Review : Piranesi
Author: Susanna Clarke
Genre: Speculative Fiction
Published: 2020
I love this book, it is very deep and the writing is elegant and powerful. I think I need some time to digest. When I close the book and search for Piranesi, I realised I have known Piranesi the artist and his work in my first semester of architecture school. I learned about his etchings of Rome and the famous 《想象的监狱》（Le Carceri d'Invenzione), a series of illusional spaces full of arches, statues and stairs. Back then we learned about the composition of space and the concept of space itself. In this book I imagined the House a place like an empty museum, like the British museum where there are marble greek statues, half-horse humans, angels etc. I also thought about the game Hades and Hades II, a rougelike, maze like game with halls, creatures, lost souls, and water of course.
The architecture in this book is conceptual but very descriptive. In addition to Hades, it also reminds me of Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, its sky islands part where civilization is lost in time with relics left behind. In the book, the halls were protective to Piranesi, they were painful for him to remember at first, but he got used to them and felt at home. I have rarely read a book that cast such a vivid vast space through worlds. I think to Piranesi it is not an imaginary prison at all, but it might be that he wanted to protect himself and forced himself to think positively. It may represent the mind as numerous rooms, vessels for events and memories (statues), and how one can navigate in one's own mind (Method of Loci). As someone who practice architecture as a profession, when reading this book, I do find comfort.
I imagine the water and tides as fluctuations of the mind, something Piranesi accepts comfortably. The great flood, the climax of the book, represents the big moment of Piranesi's mind when he realised that the Other lied to him and used him. And it is truly powerful depiction of the scene.
I listened to 2 talks Susanna Clarke participated regarding this book. Piranesi: Susanna Clarke in conversation with Madeline Miller Though I disliked Miller's Circe, the talk was mostly Clarke on Piranesi. Another is Susanna Clarke and Alan Moore in conversation which is quite inspiring to hear the great minds. In both talks Clarke mentioned her love of Ursula Le Guin's Earth Sea, especially book 2 Tomb of Atuan. As a reader this is my happiest moment because Le Guin is my favourite author of all times.
Folio Society has the spot on illustrations.
