From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality.
Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.
There is one other person in the house—a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.
For readers of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller’s Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds.
Title : Piranesi
Author : Susanna Clarke
Format : ARC
Page Count : 272
Genre : fantasy
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Release Date : September 15, 2020
Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : unrated
Hollis’ unrated review
Spoiler alert : this is an unpopular opinion so you might as well just ignore it and find another to read because..
Well I can 100% say I don’t know what I just read. But it was a book, I think.
This is a strange story that is weird all the way through. Though you do sort’ve at least begin to settle into it as it goes. Eventually the weirdness makes way for explanation and context but it’s still weird and I don’t know how I feel about any of it.
Think HOUSE OF LEAVES with maybe a dash of THE STARLESS SEA mixed in with something strange. Not uncomfortable, though, as this felt almost wholesome despite some of the things we’ve learned have happened along the way but still. It’s kind of.. innocent? I don’t know how to describe it. Probably because I don’t know what I just went through.
This isn’t very long so if the premise sounds like your thing or you like strange things, give it a try! It might just work perfectly for you.
** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
A Take from Two Cities 
I wanted to pick this up but don’t think that I knew what I was getting in for. I got it from the library and read a few pages and looked through the formatting and realised it was better if I just put it down and wait for some more opinions to come out about if it was worthwhile reading it. I appreciate your honesty about this and expressing your mixed feelings as it makes it easier for me to make a judgement call on it,
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aw, thank you! I agree the formatting does feel like a red flag of weirdness. it did get easy to follow but it doesn’t quite help if the struggle is already there..
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Milana loved and you didn’t wonder where I’ll end up when I get to it haha
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I mean at this point is anyone surprised.. I’d be curious what you think!!
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