Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

 

This book is so particularly nuanced that to write about it at all would require a spoiler alert. I don't want to spoil it, so I'm going to be careful.

I believe the point of this story is to take the journey alongside Piranesi, the main character. You need to go on the ride too as an unexpected mystery pops up and finds resolution. For that reason, being careful means I won't talk about plot. I will say that this book is perfectly written and I enjoyed the flow of the story in the same way I liked Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. 

Piranesi explores the darkness of human nature and our innate need to find answers and make discoveries. It's also a book about survival, instinctive kindness, and the impact our environment plays in shaping us as people. It looks at faith from a purely spiritual perspective. There's no mention of G-d, but something deeper is out there. It's smart, thought-provoking, and just good.

I really enjoyed the complexity of this story and how it unfolded. There was a great juxtaposition of good and corrupt, selfish and selfless. It also postulated some interesting questions about identity.

I will mention though, speaking directly about the book, that Piranesi  is written as a journal. This is particularly important because you end up really only getting the story from a singular point of view. However, this telling of the story, in a more uncommon way, is one of the primary reasons it's such a worthwhile read.

Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

 

This book began in such a different place than others like it. This is a story about good and evil. There's magic. There's an "epic" battle and a lot of carnage. But, that's not where we start.

The story begins ten years after the Chosen Ones have completed their mission. The bad guy is gone, the world is repairing, and our heroes are left dealing with the emotional and mental fallout of what they've experienced while essentially at war.

The five Chosen Ones began preparing for their fight as children, so the impact of their situation has been particularly hard to process. This is especially true for two of the five -- Albie and Sloane -- who both had a particularly rough time of it.

It was captivating to approach this topic from this angle. I liked beginning my interaction with these characters by thinking about what happens after such a significant life event. To see the struggle of living with the heroics and the tough decisions of war. I was so into where the book was going...

Until I wasn't.

That happened the second Sloane and two other Chosen Ones got sucked into a parallel universe, and the book becomes all about the battle after all.

Don't get me wrong, I like the genre, but it wasn't what I wanted out of this book. That, and the moment we shifted to the "action," the writing got worse. It was a fine read, but I felt like it moved through some great material only to hit me with disappointment.

Ten years after defeating The Dark One on Earth, using relics imbued with magic, the Chosen Ones are all in different states of repair. Not everyone is living a mentally healthy life. Albie, who continues to be physically and emotionally plagued by his capture and torture by The Dark One, commits suicide. This brings back the remaining four Chosen to mourn. It's in that instance that three of them get pulled into a parallel universe where magic is regularly used with the help of siphons, and The Resurrectionist and his undead army are the enemy. Our Earth's Chosen have been forcibly called upon to defeat them. It's the only way they'll get to go home.

Magic, though, is unique here. You have to know how to use it, but there also has to be intent behind each act. If you don't really want it to happen, even if it's as simple as unlocking a door, it won't work. Sloane struggles with this. Her mind is muddled with a mess of past guilt and trauma. Her disdain for the magic turns her into an easy target for The Resurrectionist. Once their paths cross, things get complicated (too complicated if you ask me.)

I'm very much on the fence about this book. I know I didn't really like it, but the story did take hold just a bit. The verdict is still out on my end.