'Piranesi': A tale in isolation

Piranesi sees his friend on Tuesdays and Fridays but he prefers to be alone at home mostly, making tes of everything he explores. This is t a story of someone in quarantine due to coronavirus pandemic but gist of English author Susanna Clarke's new vel.

Named "Piranesi", it is about a man named Piranesi who lives in ' House'. In his tebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: labyrinth of halls, thousands upon thousands of statues, tides which thunder up staircases, clouds which move in slow procession through upper halls.

He speaks to birds; and brings tributes of food and water lilies to House's Dead. Once in a while, he sees his friend, kwn as ' Or'. But mostly, he is alone.

character is a mixture of incence and wisdom. Clarke says Piranesi possesses kwledge and skills to live successfully in his particular world. For him, every day is busy and meant for doing meaningful work. He is a very informed person.

Clarke's first vel "Jonathan Strange & Mr rrell" was published in October 2004. A tale of 19th-century England, where two magicians emerge to change history, it was longlisted for Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for Whitbread First vel Award.

"Piranesi", published by Bloomsbury, is her second vel.

For Piranesi, precision is very important in writing of his journals and Clarke says in choosing words, in descriptions of places, people or emotions, one wants to be as specific as he or she is able to.

"In creating a piece of fiction I might start with an im and im itself can be something quite small. C S Lewis said that all of Narnia books began with im of a faun in a swy wood, carrying parcels. Or I might start with a character about which I kw very little, just one or two things," she says.

" important thing is that idea, whatever it is, has roots that it goes deep down into imagination, into unconscious. Because if it has roots, n it will, with a bit of watering and careful pruning, grow into something quite interesting," Clarke adds.

Piranesi is a scientist, loves being a scientist and wants to kw everything he can about House/World.

If he could, he would catalogue every statue, map every hall, take every measurement. But in end he kws that House is more than sum of facts about it. For Piranesi, kwing House itself is more important than kwing facts about House, Clarke says.

"Piranesi" was conceived and written long before lockdown. Clarke says lockdown has opened her life up at same time as it closed down or people's.

"Garings w take place on Zoom. I can take part from my sofa. I'm in regular contact with groups of people I couldn't have dreamt of before lockdown. When people start to meet again in real world I shall be happy for m and for all of us, but I expect my world to get a little smaller," she says.

She also loves to write in cafes as re is coffee, croissants and toast.

"People bring m to you. re's usually a little bit of background ise which can be helpful. You're surrounded by people working, making coffee, tidying up, working on laptops. I like proximity of people doing ir work, of people enjoying working," Clarke says.

She even has apps of cafe sounds and rain sounds on her laptop which she finds useful when she is at home. She also listens to music.

She made three "Piranesi" playlists, a sort of soundtrack, which she listened to over and over again as she finished book.