Nicola Sebastian
2nd April 2025
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Piranesi, oh sweet Piranesi

Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi follows the story of a man who lives in a house filled with endless hallways and statues. He navigates the movements of his surroundings by documenting its wonders through journaling. The only other human contact that accompanies him is The Other, a mysterious individual endlessly seeking knowledge. Through Piranesi’s eyes, we navigate the mysteries of the house he calls home. 

 

Our memory is a very fragile thing, you see. Our hero, Piranesi, is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Forced to navigate life with nothing but what he knows - and what little he can remember - Piranesi, like a true protagonist, learns to accept it. 

 

The book invites striking comparisons to life. It was one of the first things I managed to spot, and I can only assume it’s what made Susanna Clarke the winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2021. Its impact focuses on themes of memory and beliefs, life followed closely by death, familiarity, lack of human connection, and above all it is a study of solitude. 

Like rainwater lying on a field. The next day the field is dry.Where has the rainwater gone?

Some has evaporated into the air. Some has been drunk by plants and animals. But some has seeped down into the earth. This happens over and over again.
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Piranesi follows a theory of the other worlds, which states that everything that happens must go somewhere. 

 

Through the theory of the other worlds, Piranesi’s fragmented understanding of the house becomes a lens which interprets his surroundings. It is one of the few metaphors in this book that Clarke uses to explain how we cope with memories and their lack thereof. 

 

In theory, we could also say Susanna Clarke presents the alternative side of the water cycle in a much more figuratively structured way, highlighting the intricate contrasts in her writing – and how a mere shift in perspective can change the meaning of words completely. 

It is really difficult to differentiate between both the surrealistic and realistic undertones in this book. You are led to believe it is magical. You want to believe it, and when you get little breadcrumbs of excitement and they actually lead to the witch's house and the witch's house is real because you are aware of the meaning behind said words - I can assure you the book is nothing short of heartbreaking. 

 

Clarke, with remarkable skill, gives the entire voice to the character, making her writing indistinguishable from Piranesi himself. The immersive first-person perspective evokes empathy. You cannot help him, though of course you desperately want to. But as the story progresses you begin to hope that he’ll find his way on his own. After all, our protagonist embodies a quiet but profound bravery.

 

The theory of the other worlds states: 

 

“When knowledge or power went out of this world it did two things: first, 

it created another place; and second, it left a hole, 

a door between this world where it had once existed and the new place it had made.” (Clarke, 2020, p,151.)

 

 

It is a sad truth that someone out there is stuck in a place that has been constructed to make their entire world - simply because they don't know any different. They cannot see the way out, and so they believe that this is all there is to life. The house. And, as Piranesi says: 

 

“The beauty of this house is immeasurable, its kindness infinite.” (Clarke, 2020, p,5)

 

 

Ultimately, this novel is an inspection of solitude, and a meditation of how we cope with the past - what does that do to a person?