PIRANESI Makes A Strong Case for A Perfect Novel | Susanna Clarke | Book Review, Essay
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Susanna Clarke presents a compelling case for what constitutes a perfect novel through her contrasting works, *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell* and *Pyreanese*. While the former is celebrated as a masterful brick of fantasy that rivals Dickens in its intricate construction, it serves primarily as an introduction to her unique literary voice. In contrast, *Pyreanese*, despite appearing lean on first glance, reveals itself upon closer inspection as a dense labyrinthine novel filled with endless halls, stately statues, and profound mysteries. This work explores a world of Platonic ideals where dualities such as the living versus the inanimate, or Pyrenees against his fellow researcher Sir Donquixote, create an eerie yet perfect existence that eventually shatters when the possibility of a third human being emerges to disrupt their isolated reality.
The narrative structure of *Pyreanese* is deeply rooted in epistolary form, allowing its unreliable narrator to sift through journals and explore the mysteries of his past with what he initially believes is accuracy before discovering the truth is far more complex. Clarke portrays Pyrenees as a scientist from an extinct variety—a natural philosopher akin to ancient Greeks—whose methodical approach to gathering information defines the book's intellectual landscape. This setting evokes strong elements of dark academia, where the pursuit of forbidden knowledge clashes with personal values and creates early conflict between characters. The story masterfully intertwines themes of discovery, loneliness, and the bittersweet nature of uncovering secrets that reshape one's understanding of life itself.
The reading experience is elevated by Chet Eio's sublime narration, whose sonorous voice transforms the cerebral text into a meditative journey. Although the novel often dwells in melancholy solitude, it ultimately shines with hope and captures the joy inherent in discovery while acknowledging the severity of isolation. For readers who may have missed this gem or are looking for another masterpiece from Clarke, *Pyreanese* offers an immeasurable pleasure that warrants a second chance at listening to its full narrative. The author's slow shaping of stories results in great beauty, reminding audiences of Donna Tartt while establishing her own special place in literature with works that demand repeated engagement and deep reflection.
In conclusion, Susanna Clarke stands as a writer who does not produce many words but crafts them slowly into something truly exceptional. Her ability to blend fantasy elements with philosophical inquiry creates novels that feel like gifts rather than mere entertainment. As the reviewer reflects on her career spanning twenty years, there is hope for future works from an author whose output remains so special it feels almost rare in today's literary landscape. Whether one returns to re-listen to *Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell* or dives into the depths of *Pyreanese*, Clarke's novels offer a unique synthesis of mystery and beauty that continues to captivate readers long after the final page is turned, leaving them eager for more from this singular talent.
Read the full video transcript
Is there such a thing as a perfect
novel? Susanna Clark's 20 odd year
career as a writer offers two compelling
cases. Her first novel Jonathan Strange
and Mr. Norl is a Denzian work of
fantasy considered by many a friend of
mine bettered in Dickens owns. It is a
masterful brick of a novel, the kind
that can easily be used for murder if
one has the proclivity.
Not so with Pyreneesi.
One mustn't let the lean appearance of
this volume fool him. It is a dense
wander of a novel. There is a house, a
place akin to a labyrinth, sprawling and
endless. There's the beloved child of
the house, Pyreneesi. There's the other,
Pyrenees's fellow researcher,
a man of Sir Donquit and occasional ill
humor. And there's the other 13, none of
them living. Not anymore.
And the halls endless, full of stately
statues and mysteries, and shining with
a strange perfection.
A world of platonic ideals, eerie in its
differences from our own. A world of
dualities, Pyrenees and the other,
living beings and inanimate matter, the
terrible sea and the endless house.
But all that comes crashing down,
doesn't it? When the possibility of a
third living human being comes to the
four with this possibility begins an
unraveling in the world as Pyrenees
understands it.
For the longest time I imagined Pyrezi
to be something different from what it
was. I thought it a book steeped in
Greek mythology imagined Pyneesi as a
monster trapped in a labyrinth on some
faroff Ionian island alone and tossful
in exile. Finally reading it 5 years
after its release I found myself
patently wrong. Yet
the reading of Pyrei
felt like a wonderful synthesis
of what I thought it would be and what
the novel actually was. Pyreneesi is a
scientist of a long extinct variety,
a natural philosopher in the vein of the
ancient Greeks.
The book reflects his method of
gathering information and exploring the
world. It is in part epistlary
seeing this unreliable narrator explore
his journals for answers regarding the
mysteries of the world and his own past.
A past he at first believes he can
recount with perfect accuracy.
The truth, however, couldn't be more
different than that.
I did not expect quite the mystery I
found among these pages that made it all
the more delectable. There is something
of dark academia to find here plenty in
fact.
The pursuit of forbidden knowledge
defines one character. Pyrenees's own
disregard for such knowledge is plain.
The fact of it an early point of
conflict and contention between the
values of our protagonist and the other.
I had the pleasure of listening to Chet
Eio's sublime narration. His sonous
stones in vocal range made of a cerebral
read a downright meditative experience.
Pyrenees was in truth a gift, a pleasing
experience cloud in solitude, a
melancholy read at times, but hope
kept on shining true. It well captures
the joy of discovery, the severity of
loneliness, the pleasure and hurt in
uncovering a mystery, intertwining one's
own life.
My own pleasure in reading this book has
been
immeasurable.
If you've missed out on it until now,
you might be pleased to give it another
chance.
And you should. It really is something
special. It also reminds me that I must
most certainly return to my read of
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norl. A book
that I have listened to for no small
amount of time, but that I need to
listen to for longer still.
I wonder if we'll get to enjoy another
one of Susanna Clark's novels.
She is not
a writer of many many words. Her stories
are shaped slowly and
result in great beauty. She reminds me
indeed
of Donna Tart, the author of The Secret
History and The Goldfinch.
She only has, I mean Tart, three novels.
I hope we get at least another one by
Clark
as her work is something special indeed.
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I'll see you next time. I'm Philip
Magnus. You're not.
Bye.