“Piranesi” is one of those books you need to experience without much prior knowledge, where you need to let things be revealed to you piece by piece as Piranesi investigates his origins. In our case, it is the pandemic that causes the disconnect and our task, along with Piranesi, is to find out what it is that has estranged us from these figures and actions. These tasks appear to be routine in nature but are ones that we can no longer engage in. As Piranesi describes these statues some of which depict people engaged in ordinary tasks, we get a feeling of wistfulness. In Piranesi's world there are, apart from the Other, statues that seem to give clues as to what life was like in the past, or what it might be like in the future. This hit hard, particularly during the winter of 2020, in an environment where we read endless and conflicting articles on how the pandemic is transmitted, treated and cured, clutching at straws, looking for clues wherever we may find them. The Other is an elusive figure from whom he seeks guidance that is only begrudgingly given, if at all. The character Piranesi is our guide in this world, as he tries to make sense of the place he lives in, which he calls House with another person he refers to as the Other. The audiobook of Susanna Clarke’s "Piranesi," read by Chiwetel Ejiofor, won the 2021 Audie Award. “15 special people who have existed” feels like a reference to 15 special people who have experienced the world in a way that the world is meant to be experienced, calling to mind 15 prophets, or visionaries, who were in touch with multiple layers of reality. And like all other aspects of this novel, this short description raises so many philosophical questions. Our worlds have indeed shrunk to possibly one other person we share the house with and 15 others we try to keep in touch through phone or zoom.
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Who, after hearing this excerpt would not rush out and buy the book and possibly even better, download the audiobook version read by actor Chiwetel Ejiofor? The audiobook has just received the Audies award. I will now name the fifteen people and give, where relevant, their positions.” Of the fifteen people whose existence is verifiable, only Myself and the Other are now living. Possibly there have been more but I am a scientist and must proceed according to the evidence. “Since the World began it is certain that there have existed fifteen people. When they read an excerpt from Susanna Clarke’s “Piranesi,” I knew I had to have it at once, because even though this is now a cliche, it spoke directly to our moment. It is a book review podcast of sorts and I often try to get hold of the books they talk about – costing me an arm and a leg shipping them in from overseas. I got introduced to one of my favorite novels of 2020 through my favorite podcast Backlisted. In this aspect too, audiobooks became a lifeline, because a novel that appeared several seas away could be downloaded on my device in seconds and for cheaper too.Ī still shot from Bloomsbury Publishing's promotional video shows Susanna Clarke's "Piranesi" cover. As someone who orders books online, particularly from abroad, I got accustomed to notices saying that delivery may take longer than expected. When I started working from home, I thought I would lose this habit, however, like many others, I found it difficult to concentrate when reading a book (and this was before the physical eye strain era started) and so I turned to audiobooks, particularly on my walks around the neighborhood which the world has now shrunk to. With so much aimed now at our ears, that sense is bound to be exhausted soon too, but let us enjoy podcasts and audiobooks while we can, while our ears can still take in the noise.Īs a frequent commuter, I had been a podcast and audiobook listener for some time, filling up the miles I had to trudge back home after a workday. It is no wonder that the new social media app Clubhouse was launched in these eye-straining times.
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Podcasts and audiobooks, then, come to the rescue, as a way of keeping us entertained while we rest our eyes. “Time off” no longer means watching a film on our computers or reading a book for pleasure, as our eyes remind us that they have been doing the heavy lifting for our work and social relationships. Trying to experience the world from our own homes during the pandemic has put more strain on our senses, particularly on our eyes, that have been darting from one screen to another as we try to gauge the responses of our interlocutors as we speak.