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Piranesi’s Figures by Hannah Calder (New Star $21)
Review by Jaiden Dembo
Hannah calder's debut novel More House (New Star, 2009) was praised as "a fusion, a collage, a bold endeavor of literary work, a 'new' novel"; by Anakana Schofield.
Her Piranesi's Figures is another experimental novel that strays from a conventional narrative approach with settings in contemporary Rome, 18th century Rome, mid-20th century Margate (England), Heidelberg (Germany) and the Okanagan.
The title refers to 18th century artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi whose architectural etchings of grand buildings are peopled by decrepit humans in the foreground.
Both Piranesi and his hordes of ragged, seemingly homeless figures (representing humanity at large) appear in Calder's new novel which began eight years ago as a story about mentally ill artists.
In Calder's world of fiction there is no reality that can be relied on, anything is viable-there's always the opportunity to erase the words on the page and start the scene over.
The main characters are three sets of dysfunctional, married couples-Hilda and Jorgen, Bill and Violet, and Florence and Stephen. No one appears content in their current romantic arrangement. This leads to frequent affairs, unplanned pregnancies, abortions and miscarriages.
As Calder twists our traditional concepts of sexual practices and family dynamics, Piranesi's Figures also explores the dissatisfaction of unfulfilling employment. Hilda would rather be an artist than a nurse but she lacks the talent for it.
There are a handful of guidelines that keep the characters in check, and allow for a loosely maintained structure with the use of an all-knowing History Book that fact checks for the reality that is being written for these characters.
Meanwhile Piranesi's Figures bends time and jumps from one locale to the next, from one century to the next, as characters travel from one story into another, like passengers visiting different countries. They always return to their original story and await their fates.
If that sounds obtuse, well, that's what happens when you invent characters who know they are characters, who have their own ideas and desires and don't feel like sticking to the script. Despite their reluctance to obey the author, they are bound to act out their destinies and the whims of their creator.
The only thing these characters can hope for is that when the novel ends they could be reborn, rewritten, or borrowed and put into another tale that better suits their needs. Until then you can see them waltzing through centuries, returning to ancient Rome and then back again to the 1940s in Germany and England.
Piranesi's Figures is another bold endeavour. Hannah Calder has explored the limitations of the modern family, and the painful longing for one. Like marriage, it's not for the faint of heart.
9781554201129
BCBW associate editor Jaiden Dembo lives in Surrey.
Hannah calder's debut novel More House (New Star, 2009) was praised as "a fusion, a collage, a bold endeavor of literary work, a 'new' novel"; by Anakana Schofield.
Her Piranesi's Figures is another experimental novel that strays from a conventional narrative approach with settings in contemporary Rome, 18th century Rome, mid-20th century Margate (England), Heidelberg (Germany) and the Okanagan.
The title refers to 18th century artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi whose architectural etchings of grand buildings are peopled by decrepit humans in the foreground.
Both Piranesi and his hordes of ragged, seemingly homeless figures (representing humanity at large) appear in Calder's new novel which began eight years ago as a story about mentally ill artists.
In Calder's world of fiction there is no reality that can be relied on, anything is viable-there's always the opportunity to erase the words on the page and start the scene over.
The main characters are three sets of dysfunctional, married couples-Hilda and Jorgen, Bill and Violet, and Florence and Stephen. No one appears content in their current romantic arrangement. This leads to frequent affairs, unplanned pregnancies, abortions and miscarriages.
As Calder twists our traditional concepts of sexual practices and family dynamics, Piranesi's Figures also explores the dissatisfaction of unfulfilling employment. Hilda would rather be an artist than a nurse but she lacks the talent for it.
There are a handful of guidelines that keep the characters in check, and allow for a loosely maintained structure with the use of an all-knowing History Book that fact checks for the reality that is being written for these characters.
Meanwhile Piranesi's Figures bends time and jumps from one locale to the next, from one century to the next, as characters travel from one story into another, like passengers visiting different countries. They always return to their original story and await their fates.
If that sounds obtuse, well, that's what happens when you invent characters who know they are characters, who have their own ideas and desires and don't feel like sticking to the script. Despite their reluctance to obey the author, they are bound to act out their destinies and the whims of their creator.
The only thing these characters can hope for is that when the novel ends they could be reborn, rewritten, or borrowed and put into another tale that better suits their needs. Until then you can see them waltzing through centuries, returning to ancient Rome and then back again to the 1940s in Germany and England.
Piranesi's Figures is another bold endeavour. Hannah Calder has explored the limitations of the modern family, and the painful longing for one. Like marriage, it's not for the faint of heart.
9781554201129
BCBW associate editor Jaiden Dembo lives in Surrey.
Submitted on September 5, 2016 in By David.
