Piranesi

By Susanna Clarke

The award-winning, New York Times bestselling fantasy sensation that Madeline Miller called, “a miraculous and luminous feat of storytelling,” Piranesi is an intoxicating, hypnotic novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality from the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls lined with thousands upon thousands of statues. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; and waves thunder up staircases, while 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 Piranesi has always known.

“Spellbinding, strange, and unforgettably original” (Esquire), Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty.

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Published Sep 28, 2021

272 pages

Average rating: 8.06

2,497 RATINGS

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What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Piranesi* is a richly imaginative blend of fantasy and mystery, praised for its atmospheric setting, journal-style narrative, and detaile...

msafiya
Jul 29, 2026
5/10 stars
I wanted to love Piranesi, but it just wasn’t for me. I found the pacing to be very slow, and the narrative often jumped from detailed descriptions of the House to interactions with other characters in a way that made it difficult for me to stay oriented and engaged. I went into this expecting an atmospheric novel that would be immersive, thought-provoking, and emotionally compelling. While the world itself is undeniably imaginative and unique, I never felt fully pulled into it. Instead, I found myself struggling to connect with the story and waiting for it to pick up.
Julsaint
Nov 30, 2025
9/10 stars
Good easy read, very creative ideas, excellent ending
Khris Sellin
Jul 05, 2024
8/10 stars
Piranesi lives in the House, which seems infinitely large, made up of labyrinths and filled with statues that Piranesi has catalogued and memorized. It's also surrounded by water, and Piranesi has also learned the rhythm of the tides and when to avoid certain areas so as not to be swept away. As far as he knows, only two people exist in the world -- himself and the Other, the well-dressed gentleman who meets with him regularly. There are the bones of the dead that lie within the House, so Piranesi realizes there were more people at one point, but he can't seem to remember this. But he lovingly looks after the bones and holds them in high regard. He keeps a journal, and we slowly learn through his journal entries what is really going on...
Zoe E.
Nov 08, 2022
7/10 stars
Piranesi lives in a fantastical world - a labyrinthine building full of statues and inundated by recurring tides, inhabited only by him and one other person ("the other"). Once you get through the endless descriptions of rooms and artwork, the book proceeds quite quickly. The detective story that unfurls is heavily foreshadowed and the science fiction aspects of how Piranesi ended up where he is are somewhat hastily glossed over. However, I was drawn in to the book and to Piranesi's unique world view, and invested in his outcome.
TheLiteraryDoll
Aug 17, 2026
6/10 stars
I didn’t enjoy this experience. I’m only giving three stars because the voice actor is amazing. But the book content was a bore! The ending turned it around but still that first two hours was awful.

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