I read and provide my thoughts on Piranesi

^{ON THE TWENTIETH DAY OF THE SECOND MONTH OF THE YEAR THE CAT CAME TO THE FIRST BEDROOM OF THE MAIN HOUSE}

I read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell way back in the day when it came out, and was really blown away by it. Susanna Clarke's ability to combine a Victorian literary style with fantasy, and the sheer level of detail, along with the delightful prose and characters, was a joy to read. So needless to say that I was pretty excited about finally getting to read Piranesi.

Piranesi is just about the polar opposite of JS&MN in style and tone. It's much more focused on vibe and atmosphere than detailed plot and worldbuilding, and creates a wonderful dreamlike mood throughout the whole story. That's not to say that there isn't any plot, and it's actually quite compelling. I'm a sucker for parallel/multiple-world stories and this was a really great variation of that. The concept of being in the other world of the House slowly removing your memories is a clever way of implementing the plot twist of Piranesi being Matthew Rose Sorensen for example. The book also very much felt like a love letter to exploration and knowledge itself – which is actually pretty similar to the narrative in Jonathan Strange. As always Susanna Clarke is just an excellent writer from a technical standpoint as well, with a clear, elegant style that's a joy to read.

Also, there's a lot of the story that really resonated with me on a personal level, as a neurodivergent individual with autism, ADHD and generalized anxiety disorder. I don't think Clarke intended it to be as such, but I found a lot of the story to be almost metaphorical to my own ADHD experience – the world being a distracting, loud and overwhelming experience and having this peaceful, quiet sanctuary as your "happy place". And Piranesi using his journal and cataloging his thoughts and his journeys throughout the house as a way to centre himself felt very much like something I do as well. Even the presence of the Other and Raphael, characters representing people in my life that have either manipulated me or been there to support me – it all felt very relatable. Even if Susanna Clarke didn't write it as a metaphor for neurodivergence, I guess that's what makes it a great piece of art, to be able to interpret it in a way the author may not have even thought of.

I do have one nitpick with the book, and that is the fact that it almost felt rushed and a little too short. There is something to be said about brevity and not stretching out a story more than you need to, but with Piranesi it was the opposite, and it almost felt like a compressed, summarized version of a bigger, grander story. I do wish that the story was given a little bit more room to breathe, and I felt like the stakes escalated VERY quickly in the final third of the book. Things like Matthew/Piranesi spending time in the House exploring, coming back to the house with Sarah etc. – I wouldn't have minded a bit more time spent on those.

Regardless, Piranesi is still a wonderful fantasy story and another banger from Susanna Clarke. I guess we wait another decade plus for the next book now…