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East Side Book Club at the Pub

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North Seattle Book Club

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Piranesi

New York Times Bestseller
Winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction
World Fantasy Awards Finalist

The instant New York Times bestselling novel from the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic book set in a dreamlike alternative reality.

Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, 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.

For readers of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds.

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272 pages

Average rating: 8.3

1,615 RATINGS

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74 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Anonymous
Jan 11, 2025
10/10 stars
I’ve been waiting so long to read this and it was so worth it!! It took some effort to get into the first part, but after that it was so easy to tear through. It doesn’t drag out, but it takes its time revealing its world to you. And it leaves hints that build the plot quietly from the POV of a very unreliable narrator, which I love when done well. Kind of reminded me of Never Let Me Go in that sense. Also definitely gave Starless Sea vibes, but a bit darker? Anyway, really enjoyed this!! Had some themes of belief that I liked as well as some other messages of hubris etc. ALSO not sure if it was intentional but the psych talk + the labyrinth + a character literally called the Other was giving SERIOUS psychoanalytic/object relations/theoretical psychology/psych and the other vibes.

I recommend!
Deb WBG
Oct 14, 2024
9/10 stars
October 2024: Second read of this for a Book Group members choice. Enough time had passed to make some of the details hazy, but with the added benefit of knowing the story so I was able to deep dive into other aspects of the book. Still one of my favourite favourite books! July 2022: I loved this book. I wish I had bought a copy rather than the library copy as I wanted to make notes and mark passages. It is rare to find a book that I could finish and then turn around with all the knowledge and immediately read it again. It is such a paradox: mind-bending yet believable, strange yet beautiful, disturbing yet peaceful, a nightmare yet dreamlike, an end to a beginning or a beginning to an end? My favourite read this year. ❤️
get.a.jeevan
Sep 02, 2024
10/10 stars
my fulfillment is immeasurable and my day is made.
harith95
Aug 09, 2024
10/10 stars
Oddly interesting imaginative way of storytelling! Metaphorically exhilarating adventures into the House!Excellent reads👍🏼👍🏼 *plot twist is not the forte but enjoyable* Strongly recommended
The Nerdy Narrative
Jul 19, 2024
8/10 stars
This book started off so WEIRD. I had no idea what was going on, were these things actually happening? Was it someone's dream or delusion? So many strange things taking place, the narrator seemed completely off his rocker, a true nutter.

And yet....

The mystery of what this book was about, what was happening was so alluring...I *had* to know! The joy of the story unfolding and my theories that I formed, discarded, amended - THAT was the true enjoyment of this novel.

Fantastic read!

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