Reviews with content warning for Death - Piranesi

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

315 reviews

ayoderable's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Story told from the point of view of the "crazy" man that gives a warning at the beginning of a horror story. Abuses of "great" men. Things we take for granted within our reality. Loneliness. What is truth

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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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paddy_chh's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

I was utterly taken in by the beautiful depictions of the “house”, a place where I would dream of seeing for myself (temporarily). Piranesi was a joy to read about, his childlike innocence and goodness permeated everything he wrote, although this naivety was his downfall. I was a little disappointed that the book did not include any exploration of the labyrinth where Piranesi could have discovered new areas, instead it was all set in places he already knew well. Overall the mystery was not too deep but thoroughly enjoyable. In a book with a narrator less likeable than Piranesi it may have been a tad lack lustre but having an insight into his mind kept the mystery going because i truly cared about him.

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skywhales's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

i like when books make me feel smart by making me feel just a littttllleee bit stupid but not so much that i feel totally lost. honestly i think the hype this got kind of intimidated me more going in than i ended up needing to be? like it felt like i'd overreacted in the end. honestly some of the reviews have me wondering if we read the same book. especially the people saying this is about how life is inherently Bad?? this seems to be quite blatantly saying the opposite

i know some people didn't like the book because of how long it takes for Plot to start happening but i was a kid who read those long plotless manuals about the magic system or bestiary for some kind of specific fantasy world. this was never a problem for me. i liked the journal entries i liked just wandering around the halls i liked the hint of the mystery we got!

all of the characters apart from piranesi felt pretty flat (maybe with the exception of

Spoiler

arne-sayles?

) but maybe that was on purpose. i can't really be too upset about it because after all the book is About piranesi. if we had to only flesh out one character it's good that it was him.

Spoiler

i liked raphael right up until we learned she was a cop :( will never ever be able to truly enjoy a cop character who is portrayed as a Righteous Force For Good and nothing is put into truly examining that idea. though i don't know what i expected from a book of this size and a specific story to tell.

definitely a book i will read again and probably take notes on because a couple of times i was like ohh if i was the kind of person who took notes on books i would make a note of this. couldn't write in this as it was a library book and i don't like writing inside of books anyway because i smudge everywhere but i need to start just. making documents again.

honestly if i leave you with one thing it is that this book is really not at all intimidating as long as you are the kind of person who likes reading about some pointless minutiae (and i am so it worked for me). and despite the awfulness of some of its characters i absolutely believe that this is a book about hopefulness and the beauty of humanity. and i continue to be a Sucker For That Shit.

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aas's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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doodeedoda's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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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.

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