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Piranesi
- Narrated by: Chiwetel Ejiofor
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
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Piranesi
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Summary
Bloomsbury presents Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, read by Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Winner of the 2021 Audie Awards Audiobook of the Year.
Winner of the 2021 Women's Prize for Fiction.
Shortlisted for The Costa Novel of The Year Award.
A Sunday Times and New York Times best seller.
Chosen as A Book of The Year by 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 audiobook from the best-selling 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.
Critic reviews
"What a world Susanna Clarke conjures into being.... Piranesi is an exquisite puzzle-box." (David Mitchell)
"It’s always great to have some fiction to heartily recommend, and while there’s been stiff competition this year, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke has won out in the end. A masterful work of weird fiction, it’s a novel that grips, perplexes and moves you, usually all at once!" (Observer, The Best Books of 2020)
"The fiction, nonfiction and poetry that deepened our understanding, ignited our curiosity and helped us escape.... For fantasy readers often eager to get lost in mystical worlds and escape the complications of real life, Piranesi’s predicament deeply resonates." (Time, Books of the Year)
What listeners say about Piranesi
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Liz
- 16-09-20
Bewitching
Strange, beautiful and filled with the magical. We spend our time with the delightful creature Piranesi who lives an odd life in an even odder place. Gradually we learn his story and although it's signalled well in advance it is no less beautiful for that.
After a 17 year wait for a second book from Susanna Clarke it would be easy for it to be a disappointment. This most definitely is worth the wait. I found myself smiling often as I read, there is so much to enjoy here from the sublime writing to the gentle character of Piranesi himself and the odd and glittering world he inhabits.
I recently re-read Mister Norrel and Jonathan Strange and loved it again, though it is punishingly long and could definitely have been shorter and just as good. This is book is a short and delightful thing. Strongly recommend.
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49 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Lizzy h
- 15-04-21
Psychological thriller in a labyrinth?
At times I didn't know what was happening. But this adds to the charm of the narrative.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris
- 13-12-20
Something different - loved it!
Having enjoyed Strange and Norell, I was really pleased to see another Susannah Clarke. I loved Piranesi. I did not try to work out what the story was about, I just went with it, enjoying every page from the start to finish. If you start thinking, where is this going? just trust the author and enjoy her writing and the story. The narration is just right for the character. Thoroughly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Laura Bennewith
- 27-04-21
Truly beautiful and wondrous
This is incredible. It is difficult to describe as you can either say nothing or would have to give the entire plot. It is read perfectly and an entire world is created. Don't try and guess what is going on, just go with it. Susanna Clarke writes rarely and as such, she only seems to write when she has a story to tell. As with Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, this is perfect, whole, and of it's own. I cannot recommend this enough.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tilly the shrink
- 29-06-21
Hypnotic, intriguing, moving.
The labyrinth is so real you can see, feel and smell it. The massive statues, the Other (and the others) are all the world to Piranesi and he is content. And as the mystery unfolds you are left wondering if that was a good thing. Or do you want him to show you the way into the Southwestern Halls?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Eve Russett
- 17-09-20
Mysterious and Beautiful
I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell so I was excited to read this. It didn’t disappoint. It’s the kind of book that you really can’t describe without spoiling it, so I won’t, but it is really beautiful storytelling and thoroughly enjoyable. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s narration is lovely too. I can imagine I’ll listen to this again. Recommended!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nifitsa
- 05-10-20
Both the novel and narrator excellent
Wonderful book, beautifully narrated. I hope Chiwetel Ejiofor will narrate more novels. I would love to hear hear them.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Miss CDC
- 20-11-21
just my cup of tea
something beautifully different. loved the narration, thoroughly enjoyed the narration. transported to another place.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SazMcD
- 05-12-21
Intriguing
Thought-provoking and beautifully written story. Chiwetel Ejiofor has such a gorgeous voice I’ll forgive him his habit of ending the spoken sentence several words before the written one, and adding these words as an afterthought.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- The Elite Book Group
- 04-12-21
A rather strange storyline
I know that many people have read and loved this book. Chiwetel Ejiofor does an outstanding job of narrating this very complicated somewhat disjointed story.
I reached the final chapter wondering what Susanna Clarke had wanted me to take from it; A new world? A hidden country? However, her writing fascinated me and I loved the "house" filled with statues and birds.
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