House of Leaves vs Piranesi: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Labyrinths, Dwellings, Fiction
House of Leaves
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A young family moves into a small home on Ash Tree Lane where they discover something is terribly wrong: their house is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning…
Piranesi
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From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality. Piranesi's house is no ordinary building; its rooms are…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Piranesi highest: Piranesi 4.5 · House of Leaves 4.0.
- Piranesi is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 13 for House of Leaves.
- Piranesi has the widest readership — 1707 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| House of Leaves | Piranesi | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 4.1 (824) | 5.0 (1) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (17) | — |
| Apple Books | 1.5 (38) | 4.5 (1707) |
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Reception
| House of Leaves | Piranesi | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 824 | 1707 |
| Editions | 14 | 23 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 79718 | 9596 |
| Pages | 736 | 272 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: House of Leaves or Piranesi?
Piranesi has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Piranesi 4.5/5, House of Leaves 4.0/5).
Which is shorter to read: House of Leaves or Piranesi?
Piranesi is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Piranesi (272 pages, ≈ 5 h 02 m); House of Leaves (736 pages, ≈ 13 h 38 m).
Which is harder to read: House of Leaves or Piranesi?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — House of Leaves: Moderate; Piranesi: Moderate.