Piranesi is a speculative fiction novel by Susanna Clarke, published in 2020 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It won the 2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction and was a finalist for the 2021 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

A dreamlike, surreal story centered on one person who accepts the name Piranesi, given to him by another inhabitant of his strange world (the Other); a world that Piranesi believes has only 15 people, 13 of whom are dead. His world consists of thousands of Halls, Vestibules, staircases, and statues (hundreds of thousands of them) that appear everywhere. This world experiences periodic flash floods that threaten his life and challenge his mental stability. Piranesi eventually discovers that he has suffered a major loss of memory, which gradually returns to him, revealing his disconcerting past, a past that involves several other people in the ‘other world’ (the REAL world). He regains his memory after meeting others from the REAL world who help him understand his situation and reclaim his lost existence.

This brief description is essentially the entire story. Critics have tried to explain its meaning in various ways. It seems to resemble Plato's Cave of Shadows, though with some differences. Others liken the story to a metaphor that reflects the human condition in relation to a puzzling reality. Still others read many metaphysical patterns into the story, which may make sense to a stretched imagination. Critics frequently use the word ‘liminality’ to describe the story's atmosphere.

I read this book to the end. I felt like I had missed something somewhere. The story did not teach me anything. It did not provoke any emotional reaction. I could not relate what I read to anything I have experienced in life. It seemed weird and surreal right through to the end. This book received high praise from many critics. It also received much caustic commentary from everyday fiction readers. I can only say that it is difficult for me to judge it as ‘good’, ‘not so good’, or ‘just plain bad’. I will not give my opinion because I am simply too baffled by the story to make sense of it. That is not to say it does not deserve the acclaim it has received.

I also want to say that I am not looking for any other books by this author. I apologize for my lack of insight into this piece of writing, if that is the case. Maybe your reading of this book will bring it into focus from a different perspective. I hope so.