I must admit, I wasn’t hooked from the beginning. I’d preemptively shrugged Piranesi off as a light fantasy, good for fans of Erin Morgenstern (nothing wrong with that, of course, but nothing special, either). Then, about halfway through, the story took a turn I did not expect, and by the end I was a complete convert.

This is a peculiar and enigmatic book, one that raises philosophical and psychological questions I would never have expected from its length and blurb. I truly relished the opportunity to spend time with a narrator who was unreliable but not unlikeable. There is no doubt that the wait was worth it, for this carefully crafted sophomore offering from Clarke.

My full review is available at Keeping Up With The Penguins.