Fantasy · Similar reads
Books like Piranesi
The best books like Piranesi are The Trial, The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit, and A Grief Observed. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is about memory and identity, wonder and isolation, gaslighting and manipulation. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- The Trial
01
Franz Kafka · Literary fiction
On the morning of his thirtieth birthday, Josef K.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
02
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
Michael Finkel · Memoir
In 1986, a twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight drove into the woods of central Maine, abandoned his car, and walked into the forest.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - A Grief Observed
- Siddhartha
04
Hermann Hesse · Religion & Spirituality
Siddhartha is Hermann Hesse's 1922 novel of spiritual seeking, written at a time when Hesse was deeply studying Buddhist and Hindu texts.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary → - Night Watch
05
Terry Pratchett · Fantasy
Night Watch is the twenty-ninth Discworld novel and the one many readers consider Pratchett's masterpiece.
Both dig into memory and identity.
Read the summary → - Exhalation: Stories
06
Ted Chiang · Short stories
Exhalation: Stories is Ted Chiang's second collection, containing nine stories written between 2005 and 2019.
Both dig into memory and identity.
Read the summary → - Ficciones
07
Jorge Luis Borges · Short stories
Ficciones collects seventeen short stories and fictions by the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, first published in two parts in 1941 and 1944.
Both dig into memory and identity.
Read the summary → - Lila
08
Marilynne Robinson · Literary fiction
Lila is the third novel set in Gilead, Iowa, and it arrives as a prequel and companion to both Gilead and Home.
Both dig into memory and identity.
Read the summary → - Moby-Dick
09
Herman Melville · Literary fiction
Moby-Dick opens with one of the most famous sentences in American literature — "Call me Ishmael" — and immediately establishes a voice that is learned, digressive, sardonic, and strange.
Both dig into knowledge and its limits.
Read the summary → - Project Hail Mary
10
Andy Weir · Science fiction
Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spacecraft with no memory of who he is, where he is, or why he's there.
Both dig into memory and identity.
Read the summary → - The English Patient
11
Michael Ondaatje · Literary fiction
The English Patient is set at the end of the Second World War, in a damaged Italian villa north of Florence.
Both dig into memory and identity.
Read the summary → - A Court of Mist and Fury
12
Sarah J. Maas · Fantasy
A Court of Mist and Fury begins where A Court of Thorns and Roses ended: Feyre is back in the Spring Court with Tamlin, but she is not the same person who left.
A kindred fantasy read.
Read the summary →
Books like Piranesi: quick answers
What are the best books like Piranesi?
The best books like Piranesi by Susanna Clarke are The Trial by Franz Kafka, The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel, A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Night Watch by Terry Pratchett, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Piranesi, such as memory and identity, wonder and isolation, gaslighting and manipulation.
What should I read after Piranesi?
A natural next read after Piranesi is The Trial by Franz Kafka. A kindred fantasy read. Other strong choices are The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel, A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse.
What books are similar to Piranesi by Susanna Clarke?
Piranesi centers on memory and identity, wonder and isolation, gaslighting and manipulation. Books with a similar feel include The Trial by Franz Kafka, The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel, A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, Night Watch by Terry Pratchett, Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
