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Piranesi by Clarke
Sep. 16th, 2020 10:28 amI will try to keep this review as spoiler-free as possible.
This book definitely does not disapppoint.
For some time before reading Piranesi, I actually avoided reading all the interviews or reviews of the book so I knew nothing about the book besides the fact that it was supposed to have a house and magic. I thought that the book would be set before the modern time or in a vaguely unspecific historical time but I was wrong. This book is set in the 21st century. At the beginning of the book, the main character has an air-headed, innocent feel to himself so he describes everything with a childlike wonder but as the book progresses, there are many sections of the book that are modern in tone. Those sections are very matter-of-fact in a way that reminds me of a crime or mystery novel. The wondrous and modern tones are blended together very well so the change does not feel jarring but natural and adds much to the book.
As for the House, while I was reading the book, I could not help thinking of Gormenghast. I wonder whether Clarke was heavily inspired by Gormenghast because it feels that way. Like Gormenghast, the House seems to have a life of its own. Like Gormenghast, it is filled with so many rooms and passageways that even the person living inside it is unsure of all of its mystery. I have read Gormenghast a few years ago so I can not bring up the specific details that are very similar to Piranesi's the House.
The main plot is about a mystery that slowly unfolds as Piranesi pieces together information. There are not a lot of red herrings in order to obfuscate the readers. The plot is pretty straightforward. All the information is clearly laid out so I knew what was coming while reading it.
The book is quite short so it does not go in-depth into the characters as much as JSMN has done. It does not feel as character-centric. However, many characters are revealed from their dialogues and interactions so even though the books do not go deeply into them, they still feel like characters with personality. Some stand out more than others. In this book, the villains are definitely the ones that stand out most. Despite being absolutely unlikable, they are also fascinating.
While the book feels very different from JSMN in tone, characters, time, they have many similarities. One similarity is definitely the fact that many characters are academic. The book does not have any footnotes but that only makes sense considering that this book is supposed to be a journal that Piranesi is writing. However, the book mentions a bunch of academic-sounding books and there are actual reference lists inside the book. They are probably made-up. One, however, mentions Steven Moffat. I wonder whether there are more references to actual books and people that I have missed.
There are many more similarities but I don't want to give spoilers in this post so I guess I will talk about them later.
This book definitely does not disapppoint.
For some time before reading Piranesi, I actually avoided reading all the interviews or reviews of the book so I knew nothing about the book besides the fact that it was supposed to have a house and magic. I thought that the book would be set before the modern time or in a vaguely unspecific historical time but I was wrong. This book is set in the 21st century. At the beginning of the book, the main character has an air-headed, innocent feel to himself so he describes everything with a childlike wonder but as the book progresses, there are many sections of the book that are modern in tone. Those sections are very matter-of-fact in a way that reminds me of a crime or mystery novel. The wondrous and modern tones are blended together very well so the change does not feel jarring but natural and adds much to the book.
As for the House, while I was reading the book, I could not help thinking of Gormenghast. I wonder whether Clarke was heavily inspired by Gormenghast because it feels that way. Like Gormenghast, the House seems to have a life of its own. Like Gormenghast, it is filled with so many rooms and passageways that even the person living inside it is unsure of all of its mystery. I have read Gormenghast a few years ago so I can not bring up the specific details that are very similar to Piranesi's the House.
The main plot is about a mystery that slowly unfolds as Piranesi pieces together information. There are not a lot of red herrings in order to obfuscate the readers. The plot is pretty straightforward. All the information is clearly laid out so I knew what was coming while reading it.
The book is quite short so it does not go in-depth into the characters as much as JSMN has done. It does not feel as character-centric. However, many characters are revealed from their dialogues and interactions so even though the books do not go deeply into them, they still feel like characters with personality. Some stand out more than others. In this book, the villains are definitely the ones that stand out most. Despite being absolutely unlikable, they are also fascinating.
While the book feels very different from JSMN in tone, characters, time, they have many similarities. One similarity is definitely the fact that many characters are academic. The book does not have any footnotes but that only makes sense considering that this book is supposed to be a journal that Piranesi is writing. However, the book mentions a bunch of academic-sounding books and there are actual reference lists inside the book. They are probably made-up. One, however, mentions Steven Moffat. I wonder whether there are more references to actual books and people that I have missed.
There are many more similarities but I don't want to give spoilers in this post so I guess I will talk about them later.
