Piranesi

 Piranesi (2020) by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi, our narrator, lives in a world he calls House--an infinitely large place with rooms stretching in every direction, including up to rooms with clouds and down to rooms flooded by the sea. Nearly all of the rooms have large statues and he finds comfort in the statues that watch over him. There have been, as far as he knows, only fifteen people in the House--all but one whom he calls the Other are dead. He meets with the Other only on specific days. Otherwise, he is all alone in the world. He spends his time cataloguing the rooms, doing research for the Other, and recording his findings in journals. He imagines that at some time there might be a sixteenth person; someone new that he can talk with and learn from. But the Other warns him against 16--says that they will try to drive them mad and that Piranesi must, on no account, talk with them. Piranesi begins to have doubts about the Other and when strange messages appear in chalk on the floor of some of the rooms, he begins to question what he has believed to be true. When he finds disturbing evidence in his earlier journals, he's even more confused about what and whom to believe. When 16 finally appears, will they be friend or foe?

There was a great deal that I did not understand though this, I expect, is usual with prophets, their minds being very great and their thoughts following strange paths.

I have many questions. Not least--how did 16 get in and out if Piranesi didn't/couldn't until 16 came to save him? I don't see that they had any more knowledge about how the ritual worked that first time than Piranesi did and yet somehow 16 managed not to be trapped in the House. Why did the Other follow so closely in the footsteps of his mentor {can't be more specific without spoiling the plot}? Why does the House have the effect of amnesia on those who stay so long (kindof like the Turkish Delight Edmund eats in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe that makes him forget how to behave himself properly).

This book was a compelling read even though I'm still not sure I fully understand what's going on. I do understand the backstory to how Piranesi got stuck in the House. It seems to be a somewhat darker take on the parallel worlds of Narnia, This is a place that people from our world can step into and perhaps not make it back. Or a place where they can be held prisoner. Dark and yet a beautiful, captivating story that I found difficult to put down when I needed to do something else (life has a way of getting in the way sometimes...). ★★★★

First line: When the Moon rose in the Third Northern Hall I went to the Ninth Vestibule to witness the joining of the three Tides.

Last line: The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.