Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Piranesi

A stunning storytelling. Clarke uses the narrator’s limited internal point of view to keep the reader in a state of uncertainty. The atmosphere is both mysterious and kind of serene thanks to Piranesi’s naïveté. He is a very loveable narrator who reminds us that the world is full of little wonders. At the same time, Clarke is able to conjure a dark plot that contrasts abruptly with the narrator’s childlike vision of the world.

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briiforte's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

The writing begins slow and informative, but that’s the whole point. Piranesi is an unreliably naive narrator who strives to see the best The House has to offer. He’s notoriously too kind for his own good, but—once the plot

Spoiler

becomes apparent that The Other is not a protagonist

, the remainder of the story is gripping and magical.

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th206's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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archer3's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Piranesi is a masterpiece. The story unfolds in a way that keeps you reading, wanting to know more. The way it is written, through the POV of the journal entries, really puts you in the shoes of Piranesi and allows you to feel the emotions he is feeling and experience his discoveries in an authentic way. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing at the end.

Spoiler

The way the author explored the changes people go through during life and framed it as different individuals all rolled into one person was magnificent. The final journal entries being from the POV of someone who was neither Matthew nor Piranesi, yet somehow still both of them, really made it easy to sympathize with what the character went through. I enjoyed the author's exploration of a person's evolving sense of self and how their life changes around that.

I will never stop recommending this book.

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cepbreed's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Beautiful, atmospheric, confusing. Piranesi was a book I forgot about for a long time before rediscovering it in my downloads while searching for something to fill up my time on a long plane ride. The writing is beautiful, the descriptions are so atmospheric, but to me, especially in the beginning, it was confusing and therefore unattractive. Nevertheless months later I rediscovered it and finished it and I am so glad I did. Clarke tackles many concepts, but I am most invested in her concept of identity.

Spoiler

Matthew, Piranesi and then the man become of escaping the labyrinth are of the same body, it is their minds that differ. The three have common threads in interests and dislikes, but ultimately are far more different. To Clarke identity has to do with continuity I think. When Piranesi cannot remember writing in the first 21 journals he attributes those to Matthew. And when both identities don’t know what to make of the original world a new identity is formed all together.

I appreciate the meticulous effort put into crafting this story and world.

Content Warnings

abken's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Please do not quit the book before 40%. After 40% the whole genre of the book changes and you will love it.

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