the_greywarren's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was very mystical and mysterious and made me feel a lil bit dumb a lot bit, but it was a very quick and fun read once I got into it.
Without saying too much, it follows a young man called Piranesi living in a sort of Greek labyrinth full of statues. I can't really describe the plot without spoiling the entire book, so I recommend just going in blind.
I thought the story was very good and well thought out once it got going, the conclusion was satisfying and the characters were fun to follow. I do think it was a bit slow but it's slowness was not necessarily a bad thing, just a bit hard to get into.
I did also really like the mystery, I wasn't really expecting it so it was a fun surprise. The writing was also beautifully done, and made me very excited to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell. Unfortunately I can't really give it more than a 3.5 as it didn't really hit me as hard as I wanted it to.
Graphic: Confinement and Abandonment
Minor: Child death, Excrement, Animal death, and Death
average's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, Excrement, and Kidnapping
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Slavery, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Child death, Cursing, and Homophobia
Minor: Excrement, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, and Trafficking
Homophobia warning is for what reads to me as the predatory gay stereotype.mcmorgan's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Excrement and Kidnapping
Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Death
wrestleacademic's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Excrement
sabrinalefebvre's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Slavery, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gun violence, Death, and Abandonment
Minor: Murder, Excrement, Suicide, and Fire/Fire injury
tragedies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The story follows Piranesi's quest for truth and explores the eventual pitfalls that come with uncovering it. Though the pace was slow at first and the narrative rather tedious, I still found it incredibly compelling. I just couldn't help but flip the page. It was captivating enough to pique my curiosity yet disturbing enough to make me suspicious, even queasy. The entire time, the writing felt like there was something beneath the surface, a feeling that someone or something was watching. It's strange and intriguing but also enthralling and oddly profound. Rather than a fantasy adventure, it's more of an existential journey, one that used otherworldly elements to raise questions and prove a point.
In the end, everything was tied together beautifully. It was touching and poetic, leaving me with an aching melancholy that I don't quite know how to deal with.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Minor: Excrement and Vomit
chrisljm's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Excrement, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Vomit
Minor: Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture
jaan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Spoiler
Emmanuel Levinas was a Jewish philosopher who wrote on the Other and our responsibility (which can be anything from hospitality to aggression) towards other people. He writes that infinity is the unbounded quality of the face of the other. We witness death only in the death of the other. In coming face to face, the "I" is addressed by the other, and it is chosen to respond, rising to the other, saying, "here I am."
Spoiler
Piranesi also deals, quite literally, with The Other, continuing to answer this responsibility even after his name is revealed.Piranesi, the character, is an extremely loveable person. Since this novel is epistolary, the first few entries take us through who he is, who the other people in the House are (mostly dead, whom he cares for), and his numbering system for the Halls. Once these logistical questions are acknowledged, he goes right into, "Do Trees exist?"
"Imagine water flowing underground. It flows through the same cracks year after year and it wears away at the stone. Millennia later you have a cave system. But what you don’t have is the water that originally created it. That’s long gone. Seeped away into the earth."
Graphic: Gaslighting and Kidnapping
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Excrement and Vomit
whatthelauj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Excrement, Kidnapping, Confinement, and Murder
Also includes cult-like behaviour and non-sexual abuse of power in a teacher-student relationship