I didn’t know about her health issues. Can you please expand a little?
I enjoyed the book and it was a nice quick read, but it was also a far cry from her masterpiece.
She started this book back in the mid 2000s and it took something like 14-15 years to complete largely due to her health.
Nobody is really 100% sure what her underlying issue is, but the symptoms she’s suffered include exhaustion combined with bouts of nausea, migraines, and such. I think the latest diagnosis was chronic fatigue syndrome but I don’t think anybody would be surprised if it was something else entirely.
I don’t remember where or when I saw the interview, but she certainly saw the irony in a modern English writer of 19th century fiction suffering from a 19th century style affliction.
Here’s an article that is a review of Piranesi but also incorporates interviews with Clarke, where she speaks about her illness.
Wonderful article - thanks, Hoops.
I somehow missed when this book was published. I totally adored Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell. I loved Piranesi, too, but it’s a completely different book. I’d just finished an 800+ page book before reading Piranesi, so I was ready for something more digestible.
Thanks for the reco for The Power of Three.
Oops. Forgot to mention that it’s a physically beautiful book.
I loved the dust jacket, so I bought the hardcover. But the book cover under the jacket is great, too.
Yes, although the centaur statue shown is not the same as the one described in the book (pp. 15-16 in my paperback edition).