A re-read of Susannah Clarke's "Piranesi" and am very pleased, calm and full of thoughts. Clarke herself described her next book as a joyful mystery; I think it applies to "Piranesi", too.
Imaginative, fantastical, experimental; not a book for everyone, but the plot, prose and execution undeniably first-rate.
“Horror novels have this idea that there’s a kind of secret at the center of the world. And that secret is horrific.” This, Clarke observes, “isn’t much of a secret, really.” Anyone can look around at the world and see that. “So this would be more about the fact that, at the center of things, there’s a secret or mystery, and it is joyful.”
Imaginative, fantastical, experimental; not a book for everyone, but the plot, prose and execution undeniably first-rate.
“Horror novels have this idea that there’s a kind of secret at the center of the world. And that secret is horrific.” This, Clarke observes, “isn’t much of a secret, really.” Anyone can look around at the world and see that. “So this would be more about the fact that, at the center of things, there’s a secret or mystery, and it is joyful.”
Susanna Clarke’s First Novel in 16 Years Is a Wonder
The new book from the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell takes place in one house, but in it, she finds infinite space.
slate.com
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