Review ~ “Piranesi” by Susanna Clarke
Star Rating ~ 5/5
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Synopsis
Piranesi lives in a house. He knows all the alcoves and halls. He knows the only other person who lives in the house and he calls him “The Other”. One day, The Other tells him about a new person in the house and when Piranesi starts to find clues, the house and Piranesi himself might not be completely who he thinks they are.
What I liked about “Piranesi”
If you haven’t read or listened to Piranesi you are missing out. The mystery of what was going on was so beautifully written by Susanna Clarke and delivered by Chiwetel Ejiofor (Audiobook). I was so obsessed while listening to this book, I just HAD to know what was going on. Once it was revealed, it wasn’t a disappointment and I was gripped until the last page.
What I didn’t like about “Piranesi”
As with all my five star reads, there wasn’t anything I didn’t like. I was a little confused at the end but I had an excuse to go back and listen to Chiwetel Ejiofor again so I’m not complaining. I suppose one of the only “annoying things” was that the book is written like a journal. So each new entry is dated. However, it’s obviously not dates from this world, so Piranesi dates them based on significant events. So everything takes place on “this day, of this month, of the year the albatross came to the south western hall” which is fine but it’s read out at the beginning of every chapter. Usually if I was reading the book I would just skip over that bit, but because it was an audiobook, it was read every time and it got a bit like “yeah, yeah, TELL ME WHATS’S HAPPENING!!”
Overall Thoughts on “Piranesi”
I couldn’t give “Piranesi” anything other than 5 stars, from Clarke’s incredible storyline to Ejiofor’s perfect performance. Once I finished the audiobook I HAD to own a copy of the book and now I have one (which you can read about here).
You can get a copy of “Piranesi” here
You can follow Susanna Clarke on - Goodreads - Website