Reading "Piranesi," by Susanna Clarke
Plus, an original haiku dedicated to Piranesi.
Reading “Piranesi,” by Susanna Clarke
Mild spoilers ahead.
Before reading “Piranesi” (2020) by Susanna Clarke, I thought “The Tombs of Atuan” (1971) by Ursula K. LeGuin might be my favorite novel about labyrinths. Now, I’m not so certain.
“Piranesi” is an immersive, nuanced novel, deserving of its many accolades to date, including the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Although I haven’t read Susanna Clarke previously, I’m now indebted to the friend who turned me on to Clarke and her latest, captivating work of fiction.
“Piranesi” – The Premise
Meet Piranesi – one of just two occupants of the enigmatic, impossibly vast structure known only as “the House.” To Piranesi, the House is the entire world, the only place he can ever recall living.
Piranesi’s existence is simple:
He survives on fish he catches from the ocean swirling through The House’s waterlogged lower levels, aka “The Drowned Halls.”
He meets twice weekly with “the Other” - his sole companion in the House - to discuss their ongoing research project.
And he fills his days by exploring the House’s many empty halls and vestibules, seeking clues about the “Great and Secret Knowledge” which the Other is obsessed with discovering.
Piranesi dutifully journals the details of his daily life; it is through these entries the story is told. Oh, and there’s one other thing – Piranesi tends faithfully to the remains of the 13 long-dead people who occupied The House before him.
Their skeletons (some bound together with seaweed) rest together where Piranesi has thoughtfully arranged them. He brings regular offerings of food, drink, and verse to these unnamed dead.
These 13 people, plus the Other and Piranesi, are the only people who ever lived in the world, this world of the House. Of this fact, Piranesi is certain.
That is, until the Other reveals that a stranger may soon enter the House and harm the Other. This stranger also has the power to drive Piranesi (who suffers from occasional memory loss) to insanity, the Other tells him. With status quo upended, Piranesi and the Other now brace themselves against the inevitable approach of “16” – Piranesi’s sequentially-apropos nickname for the House’s newest occupant.
Despite the Other’s warnings to avoid 16 at all costs, Piranesi grows increasingly entranced by the stranger’s presence – and the curious messages appearing on the House’s walls. As 16 draws within striking distance, the cat-and-mouse game morphs into a nightmarish sort of “Escape Room” challenge – only the “Room” is a rapidly-flooding labyrinth in which it has become impossible to tell just who is Theseus, who is Ariadne, and who is the Minotaur.
To say much more would be to give the whole game away. But it’s no spoiler to confirm that “Piranesi’s” climax and conclusion are breathtaking – and that the story’s final paragraphs strike chords as haunting as the best of gothic horror.
Intermission - Haiku for Piranesi
“Piranesi” – What Landed for Me
One thing I love about “Piranesi” is how complex and layered the story feels, despite Susanna Clarke’s economic page count. The book barely eclipses 250 pages, and the audiobook* version I listened to was a tightly-paced six hours. This is a major pivot for Clarke, whose debut novel, “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell” (2004), buckled bookshelves at nearly 800 pages.
Yet despite the lean writing, “Piranesi” never feels claustrophobic. Part of this is Clarke’s skillful use of “the House” as setting, which I think lends the prose some of its own impossible roominess. Another part of this is Clarke’s decision to narrate the story through Piranesi’s own pen; our protagonist’s journal entries are always even-paced and spacious – even when Piranesi’s walls begin to close in, as it were.
Spoiler: Another thing I love is the story’s emotional crux, at the moment when Piranesi’s curiosity about the dangerous 16 surpasses his desire to remain “secure” in his obedience and loyalty to the Other. For Piranesi to risk contacting 16 behind the Other’s back is to risk not only the Other’s safety, but also Piranesi’s own sanity.
This tension between staying safe where you are, and longing to explore beyond the permissible boundaries of one’s world (boundaries always so benevolently enforced by wiser, cagier guardians), is so deftly expressed and embodied by Piranesi’s character that I can’t help but think many people (fantasy readers or not) will relate to Clarke’s protagonist.
The question at the heart of Clarke’s novel is not just the plot-specific question of whether Piranesi, the Other, and 16 can survive the coming flood that threatens them all. The deeper question, which extends to all of us as readers and humans, is this:
Would you be brave enough to take a leap of faith between safety and freedom? Between blissful ignorance and painful, irreversible awakening?
Piranesi’s answer to that question has pinwheeled in my dreams for days now. And I suspect there’s still more dreaming to be done.
*P.S. – One last thing I loved about “Piranesi” was the audiobook narration by veteran actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. His reading (really more of a performance than a plain narration) was one of the best audiobook narrations I’ve listened to. Kudos.
“Piranesi” – What Didn’t Land for Me
The only part of the novel that didn’t grip me was the backstory provided about two thirds of the way through, concerning the history of the House and how its previous 13 occupants came to be there. Piranesi discovers this information through a series of old journal entries and news articles which are shared “verbatim” to the reader.
If I were reading the book version of “Piranesi,” this backstory text might have flowed smoother with the overall text and been easier to skim through so that I could hurry on ahead to the main story!
In the audiobook format though, it just didn’t flow for me – which of course, is no fault of Clarke or Ejiofor, and probably says more about me as an impatient reader/listener.
“Piranesi” – Just for Fun
A few points of interest you might enjoy, if you’re still reading this far:
Susanna Clarke wrote this book after a significant and “torturous” battle with chronic fatigue syndrome. Read about her struggle here: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/12/susanna-clarke-i-was-cut-off-from-the-world-bound-in-one-place-by-illness
Are you a C.S. Lewis fan? “Piranesi” includes some subtle, wonderful Narnia references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piranesi_(novel)
Spoiler: “Piranesi” came out in 2020, striking a particular chord with readers who felt kinship with the imprisoned main character during quarantine: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/susanna-clarkes-infinitely-clever-piranesi-is-enough-to-make-you-appreciate-life-in-quarantine/2020/09/08/09836026-f123-11ea-999c-67ff7bf6a9d2_story.html
The End!
Thank you as always for reading! Please let me know what you thought about this article. Confession time, this was my first real book review ever! Hope I did it justice.