Susanna Clarke's Piranesi: Gaslight gatekeep girlboss

The beauty of this book is immeasurable, and its kindness is infinite.

We all love Susanna Clarke's 2012 metaphysical thriller, which feels like a mashup of Borges/C.S. Lewis/Gone Girl. 

Venture deeper into the labyrinth with us:

Piranesi as amateur scientist: On indigenous knowledge, the dangers of naïve empiricism, achieving dominion over nature, and whether the Other kind of had a point.

Metaphysics of the House: Are abstractions real, revisiting Plato's world of perfect forms, and whether the world is fundamentally Good.

Identity and mental illness: The illusion of stable personhood over time, repressed memories as trauma response, and how a person with dementia or psychosis can maintain a consistent internal worldview.

CHAPTERS

• (00:00:00) meet the Beloved Child of the House


• (00:09:55) Piranesi as amateur scientist


• (00:19:48) metaphysics of the House and Plato’s theory of forms


• (00:38:13) C.S. Lewis allusions


• (00:41:21) The BIG REVEAL (spoilers)


• (00:46:30) The illusion of stable personhood


• (00:55:02) Internal consistency of dementia or psychosis patients


• (01:02:30) Piranesi’s escape and reintegration


• (01:09:11) Is the world (or the House) fundamentally Good?

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NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

Crime and Punishment - Dostoyevsky (reading in three parts over six weeks)