"Piranesi" by Susanna Clarke

 

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Copyright: 2021

ISBN: 9781635575637

This was a rather different book than I typically read. It is classified as "fantasy" however it is not like any other fantasy novel I've read, so I believe it would have been more accurate to list it as something like a psychological mystery, but that is my opinion.

"Piranesi" is the name given to a young man, who is the protagonist of the story, by the only other human he knows of, and whom he refers to as "The Other". 

Piranesi lives in what turns out to be a labyrinth, and with the exceptions of the semi-regular visits by "The Other" is by himself. He is surrounded in the hundreds of rooms that make up the labyrinth by thousands of statues of various sizes and themes that all represent at least to him scenes from the world he lives in.

Piranesi has lived in this labyrinth for many years, And has documented his life in a series of journals. The book is formatted as if you're reading his journals, and this makes it a rather unique read.

It was definitely an interesting story, but not one that I would normally have read. I cannot remember how I heard about the story, but I'm quite glad I read it.

I hope you enjoy it.