Review: 'Piranesi'

 ©2020 All Rights Reserved Lynne Perednia

Piranesi
By Susanna Clarke
Fantasy
Bloomsbury

The flooding waters are rising, and getting closer. A lone person scrambles into a safe niche among the marble statues filling a hall. The water recedes. And that lone person resumes his ongoing task of chronicling the world in which he lives.

That world is one of endless halls filled with marble statues, each one unique, and an ocean enclosed within the house that contains those halls. There are birds and no other humans, save one. The Other, who meets with our lone narrator twice a week, never stays long.

The lone person is called Piranesi by The Other. And in this new novel by Susanna Clarke, who brought the brilliant saga of Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell to life, Piranesi's world is both enchanting and strange. Piranesi is a careful observer and chronicler of his world. It's uncertain how he knows some things and how he came to be. There are 13 others, but they are the skeletal remains of people he never knew in life.

During the regular meetings with The Other, he urges Piranesi for specific kinds of information to aid his own search for some Great and Special Knowledge. Although Piranesi is willing to help out, he begins to question the thesis when new information presents itself, or himself. There may be a 16th, another person. The way that The Other regards this stranger recalls the overbearing, nearly cult-like leaders of Iris Murdoch's books. Soon there are vibes that recall Tartt's The Secret History.

Piranesi also has a deep philosophical reason for not wanting to pursue this search for knowledge. As he puts it, if the House where he lives is merely a riddle to be solved, then solving the riddle will leave the House as nothing more than scenery. The House, as he calls it, is literally his world. Every inch of it means more than scenery to him.

He also likes the idea of abandoning this specific search because it would free him to go wherever his discoveries and accumulation of data may lead. To pursue knowledge of its own sake, as one fact leads to another, is something that obviously inspires Piranesi. 

Indeed, one of the lovely aspects of reading this novel is seeing how Piranesi is fascinated by and in awe of his world. As the story progresses, this is something that does not fade and does not disappoint.

Without saying whether the mysteries set up in the story are solved, it is important to note that the novel holds up and does not disappoint. There is another grand idea that Clarke explores fearlessly, but bringing it up is too close to being a spoiler. But that grand idea is key to this remarkable storytelling. Reading Piranesi is as exciting a discovery as any of the great world-building novels of the past few decades, including not only Clarke's debut, but also The Shadow of the Wind and Erin Morgenstern's novels.

Review: 'The Starless Sea'

The Starless Sea
By Erin Morgenstern
Fantasy
November 2019
Doubleday
ISBN: 978-0385541213

A story about stories, about lovers meeting in different guises and different settings, trying to destroy fate to keep it from away from time, a paradise for every book lover and a sea without stars in the depths of the world -- they are all in Erin Morgenstern's second novel, The Starless Sea.

It has been eight years since Morgenstern's first novel, The Night Circus, was published to acclaim. The new novel is another gift in world-building in which everything is created with grace, beauty and magic. Love of story and of the arts of creating and reading are sprinkled on every page:

Passionate love stories were manipulated into the vacancies between raindrops and vanished with the end of the storm. Tragedies intricately poured from bottles of wine and sipped thoughtfully with melancholy and fine cheeses. Fairy tales shaped from sand and seashells on shorelines slowly swept away by softly lapping waves.

This is what is contained in the world created by Morgenstern that exists in another dimension, another time, or in endless caverns under the ground of the world. There are those who look after the world, who have suffered much for the honor of doing so, and those who are granted access to that world whether by chance or design, who fall through doors or stumble upon them.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins stumbled upon this world. He nearly found it as a child when he came upon a beautiful door that didn't fit its surroundings. But he didn't turn the doorknob and walk through. Now a graduate student, he comes across an uncatalogued book, titled Sweet Sorrows, and that incident is in the book.

He is soon drawn into an adventure by people who seem to know him, although they are strangers to him. Doors that lead to this world of books and stories are involved. So is a storytelling pirate, a woman who fell into that world as a child, a dollhouse and the symbols of a sword, bees and keys. And an owl king. And lovers that search for each other over the years, as Time and Fate search for each other after they are separated forcibly. Tropes and stories circle back to older stories. Or perhaps later stories not yet told, but foreshadowed.

Because in the midst of the derring-do adventures, it is stories, how they are told and what they mean to those who hear or read them that are the heart of The Starless Sea.

Early on, in a gathering of students, the importance of story (in both written and gaming versions) is savored:

"Isn't that what anyone wants, though?" the girl with the cat-eye glasses asks in response. "To be able to make your own choices and decisions but to have it be part of a story? You want that narrative there to trust in, even if you want to maintain your own free will." "You want to decide where to go and what to do and which door to open but you still want to win the game," ponytail guy adds. "Even if winning the game is just ending the story." "Especially if a game allows for multiple possible endings" Zachary says, touching on the subject of a paper he'd written two years previously. "Wanting to co-write the story, not dictate it yourself, so it's collaborative."

And, later:

"Everyone is part of a story, what they want is to be part of something worth recording."

It's the same with stars, according to one tale within this tale about a man who sells stars:

"Everyone wants the stars. Everyone wishes to grasp that which exists out of reach. To hold the extraordinary in their hands and keep the remarkable in their pockets."

Also, when likening a story to an egg:

"You want to be in the story, not observing it from the outside. You want to be under its shell. The only way to do that is to break it. But if it breaks, it is gone."

To have one's life matter, to be cherished, to be known by someone else -- whether reader or lover or both -- these are the things that matter in The Starless Sea.

This novel is a faerie-blessed mythical tale of spun magic. But it also is a serious meditation on how a person matters to oneself and to at least one other person who learns of that person.

This is the stuff of "only connect" and Joan Didion's admonition for us to tell ourselves stories in order to live.

©2020 All Rights Reserved TheLitForum.com Reviews and reprinted with permission

Review: 'Trail of Lightning'

Trail of Lightning
By Rebecca Roanhorse
Fantasy
June 2018
Saga Press
ISBN: 978-1534413504

In a post-apocalyptic American West, in which most of the landscape and civilization have disappeared after the Big Water and the Energy Wars, a young woman comes of age and into her powers as a monsterslayer.

Maggie is Diné, Navajo. She is alone and determined to remain that way. Those she loves have either been horrifically killed or left her. Her mentor deserting her weighs her down. Neighání is an immortal hero. But even he appeared disturbed at Maggie’s ability, and led her to believe she is as much a monster as those she hunts.

After months of being holed up alone in a single wide, she is called to try to rescue a young girl from a monster, who snatched her from home and ran up a mountain. The people who are desperate enough to seek her help are afraid of her. Maggie does little to dispel that fear, even during bargaining for payment if she prevails. Like everything else in Maggie’s life, she is successful but at a great cost. And her prevailing is likely to be misunderstood.

Back home, Coyote awaits her and sets her off on a quest. She goes to Tah, an elder Diné who once saved her life, for advice. He sends her off with his grandson, Kai, who is studying to be a Medicine Man, whether Maggie wants him or not.

The twists and turns in the relationships that take place are as exciting as the action in the adventure of the quest. There are other characters introduced to be intrigued by and to care about. And there are repercussions that await in the second book in the series.

The world-building in this, Roanhorse’s debut novel, is excellent. One reason for the strength of the world-building is the foundation of the Dinétah. The word usually means the homeland of the Diné, but it also can refer to being among the people. The concept, this being among, imbues every page. 

The world-building also serves as the setting for compelling, complex characters with more to be discovered about them. Storm of Locusts is the second book, to be published in April. (Just don’t read the preview information; it contains spoilers.)

©2018 All Rights Reserved TheLitForum.com Review and posted with permission

Review: 'The Real Boy'

THE REAL BOY
By Anne Ursu
Middle grade fantasy
September 2013
Walden Pond Press
ISBN: 978-0062015075

Oscar is a young boy who loves what he does -- he gathers herbs and other plants and prepares them for use by Caleb, the magician who took him in years ago.

The routine calms him, his world is orderly, he and the cats get along well and he secretly reads some of the untold number of books in Caleb's library at night. He sleeps in a small room next to his workroom, both underground. The only thorn is Caleb's apprentice, Wolf, a cocky older boy. They work in the Barrow, shops where small bits of magic go into what is sold, for both regular people and the rich ones who live in the barricaded city.

When Caleb leaves on business, Wolf and a young female apprentice take off for an afternoon in the forest. They don't survive. Caleb ends up spending more time away than he's at the shop, while Oscar is overwhelmed trying to help customers. When he makes an amazing discovery, it's a good thing he finally has someone he can talk to -- the healer's apprentice, Callie. She's nearly overwhelmed herself, as the healer starts spending as much time away as Caleb has been.

Left on their own, and with the world around them changing, Oscar and Callie have a strenuous hero's journey to undertake in Anne Ursu's beautiful high fantasy, The Real Boy. Reading only on the level of adventure, it's a grand story indeed. But Ursu has woven a far richer tale. The Real Boy also has Oscar questioning everything about himself and what he thought he knew.  Since the author has a young son who has autism, Oscar's questions are poignant and revealing. Readers also are led to question the world that the city folk have set up for themselves, and what happens when people try to keep hurt and risk at bay.

The Real Boy is a wonderful story for middle grade students and above, including adults who think they know what is best and don't listen to children any longer. There is a generous spirit at play in these pages to delight any who would enter.

2013 All Rights Reserved CompuServe Books Reviews and reprinted with permission

Review: 'Poison'

POISON
By Bridget Zinn
Fantasy
March 2013
Hyperion
ISBN: 978-1423153412

Talk about starting a book off with a great hook. Sixteen-year-old Kyra is a fugitive, a master potion maker who failed in her attempt to assassinate the princess, her former best friend. Following an attempt to sneak into her old home, shared with two other master potioners, she decides that she has no choice but to seek out Arlo, the master of thieves for help in finding Princess Ariana, who is now in hiding. Arlo literally sells her a pig in a poke.

The story then switches into a teen version of “It Happened One Night”, with Kyra running into a handsome young man named Fred. Fred’s dog, a wolf-like creature, and Kyra’s pig, which Fred names Rosie, immediately bond. Kyra keeps getting distracted about her mission because of Fred’s green eyes.

Halfway through, it is disclosed that Kyra has visions, she is a witch who is trying to deny her power and it is because of a vision involving the princess that she is trying to kill her former friend. Other revelations come throughout the story, most of which are not surprises.

Despite the premise, the novel is sweet. The tone is completely different after Fred, a prince of a guy, strolls onto the scene. Both the more serious tone of the opening scenes and the subsequent romp that follows would entertain middle school girls, who are not as likely as a certain older reader to get irritated with the lengthy introduction to Fred that was supposed to be a “meet cute” scene. Older tweens may be entertained, but it's probably too young for high school, despite the heroine’s age.

©2013 All Rights Reserved CompuServe Books Reviews and reprinted with permission

Review: 'Grave Mercy'

GRAVE MERCY                                                                  
By Robin LaFevers
YA fiction
April 2012
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 978-0-62834-9

Ismae escapes the prototypical fate worse than death – an arranged marriage to a brute – when he sees her scars that mark her as a daughter of Death in medieval Brittany. She is sent via an underground railroad of priests and herbwitches that still worship the old gods to a convent, where she is trained in the arts of the poisoner, the assassin and the courtesan to serve Mortrain, or Death.

After some minor successes, circumstances force the abbess to send her to court to serve the teenage duchess by keeping an eye on the royal bastard brother. Duval is neck-deep in intrigue that surrounds the orphaned duchess and as many attempts to marry her off as Elizabeth I juggled two hundred years later.

The questions of trusting him as an ally and potential lover fit well within the plot, which balances historical fiction with the palace intrigue and battle maneuvers (not shown but discussed), romance with the attraction Ismae and Duval feel for each other, and high fantasy as Ismae comes into her heritage as the daughter of Death.

What follows may be seen as spoilers by some: