Susanna Clarke

I put off reading this for a whole year, the way I used to put off eating a bar of chocolate, a pleasure sored up and deferred. I wish I'd read it sooner. I don't think any piece of fiction has hit as close to home as this in a very long time. It's a strange, spare, fable-like tale of an innocent alone in a strange place, a house with many rooms and corridors washed by the sea. His only companion is a mysterious Other who comes and goes, he thinks, from another part of the House, and the show more remains of thirteen dead people who he cares for and venerates. Then he finds signs of a second living person, and the Other warns him that he is in terrible danger.

It's beautifully written, and wonderfully evocative, but what nearly had me bawling when I reached the end was when I realised how much of a meditation on illness, mental and physical, it actually is, about the loss of Self, the loss of time, the loss of other people, about making peace with that, and being transformed, about the one person who will do anything, go anywhere, to save you, the imopssible enormity of that debt, that love, about the sustaining power of ritual, about how learning to love your own interior landscape helps you survive outside it. I'm nearly bawling again. It's a powerful, profound and deeply affecting piece of work. show less

“I am determined to explore as much of the World as I can in my lifetime... I have climbed up to the Upper Halls where clouds move in slow procession and Statues appear suddenly out of the Mists. I have explored the Drowned Halls where the Dark Waters are carpeted with white water lilies. I have seen the Derelict Halls of the East where Ceilings, Floors – sometimes even Walls! – have collapsed and the dimness is split by shafts of grey Light. In all the places I have stood in Doorways show more and looked ahead. I have never seen any indication that the World was coming to an End, but only the regular progression of Halls and Passageways into the Far Distance.”

Piranesi lives in a labyrinth in a crumbling house with multiple stories, where the sea washes into the lowest floor. Its halls and corridors are filled with statues. This book contains a unique combination of nature and architecture with an innocent and trusting protagonist. It has a dreamlike quality. I suggest going into it knowing as little as possible about the plot. I let it unfold around me and became absorbed in Piranesi’s world. It certainly engages the brain and can be interpreted in numerous ways. It is also a beautifully told story filled with gorgeous imagery and literary references. Most likely, this book is going to inspire a “love it or hate it” response. I loved it! show less

This was enchanting. I have heard very good things about this book (as well as some not so good things). After reading it, I think I will have to agree with those who loved JS & MN. It was long (782 pages), though it didn't feel that way, despite the relatively slow pace of the narrative. The writing is much slower than most books nowadays and the plot points were revealed one by one throughout the book; it wasn't until the last 100 pages or so that I finally had an inclination about how show more everything would resolve itself, and even then, Clarke still provided a number of interesting twists. Clarke's written a world in which magic is a divisive political issue, a passion, and in vogue. Her characters are flawed and there were times I found myself intensely disliking the main characters, only to have them redeem themselves by the end of the book. Highly recommended, and not just to fantasy fans. My only complaint was that while most of the subplots were resolved, there was still so much more that could be done. Despite this, I don't think this is a book that should have a sequel. It is almost perfect all alone and I think a sequel could only hurt it. show less

“I am determined to explore as much of the World as I can in my lifetime... I have climbed up to the Upper Halls where clouds move in slow procession and Statues appear suddenly out of the Mists. I have explored the Drowned Halls where the Dark Waters are carpeted with white water lilies. I have seen the Derelict Halls of the East where Ceilings, Floors – sometimes even Walls! – have collapsed and the dimness is split by shafts of grey Light. In all the places I have stood in Doorways show more and looked ahead. I have never seen any indication that the World was coming to an End, but only the regular progression of Halls and Passageways into the Far Distance.”

Piranesi lives in a labyrinth in a crumbling house with multiple stories, where the sea washes into the lowest floor. Its halls and corridors are filled with statues. This book contains a unique combination of nature and architecture with an innocent and trusting protagonist. It has a dreamlike quality. I suggest going into it knowing as little as possible about the plot. I let it unfold around me and became absorbed in Piranesi’s world. It certainly engages the brain and can be interpreted in numerous ways. It is also a beautifully told story filled with gorgeous imagery and literary references. Most likely, this book is going to inspire a “love it or hate it” response. I loved it! show less