Piranesi

De: Susanna Clarke

Narrado por: Chiwetel Ejiofor

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

WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE 2021
WINNER OF THE KITSCHIES' 2021
SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE 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 novel from the bestselling 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.

*****

'What a world Susanna Clarke conjures into being … Piranesi is an exquisite puzzle-box' DAVID MITCHELL
‘It subverts expectations throughout … Utterly otherworldly’ Guardian
'Piranesi astonished me. It is a miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling' MADELINE MILLER
‘Brilliantly singular’ Sunday Times
'A gorgeous, spellbinding mystery … This book is a treasure, washed up upon a forgotten shore, waiting to be discovered' ERIN MORGENSTERN
‘Head-spinning … Fully imagined and richly evoked’ Telegraph

©2020 Susanna Clarke (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

not what I expected

the book was really different from what I expected. I enjoyed it and I think it will stick with me for a while, but usually I prefer books with a little bit more action. I enjoyed the mystery of this though, and I think it was really well written

Another Susanna Clarke Masterpiece

Well worth the wait. This is a beautiful book with a world to get lost in. Susanna Clarke is a master at world-building, engaging characters, and storytelling. Chiwetel Ejiofor does a wonderful job narrating. Can't wait to listen to it again and read it too!

Weirdly soothing

I went into this book not really knowing what it was about, which I think helped keep me interested despite it not being the usual type of book I would read. In the beginning I had no clue what was going on with this alternate world that Piranesi was describing, and I can see how it can get confusing. However, the confusion in itself piqued my interest. I had to find out what this place was and how did he get there?? Yes there is a lot of repetition about halls, vestibules, and albatrosses, but there is also something soothing about this alternate world where no other people exist. There is a feeling of wonder as we learn and discover more about this world with Piranesi. With every new discovery I realized that there’s a lot more to the story than just halls and statues. There are so many underlying emotions and ideas behind the text, and I’m glad I kept reading!

Audiobook + Physical Copy = Rewarding Experience

The audiobook, while very well done and enjoyable, was difficult for me to follow without a physical copy of the book to provide a bit of structure (admittedly, all listeners might not need this). I did though, and combining these two caused me to enjoy each of them all the more. The reader/performer is one of the best that I’ve listened to, and I will look with interest to see other works he has recorded. The story itself is creative, interesting, and worthwhile. I would not classify it as one of my personal favorites because it never came around to being quite as gripping as I thought it might or hoped it would. But, that said, it is very, very good. Four out of five stars for me.

A Bracing, Solemn, and Enchanting Chronichle

This is one of the most compelling and arresting novels I've ever read (well, listened to.) I'm definitely hoping to buy a book copy of it to read. Chiwetel Ejiofor gives a tremendous amount of consideration and delicacy to the role of the narrator, His style and grace with every line conveys the thoughtful, logical, and, most importantly, the intrinsically kind, careful, and delicate nature of Clarke's main character.
For the content of this book itself, it cannot be overstated. The plot itself, as an overarching thing, is not so much involved or convoluted, however, Clarke manages to describe through her character's meticulous and dutiful documentations a world of immense beauty and haunting surrealism for a reader who has never seen the endless halls described. I could stay here forever, whithout the burden of any real story beats, rising conflict, drama, climax, etc. to get in the way of how Sammantha paints a strange and incomprehensible endless landscape of walls and vestibules, courtyards, and collapsing ceilings, all festooned and adorned with countless unique and remarkable statues, and throughout it all an enigmatic sea crashing into everything. I wish I could have stayed here longer, and known more. Listening to this novel was like waking from a dream I desperately wanted to hold on to.