Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Summary

Piranesi is a 2020 novel by English author Susanna Clarke. A fantasy driven by a mystery, it is set in a parallel universe. The eponymous narrator lives in a boundless world comprised of interconnected halls and vestibules adorned with countless statues, known simply as the House. He meticulously records his observations of the House's enigmatic tides, clouds, and even the skeletal remains of long-deceased inhabitants. Piranesi believes he has always dwelled in the House—he can't remember being anywhere else. Also living in the House is a man identified only as the Other, with whom Piranesi meets twice each week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. Piranesi considers the Other as a friend, as well as his guide in seeking a Great and Secret Knowledge concealed within the House's labyrinthine chambers.

Suddenly, messages materialize indicating the arrival of another person in the House, whom the Other warns may pose a threat to Piranesi. As the House grows increasingly strange, Piranesi uncovers fragments of his forgotten past—and a terrible truth begins to unravel.

Setting

Piranesi is set in an alternate universe known as the House, a vast labyrinth of infinite halls and vestibules lined with countless statues. The House comprises an upper level filled with clouds, a middle level where the main story takes place, and a lower level submerged in an ocean that surges in following tidal patterns. This strange, self-contained world appears to be the only reality known to the novel's narrator, Piranesi.

While the broader geographical setting of the House is left ambiguous and dreamlike, Piranesi occasionally alludes to our own world through references to modern cities, occult theories, and the disappearance of the narrator's former identity.