This was a buddy read with a friend and we both tore through it and loved the experience of reading it together.
Piranesi is an epistolary; the entire story is told through Piranesi’s meticulously maintained journals. His voice is childlike and yet he’s wise, empathetic, and logical. I loved the characters; their eccentricities and personalities are well-captured.
The first few pages had me both utterly intrigued and confused. It turned out to be quite the page-turner for me.
It’s only towards the 3rd quarter of the book that the plot starts to take shape. So, the majority of the book just really stretched my mind. Because Piranesi is highly allegorical, reading it felt a lot like a super engaging brainstorm. There are so many symbols, metaphors, and parallels between Piranesi’s world and ours. And while it's fun to read between the lines, I also couldn’t help but appreciate the story for just being. Even stripped of any meaning, Piranesi holds its own as a stunning work of imagination.
I think the premise and plot is masterful, unique, and a bit nuts. It felt like reading a much more contained version of Kobo Abe’s generally bizarre fiction. The writing is super accessible, concise, and clear. For me, the contrast between Piranesi’s logical and rational thought process and the world he lives in plays a strong role in echoing the distance between the rational and irrational.
On the surface level, Piranesi made me realise how much I long to be away from the world we live in. It made me realise how much I long to have a place of my own. But most importantly, on a much deeper level, it made me realise that because there's no escape we need to restore the childlike sense of wonderment and gratitude towards the world that Piranesi has for the House.