Book Review: Piranesi

I recently read through Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, who is best known for writing the epic historical fantasy Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell more than 15 years ago. Piranesi is very different from its predecessor, as it is short and dreamlike in tone while Jonathan Strange was lengthy and arch; I found the novel surprisingly affecting in its simplicity and in the emotional journey of its protagonist.

The book unfolds as a series of journal entries written by the protagonist, who is sometimes called Piranesi even though he is aware that it is not his name, as he chronicles his solitary exploration of a mysterious environment called the House.

Neighborhood Exploration

There is a lot to digest about the events of the last several months; although it has affected all of us differently depending on our individual circumstances, we have all experienced our share of grief, trauma, loss, and loneliness during the pandemic. Still, if we were lucky, we could  find moments of connection, discovery, and growth that occurred in spite of, or even because of, the challenging circumstances.

I live in a pretty walkable neighborhood, and, even prior to lockdown, I would occasionally take walks up and down the main drag in order to meet a “step quota” (I could get 4,000-5,000 steps out of a walk up and down the street) or simply get a little bit of stimulation. My walkable neighborhood became more of a lifeline than ever during lockdown, when other opportunities for getting out of the apartment began to dry up. And, slowly, these walks provided the opportunity for discovering a neighborhood that I had not fully explored, even after living there for more than a decade.

1,195 and Counting

Note: It has been some time since I’ve turned to this blog at all, and even longer since I’ve blogged about anything too substantive. But I realized that, while I have friends and family who I can confide in, I don’t always have a consistent outlet for sharing my day-to-day experiences, expressing my thoughts, or even just checking in about the random things that have piqued my interest. So, I figured I’d resurrect the blog and see how it felt.