Piranesi

by Susanna Clarke

No cover — Susanna Clarke: Piranesi (2022, Thorndike Press)

English language

Published Nov. 27, 2022 by Thorndike Press.

ISBN:: 978-1-4328-9508-2

(46 reviews)

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 …

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

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 of surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds.

This description comes from the publisher.

12 editions

Derek Caelin reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Mysterious and beautiful

5 stars

I loved the world in which this story is set. An infinite labyrinth of statues and sea, occupied by characters that I wanted deeply to know more about.

You follow the story through the journal of the point of view character. The best parts of the story are, to me, when the writer's and the reader's understanding of events diverge. It felt like a Hitchcock movie, where I, with full access to the main character's thoughts, started coming to different interpretations of information they've received - and what I knew compelled me to keep reading in hopes that the main character would catch up. I also appreciated the themes of the story: kindness, interaction with place, memory, ambition.

mehluv reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Not what i expected, still p good

4 stars

i was expecting an abstract philosophical story, what i got was more of a straight supernatural mystery with an interesting location. still, v engaging, glad i finished it.

aura reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Un intrigant labyrinthe

4 stars

Lu en cinq jours. Difficile exercice que de le résumer, et il n'est pas certain que cela serve à grand chose. Piranesi vit et explore La Maison Éternelle, peuplées de Statues gigantesques et d'Oiseaux. Le livre est captivant sur son début, où il en dit peu sur le pourquoi et montre cette Maison.

J'ai reçu cette lecture à un moment où j'avais besoin d'évasion, de plonger un peu en moi. La Maison Éternelle a constitué tout à la fois un échappatoire, un lieu de méditation et de refuge. Une réalité à expérimenter plutôt qu'une énigme à déchiffrer.

Unruly Stacks reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Well Worth Waiting For

5 stars

I've been excited by Susanna Clarke's writing since I first picked up Jonathan Strange, and when I first heard this book was coming out, I was suddenly aware that I hadn't heard about her in a long while! Some Googling revealed that she'd been suffering from severe health issues for years now, and this book was the result of more years of hardship than I could fathom. I preordered it immediately, and read it the moment it arrived.

Wow. So different, so quiet, and so, so good.

I've read plenty of reviews that disparage the book (usually because they felt the plot was thin or easily deduced, or because the narration was too simple or unrelatable), but I enjoyed the hell out of it. I was surprised when reveals came, I was drawn into the narration and worldbuilding, and I found the narrator endearing, if a bit alien in perspective. …

Wow. So different, so quiet, and so, so good.

All told, I found it delightful, and hopefully you will/have too!

Another Hopeful Fool reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Rapt from first page to last

5 stars

Unique and richly allegorical. You'll fall in love with the titular character.

screamsbeneath reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Unfolding into the (Un)known

5 stars

I didn't know what to expect coming into this and I firmly recommend trying to go in with as little knowledge as you possibly can. The unfolding that occurs throughout the narrative was the payoff, the end just another event along a wave of experience.

A library book that has inevitably made it to my own collection, amongst the shelf of favorites that are destined to be reread over and over again.

L.A. reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

A mystery of a diary

3 stars

Content warning Spoilers - in second half

I cannot fully review this without some spoilers.

First of all, I would give this book a cw for trauma/psy abuse survivors. Its not evident at first, but part way through you will realize why the cw and might want to stop reading.

This book heavily relies on two devices. One being the fact it is written in first person narrative in the form of diary entries. It's story unfolds from this perspective. The second device, is a bit trickier. I will explain past the asterix.

To me, the book was difficult and a bit boring to start. Once I figured out what was going on, the story moved along much easier. I feel like a story shouldn't rely so heavily on gimmicks. I wonder if I would even get through the book a second time as there wouldn't be a mystery to solve. I pushed through to the end just to get it over with.

The book was described as a fantasy. I would recategorize it as a psychological scifi.

Spoilers

The second device I mentioned, is gaslighting. The Other and The Prophet each gaslight Piranesi much like in a cult. This is also where the abuse and possible trauma response occurs. It is my belief that Piranesi forgets their past as a response to their trauma. He also appears to have Stockholm Syndrome. So much trauma written in such a light hearted way was creepy to me. After a while the book started to read like a true crime book. I believe this is the main reason I did not like it. Once the device, the gaslighting, was figured out I was bored not interested in seeing the mc tormented by their situation and in such an easy going way. They were in a blissful daze, only sometimes struggling to remember the past of which they denied to be a part of. It was painful to read. I felt duped into reading a psychological thriller posing as a fantasy.

The villains felt a bit homophobicaly written too, especially The Prophet.

I think if the book description were more upfront about the genre, I might not have picked it up to read. That would have be fine with me. I think there is a lot of symbolism I am leaving out. The labyrinth being a metaphor for the human mind or something. And, the prophet being a symbol for religious leaders. I think there is a darker warning for this book. I read this as being more about people who have been brainwashed by cults or conspiracy theories. It really is an odd and simplistic book about a tough subject.

-- Each of my reviews in 2023 are dedicated to my friend Jenny, aka readingenvy. She was an avid reader (with a following). But I'll always remember reading the last few books of Harry Potter with her as it came out and her warmth. I miss seeing her book reviews.

mark reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Perfectly Crafted... Fantasy Novel? Oneiric Mystery?

5 stars

It's hard to overstate how much this book feels written specifically for me - I love books with any sort of physically improbable gigantic building, fantasy books where people enter other worlds, academic thrillers, etc - and Piranesi nails the blend perfectly. A sheer delight with an extremely thoughtful denouement.

Shauna reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

5 stars

This is one of those books that's unlike any other. It's surreal and dreamy and the sheer "what the heck's going on?" factor compelled me to read it all in one day.

A novel like this - light on plot, with an extremely limited cast of characters, told in an epistolary style - really sinks or swims on the narrative voice. Luckily the titular Piranesi is fun to read, and comes across as practical and clever, curious and sweet. His ignorance is charming rather than frustrating, and of course his naivete is all part of the mystery.

Highly recommended to anyone who loves an atmospheric and/or experimental story.

Karvala@lectura.social reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Review of 'Piranesi' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Al principio no sabía muy bien dónde me había metido y estaba un poco perdida, pero enseguida me ha enganchado. En cuanto estás apunto de aburrirte, pasan cosas y te enganchas más. La segunda mitad no podía dejarlo.

Carmela reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi

5 stars

Part fantasy, sci-fi and mystery. One of the books I wished I have written.

m₂ reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

I liked this

4 stars

I really liked this story! Glad it got put on my radar from Jacob Geller's video on infinity.

lep@bookwyrm.social reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi

No rating

Nice little book. Had to read it in one sitting.

James reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Reality plus a little magic

4 stars

I really enjoyed the book, the smaller world that the protagonist lives in is very simple and is intriguing, but not somewhere I feel I need to return to. The larger universe though is interesting, with its reality plus a little magic vibe. I enjoyed the unravelling mystery and it compelled me to read it much faster than I've read books of similar size. The first few chapters describing the House reminded me of the descriptions of The Sleeper Service in Iain M Banks' book Excession. To the point where I thought the book was going to go in a sci-fi direction.

bookafnd reviewed Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

slow to start, but it does get very good

5 stars

I found this book a bit slow for the first 50–60 pages, which are spent mostly describing the World without much of any sort of Plot happening. It only really begins to pick up around Part 3, when the mystery inherent to the setting starts to unravel, all through the eyes of a narrator not so much unreliable as naïve and lacking in knowledge, which makes him unable to understand things which are clear to the reader. It's the sort of book where it's worth reading (or at least skimming) the first few parts again to see what you missed the first read through.