The adjectives that come to mind when I reflect on this book are "intricate", "obsessive" and "labyrinthian". The story does not unfold, it unravels. The characters to do not so much develop as they rearticulate. If you approach this book with curiosity and a beginner's mind, the result is dazzling.

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arysuh's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-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

4.5

J’ai vraiment kiffé!! L’atmosphère, le retournement de situation, la langue, Chiwetel Ejiofor 🩷

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corinnelucie's review against another edition

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dark inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.75

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kmetzing's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

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godfrina's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.5

When the Moon rose in the Third Northern Hall I went to the Ninth Vestibule.

If I have to read the word "vestibule" one more time this year...

Look, I gotta be honest, I did not love it.

Obviously, I read it for the hype / just wanted a shorter story inbetween other reads. I don't know what I expected.
~~I mean, I kind of do know what I expected, reading the short and deliberately confusing synopsis and such, but I guess........eh?~~

The first 40% or so were an absolute slog for me. I dredged through, like Piranesi through the Drowned Halls; I was this close to my first DNF for the year.
Don't get me wrong, the prose as a whole is beautiful, albeit almost unintelligible. There is paragraphs of "I read it, but that's it". It knits together in the end, yes, however, it left me with an "huh"-feeling, with looming ✨anxiety and dread✨ behind it. I did not think it inspirational or hopeful.

I upped my initial rating of 2 for the second half of the novel to 2.5 as I clearly had a lot of thoughts right after finishing the story and that in itself always counts for something in my book.

Content Warnings

spoiledmilk's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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toffishay's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This book pulled me in and didn't let me go! I haven't stayed up late to read a book in quite a while, and the fact that I did in this case is really telling. I was intrigued by the House and the questions surrounding it and Piranesi's time there. There is a lot of existential joy and atmospheric beauty to behold in these pages, mixed with mystery and intrigue, and the danger inherent in the belief that you are smarter than everyone else or that you are above the World that holds us all. I think that the book drags a little bit when some revelations are made and then the ending wraps things up in a pleasant, but not amazing way given how interesting most of the book is. it's hard to describe: I wasn't disappointed by the ending, but I was surprised. I went into this book knowing next to nothing about the plot and I was pleasantly surprised in many ways. I'll be thinking about this one for weeks to come.

Content Warnings

balina_elah's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

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