'Piranesi' by Susanna Clarke

From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality.

MY THOUGHTS: 

This book helped me through a very hard time, after the beloved cat who adopted me was killed by a dog. I'd always scoffed when I heard people talking about reading slumps, but over the past few weeks I'd started to think my concentration was shattered for good. As I tried to distract myself from grief with a good read, my mind kept wandering. It turned out I only needed the right book to help me back on track. It's a slim little gem compared to the author's first masterpiece, but has the same magical quality, and I ended up preferring it. Any mystery about a main character who's lost touch with his identity hooks me in from the start.

Piranesi is a young man with amnesia, exiled in a staggeringly huge mansion whose halls are filled with statues. The sea pounds and floods the lower stories, so his daily rituals include keeping track of tides. He's discovered some skeletons of several people whose survival tactics weren't as astute as his own, and cares for their bones as a mark of respect. The only other living soul he sees is a debonair, scholarly man whose knowledge of the House is scanty, but wants Piranesi to help him in his quest for ultimate power and control. Piranesi admires 'the Other' yet we readers can't help sensing the shady gentleman is exploiting him. In fact it is he who named him 'Piranesi' although the young man is sure that isn't his real name. 

The subtext is never alluded to outright, because he tells his own story and never realises. It's the fact that Piranesi's beautiful personality is the asset that helps him thrive while others succumb to the harsh conditions. He's retained a reverential awe of all that's noble and good, whether it's the expressions on certain statues' faces or the antics of birds that visit the halls. And he keeps regarding the House as a protective entity with his welfare in mind rather than a hopeless prison. Piranesi's own benevolent heart enables him to perceive his world as a curious and friendly place, rather than menacing and hostile, or even cold and uninterested. He's essentially a worshipper who'd prefer to bask in the glory surrounding him, rather than restlessly trying to manipulate it for his own ends.  

Piranesi's impulse is always to help others and assume their best motives, so it's super satisfying when his real name and background eventually comes to light. The nature of the House and its decor is revealed too, along with how he first found himself in the plight. There's some great action moments, as the dark brooding powers that have enslaved him won't give Piranesi up without a fight. I'm happy to take this book as a little fable that even when you're majorly screwed by someone unscrupulous, what's been brewing in your heart over the long term will come out when it needs to, so try to make it good.

Is the story perfect? I can think of some aspects that could do with slight tweaks. At one stage well into it, he mentions that he enjoys tying quaint bits of driftwood, coral and seaweed into his hair to signify that he's one with his environment, so I wished I'd imagined him like that from the very start. For other readers who appreciate mental pictures as much as I do, consider that a favour from me to you before you even start. 

Oh, and I highly recommend googling 'Piranesi' in your search engine, because it comes up with the original Piranesi who the Other decided to name this young man after. You get the grim irony when you see it. 

Overall, it's one of the shortest books I've read this year (I finished it easily within two days) but one of the best. Piranesi remarks of the statues, 'Their beauty soothed me and took me out of myself. Their noble expressions reminded me of all that is good in the world.' Thankfully, I can say the exact same of him. Piranesi, with his wonderful example, was there when I needed him. It's what a good book with awesome characters should do for us. 

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