CBR 13 # 1 Piranesi

Piranesi lives in a house with many halls, with an Ocean trapped within. There are infinite statues, and birds and fish, and the remains of 13 people who had previously lived there. He lives in isolation save for the Other, who named him and spends one hour, twice a week with him, to talk of his scientific observations. The House is the only place Piransi knows, and he has lived there from the beginning of time. But the arrival of 16, as in the 16th person, would reveal that the Other, the House and even himself, are not what they seem.

The first few pages were a struggle for me. I have been in a years long reading funk (COVID anxiety and my stupid eyes) and I was reading the book trying to make and accurate map of the world in my mind, and it was tripping me up. Finally, I just let the peculiar language and descriptions wash over, to form a nebulous sense of the place, which, I found,  made itself clearer as I read further.

It would do a disservice to those who had not yet read the book to write more of the plot into this review, but that is not to say that the plot is the best thing about it. This book is so different from Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell (the author's first novel, which I also enjoyed immensely).  The first book was quite long, charming and wryly funny. Piranesi is slight, almost a novella.  It is narrated by Piranesi, through his detailed journals, and his writing is odd and formal but also dreamy, especially in the first part.  You will be taken in by his ingenuity, innocence and innate goodness.

I read the book as a meditation on isolation and loneliness, and the exquisite peace it sometimes brings.  But no matter the strength of the pull of isolation, the stronger need to connect with other people always wins out.  I really, really loved this book, and to be honest, I did not expect to be crying by the end, but I was.

CBR V # 1 - Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

A long long time ago, Northern England was ruled by a powerful magician king, The Raven King, John Uskglass.  Magic was abundant and many famous magicians learned and taught the craft.  However, for hundreds of years since its heyday, magic has been dead in England.  Gentlemen who call themselves magicians, are in fact, mere scholars of magic, debating and collecting spellbooks without doing any practical (or even impractical. heh) magic.

But in the 1900's, along came Gilbert Norrell, the only living practical magician and the only practical magician England has seen in a long time.  Norrell is secretive and bookish and not very unlikeable, quite unlike what one would think a magician is (as the book itself points out).  However, Norrell manages to rise in society and government by bringing back to life the dead wife of a high ranking official.  

Then along comes Jonathan Strange, who is quite the opposite of Norrell.  He has and innate talent in magic and taught himself with very little books (since Norrell hoarded most of the magical spellbooks). He is sociable and genial.  Because they the only magicians around, Strange becomes Norrell's student.  They ultimately quarrel and break apart due to different philosophies. From then on moves the story which includes humans enchanted and kidnapped by faeries and other such magical matters.

The book is divided into 3 parts, the first is where we are introduced to Norrell.  The second is when we are introduced to Strange and his path intersects with Norrell.  The third part is entitled John Uskglass and takes us to the final story.

The book is written in a charming and formal manner but the writing is very witty.  In fact, I who am known to be humorless among my peers (i.e. I don't watch comedy) chortled a few times.  The book is veery long but its the kind of book I like.  It wanders around for quite a while but never becomes boring.  The story gains momentum during then end and becomes quite exciting.  There are wonderful footnotes, and really, it's like an alternate history of England if magic were around to help in the Napoleonic wars and other historical events.  

I really liked it and would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy and doesn't mind long books.