The Biscuit Box Man

Jun 2021
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke – Bloomsbury, 2020
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I haven't checked, but I suspect that a lot of people will have been disappointed by this book. It is Clarke's first novel since the generally splendid but somewhat flawed Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell which came out fifteen years earlier. After such a long gap, readers may have been hoping for a similarly lavish and expansive world with a rich cast of characters. If so, they will be disappointed. This book is short - less than 250 pages - and its story is closer to that of a typical computer game, with a lone protagonist who only occasionally interacts with others. But also like many good computer games, it has striking and memorable visuals.
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