Piranesi

By: Susanna Clarke

Narrated by: Chiwetel Ejiofor

Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Bloomsbury presents Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, read by Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Winner of the 2021 Audie Awards Audiobook of the Year.

Winner of the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction.

Shortlisted for The Costa Novel of The Year Award.

A Sunday Times and New York Times best seller.

Chosen as A Book of The Year by the Times, Guardian, Observer, Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, I Paper, New Statesman, Spectator, Time Magazine, Times Literary Supplement, BBC Culture, Netgalley and the Church Times.

The spectacular new audiobook from the best-selling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, ‘one of our greatest living authors,’ New York Magazine.

Piranesi lives in the House. Perhaps he always has.

In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides that thunder up staircases, the clouds that move in slow procession through the upper halls. On Tuesdays and Fridays Piranesi sees his friend, the Other. At other times he brings tributes of food to the Dead. But mostly, he is alone.

Messages begin to appear, scratched out in chalk on the pavements. There is someone new in the House. But who are they and what do they want? Are they a friend or do they bring destruction and madness as the Other claims?

Lost texts must be found, secrets must be uncovered. The world that Piranesi thought he knew is becoming strange and dangerous.

The beauty of the House is immeasurable; its kindness infinite.

©2020 Susanna Clarke (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

"What a world Susanna Clarke conjures into being.... Piranesi is an exquisite puzzle-box." (David Mitchell)

"It’s always great to have some fiction to heartily recommend, and while there’s been stiff competition this year, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke has won out in the end. A masterful work of weird fiction, it’s a novel that grips, perplexes and moves you, usually all at once!" (Observer, The Best Books of 2020)

"The fiction, nonfiction and poetry that deepened our understanding, ignited our curiosity and helped us escape.... For fantasy readers often eager to get lost in mystical worlds and escape the complications of real life, Piranesi’s predicament deeply resonates." (Time, Books of the Year)

really beautifully done

There isn’t a bad thing to say about it. The writing is thoughtful, the narration is emotional, the feeling you’re left with in the end will follow you for days.

great book!

highly enjoyable! a very original story, well written. really a must read. the main character is quite charming.

Fantastic story, with top notch narration.

I love mysterious, dreamlike books, and this one captures that feeling exactly while also creating a compelling mystery that keeps you wondering. The most appealing part of the book, however, is Ejiofor’s delivery. As an actor, I enjoy Ejiofor quite a bit - but as a narrator, he is actually exquisite. He delivers the narration without flair, but with lots of humanity, and conveys the nature of the narrator so well. I now want to see what else he’s narrated!
(For context, I listened to Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five with James Franco, and I wanted to gouge my eyes out).
Tremendous work, highly recommend.

I liked it

The narrator was perfect, exactly as you'd imagine the character narrating it. This story was a lot of fun in general, really beautiful imagery.

Very imaginative

Extremely slow to begin with and very Narnia like. You are very confused the first hour, but then wonder where the book is heading with only 2 people in the world. Then it begins becoming interesting and you don’t want to stop listening. Overall a very creative imagination.

audible is too silent.

great book, great narration, bit one of the worst volume mastering fumbles I've seen from audible yet. literally have to have my car volume 2x higher to even kind of hear the great story and narrator.

Piranesi is a great, short listen!

Highly recommended for the fantasy lover who wants a little reality thrown in. Fascinating story with excellent narration.

Captivating

Pressing pause is nearly impossible. A deep, mysterious and dulling engaging story. With a perfect reader. Loved it

A fantastically lonely universe.

I love the way the main character rationalizes. It creates this really engaging dramatic irony.

Excellent!

This book is going to be a new favorite of mine. I love the story, and the performance in this audio version was absolutely excellent! Such beautiful imagery! And such a creative story!