Do You Even Lit?

Susanna Clarke's Piranesi: Gaslight gatekeep girlboss

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The beauty of this book is immeasurable, and its kindness is infinite.

We all love Susanna Clarke's 2012 metaphysical thriller, which feels like a mashup of Borges/C.S. Lewis/Gone Girl. 

Venture deeper into the labyrinth with us:

Piranesi as amateur scientist: On indigenous knowledge, the dangers of naïve empiricism, achieving dominion over nature, and whether the Other kind of had a point.

Metaphysics of the House: Are abstractions real, revisiting Plato's world of perfect forms, and whether the world is fundamentally Good.

Identity and mental illness: The illusion of stable personhood over time, repressed memories as trauma response, and how a person with dementia or psychosis can maintain a consistent internal worldview.

 

CHAPTERS

  • (00:00:00) meet the Beloved Child of the House
  • (00:09:55) Piranesi as amateur scientist
  • (00:19:48) metaphysics of the House and Plato’s theory of forms
  • (00:38:13) C.S. Lewis allusions
  • (00:41:21) The BIG REVEAL (spoilers)
  • (00:46:30) The illusion of stable personhood
  • (00:55:02) Internal consistency of dementia or psychosis patients
  • (01:02:30) Piranesi’s escape and reintegration
  • (01:09:11) Is the world (or the House) fundamentally Good?

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    NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

    Crime and Punishment - Dostoyevsky (reading in three parts over six weeks)

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    Do You Even Lit?By cam and benny feat. rich