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BOOKS I READ: Piranesi (2020) by Susanna Clarke. Piranesi lives alone in a labyrinth of unending halls. The sea rises in its lower level; clouds roam the upper level. Birds nest among the many marble statues that adorn the halls in the habitable middle level. Piranesi calls it the House, an entity that provides him with everything he needs to survive. Piranesi spends much of his time exploring the House. He even cares for the bones of a few departed souls he finds. His only human contact is with The Other, a mysterious older man who visits twice a week for an hour.
Piranesi keeps detailed journals to help him remember the past. When he begins reading some of his older volumes, the real world slowly begins to intrude his otherworldly existence. He wonders whether the House may be the cause of his amnesia, raising questions about who he is and why he is there.
Curious about the Piranesi name, I discovered Giovanni Battista Piranesi, an Italian architect and artist known for his etchings of elaborate maze-like structures, including a set called, “Imaginary Prisons,” that are reminiscent of the House.
NB: using Medium’s shortform posts to chain recent reads. Go to previous book:
