
he knows about the House, the Other and himself.
What an extraordinary and unexpected book. Piranesi is
everything fans of Susanna Clark have been waiting for since she
last published a full-length novel in 2004. Sixteen years ago,
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was hailed as a revolutionary and
exemplary example of historical fantasy. Readers who have waited for
almost two decades for another offering will not be disappointed by
Piranesi. Clarke's characteristic dreamy and almost hypnotic writing
style is again present but is honed to perfection. While Jonathan
Strange & Mr Norrell was a fantasy epic of over one
thousand pages, Piranesi is less than a quarter of the
length. Readers are introduced to this new world, guided through the
novel's core mystery and released almost before realising that the
book has come to an end.
Piranesi is a novel so unique it is difficult to make
comparisons with other works. Clarke has proven once again that she
is a master of her craft and unafraid to push the boundaries of
modern fantasy writing. This book is highly recommended.
Themes: Identity, Isolation, Friendship, Labyrinths, Secrets,
Mystery.
Rose Tabeni