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Piranesi

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Piranesi

By: Susanna Clarke
Narrated by: Chiwetel Ejiofor
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About this listen

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
Dark Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Mind-bending Funny Scary

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All stars
Most relevant
This short lyrical novel is just perfect in its story, unique setting and the writing.

Impossible to summarise but sure to cement Clarke’s reputation. One of a kind

Sheer perfection

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Struggled with the monotony and tinnelessnness at the beginning but slowly the book reveals itself and by the end, it is beautiful.

I nearly gave up at the start

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I was a little worried at the start that I wouldn't enjoy it. Took a good hour or so for me to get in to it. After that though the revelations come thick and fast and its clear why the first part of the book is the way it was. A brilliant story that makes you think, excellently performed!

Convoluted start... so worth it in the end!

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A really wonderful world between genres, Philosophy, epistemology, with a dramatic and compelling story. I loved this book. I finished it and felt a bit bereft that I was no longer in that beautiful world of the House.

Beautiful, as compelling as it is peaceful

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Great narrator to a wonderful and well written story that envelops the reader in it.

wonderful and engaging

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