
Piranesi

They were all enamoured with the idea of progress and believed that whatever was new must be superior to what was old. As if merit was a function of chronology!
Susanna Clarke • Piranesi
I dreamt of him once; he was standing in a snowy forest and speaking to a female child.
Susanna Clarke • Piranesi
‘People call me a philosopher or a scientist or an anthropologist. I am none of those things. I am an anamnesiologist. I study what has been forgotten. I divine what has disappeared utterly. I work with absences, with silences, with curious gaps between things. I am really more of a magician than anything else.’
Susanna Clarke • Piranesi
‘I wish that you had saved him,’ I told it. I did not feel that it responded in any way. It seemed drowsy, dozing, only half alive. Without the Rushing Waters to animate it, it was no longer the devil that had danced on the Waves, first mocking Dr Ketterley and then abandoning him.
Susanna Clarke • Piranesi
The Statue of a Gorilla that stands in the Fifth Northern Hall always catches my eye. He is depicted squatting on his Lower Limbs, leaning forward and propping himself up on his Powerful Arms and Fists. His Face fascinates me. His
Susanna Clarke • Piranesi
How she know wtf a grilla is
passed through the Second South-Western Hall. On top of the Empty Plinth where the Other leans was a small cardboard box. It was a deep grey colour. On the lid was a picture of an octopus in a paler shade of grey and some orange writing. The writing said: AQUARIUM. I opened it. At first sight it appeared to contain nothing except thin white paper,
... See moreSusanna Clarke • Piranesi
They have cardboard and plastic and she knows wht thaf is
I visit all the Dead, but particularly the Folded-Up Child. I bring them food, water and water lilies from the Drowned Halls. I speak to them, telling them what I have been doing and I describe any Wonders that I have seen in the House. In this way they know that they are not alone. Only I do this. The Other does not. As far as I know he has no rel
... See moreSusanna Clarke • Piranesi
Ketterley was absolutely dreadful at it, even after I had shown him numerous times. He could never get here without equipment – candles and uprights to represent a door and a ritual and all sorts of nonsense. Well, you saw all that when he brought you here, I suppose. Sylvia on the other hand could just slip away at any moment. Now you see her. Now
... See moreSusanna Clarke • Piranesi
Piranesi lived among statues: silent presences that brought him comfort and enlightenment. I thought that in this new (old) world the statues would be irrelevant. I did not imagine that they would continue to help me. But I was wrong. When faced with a person or situation I do not understand, my first impulse is still to look for a statue that will
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