Through the windows he has only ever seen courtyards and walls. Piranesi has spent years trying to find the last of these connected rooms, even though there are only three floors. The world - he calls it the House - consists of endless classical halls, like an ancient temple. It is at first a seemingly small, limited world - but unlike a person stranded on a desert island, Piranesi has no desire for rescue, or even the notion that he should be saved. He sees this world as beautiful, and he is filled with rapture as he thinks upon it. He lives in a world where the words for crisps, biscuits and sausage rolls exist - but the items themselves do not, nor does he seem to think this is odd. Our title character, Piranesi, is another strange fellow. (Thankfully not nearly as long as those awaiting magic's return in Jonathan Strange.) Then those of us who fell in love with her worlds had a desperately long wait. The book became an international bestseller, and was followed by a collection of short stories, The Ladies of Grace Adieu. In her new novel Piranesi, British writer Susanna Clarke limns a magic far more intrinsic than the kind commanded through spells a magic that is seemingly part of the fabric of the universe and as powerful as a cosmic engine - yet fragile nonetheless.Ĭlarke stunned readers 16 years ago with her mesmerizing tale of magic's return to England in her debut novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. What is the nature of magic? What is the nature of reason? Must one cancel out the other? And which is cloaked in a greater illusion?
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