A little over a week ago, I finished reading Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Coming in at 245 pages, it’s not a long read, but let me tell you, it’s a good read. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.
What attracted me to the book was the premise. There is a man living in essentially an infinite labyrinth where all of the walls are covered with statues. And oh yeah, there’s also an ocean trapped in the labyrinth as well. That alone made me pick up the book. In my mind: A labyrinth? Cool! An infinite labyrinth? Even better! Tons of statues? Strange for sure but intriguing. An inside ocean? Also strange, also intriguing! I’ve always loved books that have an interesting starting point like this. I love when the world is super unique, or like our own but different in one subtle way. I just loved exploring this world since there was no telling what would be around the next corner. And I especially loved how fond of his home the narrator is. It made the world seem less intimidating, I think.
While reading the book, I was reminded a lot of the computer game Myst. It too had a creepy world with next to no one living in it. I loved Myst, so this was a welcome delight to reading this novel.
As far as the plot of the novel itself, I don’t want to say too much. I don’t want to spoil anything. It’s so good, you really just need to read it yourself.
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