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 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

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.

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.

Hang in there, the book gets better and better and

Piranesi is one of those books where you have absolutely no idea what is going on, at least for the first part. The key with books like this is to keep reading and trust that, at some point, it will all come together - to believe that you will be rewarded your patience. Trust me, you will.

The story is narrated by Piranesi who lives in a labyrinth of halls and rooms inside which are wild waves of rising and falling tides (a captured ocean?), statues, birds, aquatic life, bones and his journals. Piranesi is not afraid, he understands the tides and the labyrinth and the statues, he loves the house and feels honor bound to care for those whose remains are within. “The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.” He spends his days documenting the tides and exploring the house’s secrets. Twice a week a man he thinks of as “The Other” visits and seeks Piranesi’s assistance with his research, searching for a “Great and Secret Knowledge”. Piranesi does not agree with the research, saying,“The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of Itself. It is not the means to an end.”

Piranesi is a compelling read, one that you could read again and find different meanings and possibilities. I enjoyed it on both audiobook and on ebook.
A beautifully written, fascinating story. I was unable to put it down ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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.

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.

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.

Good but Anticlimactic

This novel has a unique premise and excellent execution. The environment is sparse, but the author explains it in such detail that the reader might wonder how so much could be said about so little. The twist is predictable enough that I don't consider it a twist but rather a case of dramatic irony. Everyone knows what's coming.

Despite the good parts, the ending is abrupt. It leaves many questions unanswered, many threads hanging, and does not close the story in a satisfying way. It seems like the kind of ending where the author wants the reader to fill in the blanks and decide what they think happens next, which is code for the author either being unable to make up their mind or simply losing interest. Though I enjoyed the book, the ending soured it.

great book!

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

A fantastically lonely universe.

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

Descent read.

This was definitely a decent read. With that said not enough twist and turns and it action through out. Really doesn’t get very don’t put down until about 1-1/2hrs left. Narrator was great! Needed more excitement and depth of story for the first 2/3rds. With that said not a waste.