On March 10 the longlist of 16 novels was announced, featuring two Irish authors, six British and five American authors, one Canadian, one Barbadian and one Ghanaian/American.

In April it was reduced down to the six below that made the short list.

Today, as the winner was announced, Chair of Judges Bernardine Evaristo, said:

“We wanted to find a book that we’d press into readers’ hands, which would have a lasting impact. With her first novel in seventeen years, Susanna Clarke has given us a truly original, unexpected flight of fancy which melds genres and challenges preconceptions about what books should be. She has created a world beyond our wildest imagination that also tells us something profound about what it is to be human.”

The winner is Piranesi by British author Susanna Clarke.

Piranesi lives in the House.

Perhaps he always has. In his notebooks, day after day, he makes a clear and careful record of its wonders: the labyrinth of halls, the thousands upon thousands of statues, the tides which thunder up staircases, the clouds which move in slow procession through the upper halls.

On Tuesdays and Fridays Piranesi sees his friend, the Other. At other times he brings tributes of food and waterlilies to the Dead. But mostly, he is alone. Messages begin to appear, scratched out in chalk on the pavements. There is someone new in the House. But who are they and what do they want? Are they a friend or do they bring destruction and madness as the Other claims?

Lost texts must be found; secrets must be uncovered. The world that Piranesi thought he knew is becoming strange and dangerous. The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.

Have you read Piranesi?

Susanna Clarke, on hearing of her win said:

“As some of you will know, Piranesi was nurtured, written and publicised during a long illness. It is the book that I never thought I would get to write – I never thought I’d be well enough. So this feels doubly extraordinary; I’m doubly honoured to be here. And my hope is that my standing here tonight will encourage other women who are incapacitated by long illness.”

Further Reading

NPR : Susanna Clarke Divines Magic In Long-Awaited Novel ‘Piranesi’

Guardian/Observer : Piranesi by Susanna Clarke review – byzantine and beguiling