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March 29, 2024, 02:50:38 PM

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Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Started by Small Man Big Horse, October 08, 2020, 01:50:40 PM

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Small Man Big Horse

This is Clarke's second novel after Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, though it's not set in that universe. It is magic based though as an individual is living in an extraordinarily unusual house, one which is impossibly enormous, filled with a fantastical number of statues, and is sometimes flooded by the ocean, and he's there along with one other person he refers to as The Other. But why are they the only two present? And why can't he remember whether or not he has always lived there?

I love Jonathan Strange to pieces, it's in my top 3 ever novels, so expectations were always going to be high despite my best efforts, so perhaps it's not that much of a shock that while I still found myself fascinated by this and really like it a great deal I was disappointed, compared to her first novel it lacks substance a little. It is a really fun read without any doubt, and the characters and story are beautifully written,
Spoiler alert
but the reveal as to what is happening is a little by the numbers, after about 120 pages there's no twists or anything along those lines, so the eventual ending felt a little slight.
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I'm being overly critical I know as it is a book I enjoyed a great deal, but I just wish it had been more of a complicated affair.

Agreed. It was good, engaging and an enjoyable read but lacked the depth and breadth of Jonathan Strange.