Books like Piranesi

By Susanna Clarke

For the strange world, uncertain memories or quiet kindness of Piranesi, try these three different paths.

For memory and intimate magic

Neil Gaiman

A return to a childhood home brings back a dangerous encounter with a family whose everyday world contains impossible things.

The difference: A remembered English childhood, rather than an adult exploring a vast house.

Jeff VanderMeer

A biologist records an expedition into Area X, where the landscape unsettles what the explorers believe about themselves.

The difference: Ecological horror with less comfort and kindness.

Yōko Ogawa

A novelist tries to protect someone who can remember the things disappearing from her island.

The difference: More surveillance and loss; less pleasure in exploration.

Sources and book details

Collected’s editorial comparisons, informed by the descriptions and reading profiles.