'Piranesi,' a perfect fall read leading up to Halloween

Chloe Deblois of Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop in Damariscotta, Maine, recommended the novel “Piranesi” by Susanna Clarke, the bestselling author of “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.” The novel takes place inside “The House,” in a world of seemingly endless hallways, statues and changing tides.Piranesi chronicles this labyrinthine world, nearly always alone — until, suddenly, someone new arrives. The narrator of the story is Piranesi himself, whom Deblois called “one of the most likeable characters I’ve read in a long time: very smart, but naïve in a way that makes you kind of nervous as a reader.” It’s a “David-Mitchell-esque, mysterious, wonderfully haunting, perfect fall read,” says Deblois. For readers feeling the Halloween spirit, Deblois says this novel is “definitely chilling, and the mystery as it slots into place leaves you feeling a little spooked, but also you just can’t wait to continue to read and solve more of these mysteries.”