Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


On being alone and loving it, but also loving people

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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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 […]

Weird and wonderful

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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Piranesi is an odd and engrossing little book that feels both similar and entirely different to Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (especially in terms of page numbers). Our titular character (although he’s not sure that’s really his name) lives in the House, a labyrinthine structure with waves thundering through its statue filled halls. Piranesi spends his time exploring, fishing, foraging and calculating the tides while recording everything that happens in his journals, ready for his meetings with the Other. The Other is the only other […]

A labyrinth…. an ocean…. references to Narnia…. everything I’ve ever wanted

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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The Other calls him Piranesi, but he’s fairly certain that isn’t his name. But he’s not sure what else it could be, so he supposes that will do for now. Piranesi is alone (except for the Other) in the House, made up of infinite Halls and Antechambers and Vestibules, populated by only the fish and birds and massive, incredible statues. Oh, and 13 skeletons. Piranesi spends his days fishing, exploring, documenting, and tending to the House. There are Tides to calculate and seaweed to gather […]

The ones that I couldn’t finish (NOT my double Cannonball!)

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Trelegemeproblemet (The Three-Body Problem) by Liu Cixin

Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon

American Demon by Kim Harrison

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Dear readers, I’m not going to lie, I’m racing against the clock to get all of my reviews finished in time for the CBR12 deadline (12 noon EST – or 6 pm Oslo time). I also need to finish 25% of the final novel I’m reviewing, co-parent my autocratic, demanding, and rather clingy almost-three-year-old, plan and prep a three-course New Year’s meal, and possibly do some last-minute shopping. No pressure, right? So when fellow Cannonballer Pixifer posted a review with all of her DNF’s for the year, […]

A labyrinth of isolation and connection

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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Piranesi live in the House. The House is expansive and full of many mysteries. Piranesi lives, for all intents and purposes, alone though the House is occupied by one other person, The Other. What mysteries does the House hold? What lessons is the House ready to teach? And that’s all I’ll say about the plot because the less you know going in, the better. When we are all isolating and distancing from others as much as we can (at least, I hope we all are), […]

“May your Paths be safe, your Floors unbroken and may the House fill your eyes with Beauty.”

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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I actually read this back in September but let it fall through the cracks, and haven’t rated or reviewed it until now. Part of me also just wanted to sit with it, alone, and see what happened. I will say that I was verrrry close to giving this five stars. I was thoroughly charmed while reading it, very quickly began feeling a deep, affectionate love for Piranesi, and felt weird whenever I put the book back down. It kept pulling me back, and I was […]



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