Reviews tagging Physical abuse

Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke

12 reviews

troldmand's review

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dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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victoriajossmith's review

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

4.5


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careohleen's review

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

3.75


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nebraskanwriter's review

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adventurous challenging emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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sassylk's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Spoiler the secret history meets the labyrinth! what a novel. I found I was unable to put it down and would get annoyed when people interrupted me, which I haven’t had with a book in a while now. The House is so well described that I felt that I was trapped/ living next to Matthew. Have recommended to everyone I live with! The only problem is that I want more to be explained - what happened to Laurence? who was the little girl who is one of the dead? Why did it take so long to find Matthew? All in all, the book was fascinating and completely original, well deserving of winning the women’s prize.
 

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racheybakey's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful fast-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

5.0

Piranesi is a book about the beauty of the mind, that breaks barriers of understanding around normalising different experiences of reality and mental health. 

The language is accessible throughout, creating visceral images of Piranesi's beautiful world. The main character's voice draws you in from the outset, and although we know relatively little about him, I immediately loved and felt for him. Susanna Clarke has a talent for world building that I have never read before. 

Even when the plot feels unclear, the viscerality of the world kept me hooked. This then leads seamlessly into a complex exploration of what it is to be empathetic to different experiences of reality - an important anti-ableist discussion that is relatively unexplored in fiction. 

An unreal book, first five stars of the year. Can't wait for a re-read to live with Piranesi all over again. 

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aggie24's review

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mysterious reflective slow-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


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admiralsmall's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A book that deserves analysis... that plays with ideas of ancient philosophy, belief, and what a text is... but is also a critique of powerful men in powerful places doing whatever the hell they want for the sake of themselves. 
It was such a page-turner as well. A book that should have felt dense and dull... just plagued my thoughts all day long... I absolutely adored it. 

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dyfjfy7's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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tinyelfarcanist's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What a strange and whimsical tale!

This cover needs a disclaimer: Piranesi is NOT a satyr. I was very disappointed.

It was very confusing at the beginning and I was bothered that it made no sense for Piranesi to know what an albatross is, or the meaning of wife and aristocratic. Once you start to get what is going on you can't put it down.

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