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I saw the movie. Several times. I always loved it and I cannot explain why I do so. I know nobody else that thinks the same way about it as me. Maybe it's because I always was interested in SciFi. I think I love the simplicity in it and the fact that the story spans ages and concludes in a moment nobody ever can explain.

So I started reading this book and everything was so familiar. The dawn of men, Clavius station, Discovery... I knew all that. But in between there were details I never recognized. I just couldn't because they were never in the movie in the first place and that added to my understanding of the opus as a whole.

Besides of that there are tiny deviations from the movie that would have made an even better movie in my opinion and surely would have lead to a broader audience of it as well. Most people that I talk with about the movie think it is boring. I think sticking to the book could have solved some of the problems people have with it and by saying that I don't mean the fact that the movie ends the journey on Jupiter despite on Saturn, this is more or less irrelevant. For example the whole scene with HAL is slightly different in the book, more relatable, faster, more logical...

In the end ... especially towards the end ... there are things you never can explain very well in a movie because they are just inside Bowmans head or are just to subliminal to film. And that is the reason why I recommend the book to anybody that already loves the movie. It will definitely add to your understanding of the story.

It's worth it and an entertaining read.

I don't really know what to say about that book. I had found it somewhere on the Internet and all I knew was that it had positive reviews. I grabed it in some store and started reading. The first half of the book I didn't know what to think of it. Sometimes it felt almost boring, following Piranesi through the endless halls of the house. In the second half it took up some speed. But not as much that got me excited about it. I think I had expected something else.

My feelings about the book changed in the last few chapters. I don't know exactly what it was but I think I got it in the end. I understood. And I had tears in my eyes.

Piranesi is nothing and everything to the reader. "Understanding" it is to reflect on yourself. Read it and build your own judgement. I think it is worth it.