This book was a nice short read. Easy to get lost in, but also easy to lose track and get confused. There were some great moments in this book, but I also found it a little hard to connect with some of the characters. If I didn't have a physical copy to read along to, I think I'd have gotten very mixed up though.

To enter this House, leave your preconceptions at the Door.
Forget that Susanna Clarke also wrote Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell because this book is very, very different.
Try to ignore the capitalisation of certain Words and just go with the lyrical flow.
Know that it will be hard to get into at first but stick with it and buckle up for a mind-blowing genre bending journey.
Set aside some time to just read this book and be prepared that it won't be what you expected at all.

This is the kind of book that immediately grabs you and then continually surprises you. I had no idea what to expect going in and was a little suspicious of the hype. I'm happy to say that it really did deliver.

I will say that it's a bit slow to get going and it takes a lot of time to get to grips with the world. However, the story starts to speed up as the story goes on. In terms of story, it's not necessarily the most surprising of books and the eventual reveal isn't exactly shocking. However, this is just as much about character as it is the plot.

There are plenty of enjoyable moments here and some very interesting characters. There are a few things that I wish had been expanded but it was a great read. The writing is beautiful and there is a dreamy air over the whole book. It feels like quite a sedate and stripped back novel but that's what makes it so great. It is quietly brilliant and it hits hard.

I listened to this as an audiobook. It's fair to say I don't know 🤷🏻‍♀️ what I've just spent the last 7 hours listening to. I'm just being honest. Maybe it was because I didn't have a clear idea of what or where this book was going for probably 90% of the time. I was just confused. It wasn't until I had finished that I realised it was by the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, if I'd known that I would have given it a wide berth.

Lots of people have loved this book, its won plenty of awards. But I don't think that the final 10% of it all coming together is worth the previous six and a half hours. Well for me at least.

Someone tell me I am not alone. Was it just the audiobook version that left me scratching my head. What world was I in, what timezone was it... Who the heck was I?

You can't love every book 👀

Thank you to Netgalley and BloomsburyUK for a free review copy of this book.

Favourite book in ages! I’ve bought a copy on audiobook so I can listen again! I loved Piranesi and the amazing house. 😍😍😍😍😍

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me listen to a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my feedback.

This was the first audio book I've listened to in a long time and it's definitely made me want to listen to more. A fabulous and intriguing story, beautifully written and beautifully read. I still hear Chiwetel Ejiofor's voice in my head whenever I think of the story, and the amazing way he brought individual words like 'Battersea' to life. I even ended up going to the gym more so that I could sneak in an extra listen!

Quite unexpectedly I found my request to listen to the audiobook of this book via Netgalley approved by the publisher and so finally I could dive into this book, this story that I had heard quite a bit about and had always felt intrigued ever since I first saw its cover, with Pan figuring prominently on the cover, playing his flute, leading with his music through a maze.

I absolutely loved going onto this journey with the main character called Piranesi.

It soon becomes clear that all is not well within this mansion where Piranesi lives. There are mysteries that need to be understood and solved.

And so we follow Piranesi as he finds the clues to the mystery that his life in this place is and see where this leads him to.

The book is excellently written and comes in my opinion to a very satisfactory conclusion.

Now, that I write about it and the story has settled a bit, I already consider a reread, as this is a book that unravels slowly. For whatever the reaon I also find it soothing. I expect a reread to be even more rewarding as more of the layers it holds can be understood. A second or third read does this normally for me.

The rendition of the text through the narrator is flawless and very enjoyable.

The only wish I have for the audiobook is, that there would be just this tad more silent time between the chapters, as this story needs breathing space and two or three times, I found myself gasping and wishing I had a moment longer of silent time to digest and get ready for the next chapter.

The audio sample I received sounds intriguing and dream-like. A book I will definitely read, but for me, it's the kind of book I'll have to read, rather than listen to.

Piranesi lives in the House. Maybe he always has. Maybe he hasn't...

In his notebooks, Piranesi writes carefully about the wonders and mysteries of the House: its labyrinths of Halls, the thousands of statues, the clouds in the Upper Floors and the seas and tides in the Lower. He is alone, barring the fourteen Dead and, on Tuesdays and Fridays, he is visited by his only friend, the Other. But, for the most part, he is alone.

But now, he's not so certain. Piranesi is sure there is someone else in the House. Someone who is writing messages in chalk for him. Someone he calls Sixteen and someone the Other calls a threat and a danger.

But who is Sixteen? Who is the Other? Who is Piranesi?

I went into this with no real expectations. I had read a sampler of the first few pages from NetGalley in the beginning of the year and I came away intrigued as this was weird, a bit of a mind**** and had undertones of Greek and Roman mythology with some darkness underneath.

I am shocked and hugely surprised with this as, whatever I was expecting, I didn't get it. Instead, I got a story that is wistful, gentle and just a joy. I expected something a lot more darker, but Piranesi has a childlike innocence to him and that makes reading the House and the mystery behind the House and all the characters (yes, there is a mystery and it does get revealed in breadcrumbs) a surprisingly joyful.

I am going to say that this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. Some of you won't like the writing style of this (you are reading Piranesi's journals so his innocence might grate on some of you and some of you might think the plot of the story is a little thing), but I just found this lovely and the ideas it put forward about memories were intriguing.

This is such a beautiful audiobook (the narrator of the audiobook is Chiwetel Ejiofor did a wonderful job) and I am struggling to figure out how to write this review so going to end this here. Though I have no plans to attempt Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, I am thinking of buying a physical copy of Piranesi for Christmas and reading it next year...

[EDIT from September 2021: I have FINALLY bought myself a copy and plan to read soon and, on the day I bought a physical copy, this won the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021 which I am so happy about! A worthy winner!]

Piranesi, the eponymous diarist of his world, gradually builds us a picture at once totally strange, and eerily familiar. He is alone in his world, apart from fleeting visits from "The Other" and a series of dead bodies that he has carefully catalogued and named. He doesn't know where he came from and why he is where he is. Yet, and this is absolutely key to all that follows, he accepts his lack of knowledge as perfectly normal and acceptable.
From this scant beginning, Susanna Clarke teases us, and our hero through to an extraordinary enlightenment. This book has already been deservedly well reviewed by many. My comments will add little. I am extremely happy that I read (listened) to this magical creation.
Inspired reading by Chiwetel Ejiofor.

I adored this tale which was a haunting and poetic character study of a man swept in drowned caves with only journals and the birds on the statues for company. The audiobook was a delight and, I admit, it did make me weep.

I admire Susanna Clarke for this ambitious and wonderfully executed novel. A genuinely wonderful story that will linger on.

This book was... confusing. I still don't really know how to feel about it and if I really understood it properly and I don't know if that was Susanna Clarke's intention but I'm not sure if I like it. I don't think this by any means makes this a bad book, maybe just not a book for me and my intellectual level (lol).
It took me a LONG time to really get into this and understand what was happening, that being said I do think it was written well. I think the nature of this book is to confuse you and disorientate you like the main character is in the novel. I do wonder if I would have found it easier reading it physically but oh well.

Despite my initial struggles I found myself really into this around half way through once I'd got to grips with everything. I liked the twist/explanation and couldn't put the book down once it had been revealed. I also really liked the ending, I struggle a little with liking most endings, honestly, because I find I'm disappointed when mysteries are wrapped up neatly but this threw me for a loop a bit.
I will be picking up more from Clarke in future, but probably physically.

As a side note, I don't understand the cover at all. I don't think it fits the story or vibes at all and I never would have expected anything like this from a cover like that


The audiobook narrators voice was clear and smooth and worked really well at different speeds, I prefer my audiobooks at double speed and the voice wasn't distorted at all. I could listen to his voice for ages, I think it's part of the reason I kept listening for so long otherwise I might have considered not continuing this book until the end.

3/5 stars

Now, I am absolutely sure that this book is beautiful, lyrical and wonderful based on the reviews that some of my friends have written for this book. It was just waaaaay too much for my brain in that I found it quite difficult to follow along and I was as lost in the book as you would expect to be in a labyrinth.

I don't even know if I understand enough of the book to do a thorough and valid review, which more reflects my own capacity for understanding than it does on Piranesi. Susanna Clarke definitely created a magical, interesting and extensive experience, that I'm sure will resonate and be enjoyed by many people.

Even though I feel like this book was too smart for me, I would still recommend it to people who enjoy reading literary novels.

Wow, I absolutely love this book.

While everything feels very unfamiliar and strange at the start it’s not overly confusing and I was just excited to find out more!

Clarke’s writing is enchanting and the voice of Piranesi feels so unique. While he’s placed in a very odd scenario he feels very good relatable and human. Its wonderful to see his thought processes as he makes sense of the very odd environment he finds himself in.

The reader learns what’s going on alongside Piranesi but you get the sense that he’s somewhat unreliable as a narrator which keeps you guessing. There are inconsistencies and clues set out right from the beginning and it’s very satisfying when they slowly come together.

For a pretty short book it packs in a lot - a must read!

The audiobook for Piranesi is beautifully produced and narrated -- seriously, the narrator is one of the best I've ever heard. However, I don't think that the audio suits the story for me. I listened to half and had NO idea what was going on! I'm planning to restart and read from a physical copy.

Amazing prose from Clarke! Loved this book and I wish she was writing more often. Interesting story, and great narration.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

From the first sample I read of this book I was transported to a mysterious world of magic and wonder.

Piranesi’s world is limited to endless series of statue filled halls, that seem vaguely familiar but bewildering in their purpose. This world is enchanting but also mysterious. Piranesi is alone except for occasional encounters with The Other, although there is evidence of the presence of others before him.
Piranesi himself is a charming mixture of intelligence, naiveté and acceptance. While we the reader are aching to know the nature of this place, Piranesi is quite satisfied with his lot. But he is not passive and his curiosity and his honest pursuit of the truth lead to intriguing discoveries.

The ‘solution’ of this story is almost as incredible as the world itself.
I did not want to leave the halls and will return one day soon with a reread.

The audio book narration by Chiwetel Ejiofor is simply hypnotic . His rich voice adds an extra dimension of enchantment to the story without ever being over-dramatic.

I had been waiting for a long time for another book from this author. While I don't think anything can top Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (and the subsequent Ladies of Grace Adieu), this did not disappoint. It's not what I expected, but who could ever have expected this odd and dreamlike tale? Beautifully written, this will keep you guessing until the end, and then you will continue to wonder about it.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

This was my most anticipated book of 2020 so no pressure on the author whatsoever…
After the sheer brilliance and uniqueness of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, there was a lot to live up to, however Ms Clarke well and truly pulled it off.
Piranesi is beautifully written. You enter a world of labyrinthine proportions, never knowing who or what is real or imagined. It is impossible to describe without diminishing it so I won’t try. Just read it and be delighted.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for this AAC

Susanna Clarke has done it again, the years of waiting totally worth it! So so happy I got this AAC recommended so many copies and listened to it numerous times. Adore it