‘The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite’
Piranesi is the second novel from Susanna Clarke following Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004). Published in 2020, Piranesi is a swirling puzzle of a book. Written in diary form, the story is set in the mysterious House: there is only Piranesi and ‘The Other’ present and able to travel through the interweaving, statue-filled halls. Below is the sound of waves as four tides meet and crash together. Above, windows reveal sun and starlight. The House and Piranesi’s story are a mystery to unravel.
This is a revelation story, so for online reviews it is certainly not worth spoiling this through fog-removal. But that, in a sense, is what Piranesi feels like to read – fog; the reader must slowly re-learn the rules of that universe and how Piranesi himself uses them for points of reference. What is now important in this world and how is it governed? I’m assuming this is why so many nouns are promoted to proper nouns in the story. Examples such as ‘Windows’ and ‘Corridor’ seem to highlight the importance of Piranesi’s Home to him. The elevation is almost religious; Piranesi believes in the sacred nature of the House, how it will provide for and care for him, seemingly requiring reverement and respect in return.
This story does not have as many overt fantastical elements (except, of course, for the setting) as Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell but certainly blends magical realism with Clarke’s customary depth. Even now, I’m wondering if I’m really getting as much out of the book as I can (this is one reason why Clarke is such a talented writer – there’s some many hidden levels that necessitate rereading). Without the same focus on magic use, and outside of a Georgian setting, Piranesi may be more approachable for a wider-ranging audience. Coupled with the significantly lower page count, this story self-selects for a great place to begin with Clarke’s work. For balance, and as an aside, I would say that Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is well worth getting into; the character development and world building are tremendous, just don’t be too daunted by the page-count.
Despite obvious differences between Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and Piranesi there are overlapping themes. The idea of magic leaving a world is a strong and recurring motif in both stories; how should people accept the change in a post-magic world and is there any hope in generating its return? In Jonathan Strange the disappearance of the Raven King heralds that change in era, whilst here, in Piranesi, it is something perhaps more obtainable and reminiscent of our current world. The rational mind itself has caused a loss of magic, which manifests through the severance of connection with Nature and the natural powers. This is an intriguing concept and maybe something Clarke cautions against for us looking in:
‘They were all enamoured with the idea of progress and believed that whatever was new must be superior to what was old. As if merit was a function of chronology.’
Through the action of improvement we have lost touch with ourself and Nature. To butcher Blake, what is the price of expedience? Clarke has been celebrated then on two counts with relevance to contemporary life: the perils of incessant progress at odds with nature and then also, containment. With its 2020 publication, Piranesi drew many parallels with quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Piranesi’s House and our own, at that time, became sacred places of safety but also enclosures, where mental health suffered.
The front cover on the book depicts a statue of a faun playing pipes. Is this the Greek God Pan, the force for both nature and madness? It seems likely given the ideas presented in the novel. A natural second theme then, is almost a supernatural question of the mind and what madness might be; how it could well be misinterpreted. Certainly, you wouldn’t believe in the right mindedness of people who claimed to have been to other worlds. But suppose it were true, you, the receiver of such information, would not be equipped to validate or critique that finding. Further still, it doesn’t even need to be applied to something as extreme as another world, just think of how it feels having something explained to you that you have no experience of, bearing on, or belief in. You would almost certainly come at such notions from a perspective of disbelief. With this last message Clarke challenges us to cultivate an open mind, or, at the very least, warns against the perils of a closed one.
Piranesi is a gripping slowly revealing puzzle that, once you are hooked, will not let you go until the resolution. A wholly intriguing and mind-bending work that appeals to a broad readership and was rightfully commended as the recipient of the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction.
D