levesc17's review
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? No
5.0
Wow! What an unusual book; lovely and thought provoking, and fantastical. It’s told from one character journaling the whole story and the narrator’s voice is delightful and whimsical which guides you through the mystery of the plot effortlessly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Murder and Vomit
readingcorvid's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Tedious and remarkably shallow for all its mythological references. Then again, fantasy was never my cup of tea. This just reminded me why.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Vomit, and Death
Minor: Child death
troldmand's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Murder, Slavery, and Gun violence
Minor: Vomit
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
4.5
Content Warnings
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.bri__'s review
dark
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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
This book had such an original context, I have never read anything like this and the writing style is very entertaining. The mystery component was interesting and the journal texts were both visually appealing and made it easy to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Murder, and Dementia
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
tragedies's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- 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
Clarke's labyrinthine House feels like Plato's cave. Instead of shadows, there are statues. And instead of prisoners, there is Piranesi. He resides in these halls, alone with only marble sculptures and birds to keep him company. Except for the occasional visit from The Other, he remains alone... until he is not.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Minor: Excrement and Vomit
chrisljm's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Despite the short length of the book, it is a slow start full of world building. However once you get past that it is so incredibly captivating, and I come to realize how amazing the world building is. Although Piranesi isn’t the only character, he is pretty much the only character you see majority of the time, but even so he’s engaging and the storytelling is fantastic, immersive, and so unique. I loved how soft the fantasy elements were and the way the novel was structured. Basically everything that I found slightly confusing at first were all things that I came to appreciate and really enjoy.
I think Susanna Clarke deserved the awards she got for this book, and I understand why I heard so much praise for it, but I can also see how this book wouldn’t be for every type of reader. Luckily, I enjoyed it immensely and I found that this is the type of story that lingers and leaves a lot to think on afterwards. One of them being that personally, I would love to see The House because to Me it sounded beautiful despite its solitude. I also think it would be interesting to see how other readers viewed The House, in a personality test type of way.
Content Warnings
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
I really, really loved this book. It is paced EXCELLENTLY, which has been a gripe of mine for quite a few recent reads. Clarke's imagery and descriptions are stunning, and she does a really good job acclimatizing you to the endless Halls and the way Piranesi has numbered them. I felt a lot of influence from Jorge Luis Borges' short story "The Library of Babel." My friend pointed out strong visual memory imprints similar to CS Lewis' The Magician's Nephew (I personally got way too excited about the reference to Mr. Tumnus) and William Blake's writing from The Marriage of Heaven of Hell, and specifically his ideas on the doors of perception. This book also deals with memory a lot, and while I wouldn't quite call it dementia, memory loss is a motif through the end of the book.
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."
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."
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."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting and Kidnapping
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Excrement and Vomit
jamieruwen's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Not what I expected at all and it was so good regardless! Piranesi is so lovable, the house is so beautiful, and plot was just riveting like man I was tense when (redacted events) really kicked off the plot. Loved it.
Content Warnings
Minor: Vomit
Moderate content warning for drowning/threatening bodies of water. Explicit content warning for unreality.honeyvoiced's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, and Kidnapping
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Vomit