Piranesi

Susanna Clarke

Sep 2020 · Bloomsbury Publishing USA

About this ebook

New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction
World Fantasy Awards Finalist

From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality.

Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

There is one other person in the house-a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.

For readers of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds.

Ratings and reviews

A quick and easy read but for all its reviews it has pretty well-worn fantasy concepts. (A little "Nightmare Before Christmas" meets your typical NY times #1 best selling fantasy novel for whichever year) The allure of the book is it's told from the perspective of amnesia to the reality we know and you want to see what the main character decides to do and if they figure out their predicament, it's sweet seeing a personality sans much influence from anything other than wonder and nature as well. I'd say it's a short romantic read (sans any "romance") great for a plane ride, a day trip in a car, or just if you want to relax with a short story that will have you interested to see how it ends!

This book is fantastic. I was a little leery of the premise when I first heard it, but decided to risk the book because Clarke is such a fantastic writer. The risk paid off. This book ably reaches high marks for compelling storytelling, fully fleshed characters, philosophical nuance, and impressive world building. It was one of those books I leave only reluctantly, such a deep connection do I feel with the protagonist and his plight.

I will start by saying that I entirely blind bought this book, which is something never do. I hadn't heard of the author, let alone read her other works but now I definitely plan to. My reason for blind buying was a recommendation I saw online for a drop-fed mystery taking place in an even more mysterious world, which sounded very appealing. Piranesi entirely captured me from the very first page to the last, keeping me from putting the book down and occupying my thoughts with various theories and questions when I had to be away from it. I have to admit that it may have just become my favorite book, which is no small feat. I urge you to dive into the rushing tides of The House and let its world make you forget your own for a while.

About the author

Susanna Clarke is the author of the The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories and the New York Times bestseller and Hugo Award–winning Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. She lives in England.