4.5 Stars
The eponymous narrator’s entire world is the House which consists of countless halls and passageways filled with statues. Above is a limitless sky and below is an ocean. Piranesi believes he and the man whom he calls the Other are the sole inhabitants, though he has found the skeletal remains of thirteen people. He spends his days exploring his world, studying the tides, fishing for food, and writing detailed entries in his journal. He has an intimate knowledge of the various halls and statues, believing it is his duty “to bear witness to the Splendours of the World.” For an hour every Tuesday and Friday, he meets with the Other who often asks Piranesi to bring him information about a particular part of the House.
Piranesi and the Other have different attitudes to the House. The Other, who refers to the House as a labyrinth, sees only “endless dreary rooms all the same, full of decaying figures covered in bird shit.” He does, however, think that the House hides some ancient and secret knowledge which he enlists Piranesi to help him find. On the other hand, Piranesi does not see the House as a place to be exploited: “The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of itself. It is not the means to an end.” He sees the House as a sacred place; he repeats, “The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its kindness infinite.”
The book is structured as a series of journal entries written by Piranesi. Readers soon realize that he knows almost everything about the House but he knows nothing else. Gradually we come to suspect there’s much more going on than Piranesi knows. A concern about losing his memory has Piranesi re-reading his old journals and making some surprising discoveries. The novel then unfolds like a puzzle with new revelations arriving at a steady pace until we and he are able to piece together the truth of his past.
Piranesi is an innocent, gentle soul. He sees the world as one “before the iron hand of modern rationality gripped one’s mind.” He is surprisingly incurious about himself. The Other addresses him as Piranesi; though he knows this is not his real name, he is not curious to find it out. He does occasionally wonder how he has knowledge of things that do not exist in his world, but he doesn’t obsess about that. The Other has many more possessions but, instead of questioning where he got them, Piranesi just assumes the House is more generous with the Other because he is less skilled at taking care of himself. When the Other gives him things, he doesn’t ask about where he got them; instead, he lists them so he will remember to be grateful to the House for giving him such a good friend.
Though Piranesi is naïvely oblivious, there is much to admire about him. He is so kind, taking loving care of birds and the human remains. He is so empathetic that he shows concern for others, even those who might mean him ill. Because he is guileless, he is an easy target for manipulation, and from the beginning, a reader will suspect that the Other is taking advantage of Piranesi. Even his naming Piranesi after an Italian artist known for his etchings of imaginary prisons suggests an ulterior meaning.
It is Piranesi’s sense of innocent wonder that suggests a major theme: there is a magical beauty in the world which people can find if they slow down and observe life around them. Even if a person’s world is narrow and confined, it need not be a prison. Even if a person is isolated from others, s/he need not be bored or lonely. Everyone can achieve a state of joyful mindfulness.
For this reason, though it was not intended as such, the novel is a perfect read in pandemic times when we are being confined and forced into isolation. I am so happy that I disregarded my misgivings about the book’s genre because the novel, like Piranesi’s House, possesses a beauty that can be transformative.
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