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Michael's Reviews > Titus Groan
Titus Groan (Gormenghast, #1)
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I couldn't decide whether this should be a four-star book or a five-star book. Then, I realized that I got everything out of this book that I want out of a fantasy novel. I suppose that means it should get five stars, right?
This book has the utterly compelling and original setting of Groan Castle, a monstrous behemoth of a castle where whole sections have been forgotten and abandoned. It has many wonderful characters who are simultaneously outlandish and complex. And one of these characters is Steerpike, an upstart boy who is clever enough to turn all of Groan Castle on its head, and gradually maneuvers his way from a kitchen helper to a quite prestigious position (and one gets the sense his ascension is going to continue in the sequel). I don't want to spoil anything because I definitely recommend this book. The only flaw was the pacing is sometimes slow. Unfortunately, the first hundred pages or so are fairly slow as you gradually discover the environment of the castle. But, when the plot starts to thicken, it quickly becomes very hard to put down.
This book has the utterly compelling and original setting of Groan Castle, a monstrous behemoth of a castle where whole sections have been forgotten and abandoned. It has many wonderful characters who are simultaneously outlandish and complex. And one of these characters is Steerpike, an upstart boy who is clever enough to turn all of Groan Castle on its head, and gradually maneuvers his way from a kitchen helper to a quite prestigious position (and one gets the sense his ascension is going to continue in the sequel). I don't want to spoil anything because I definitely recommend this book. The only flaw was the pacing is sometimes slow. Unfortunately, the first hundred pages or so are fairly slow as you gradually discover the environment of the castle. But, when the plot starts to thicken, it quickly becomes very hard to put down.
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Reading Progress
June 17, 2009
– Shelved
Started Reading
June 27, 2009
–
Finished Reading
February 21, 2010
– Shelved as:
goodest-reads-2009
March 8, 2013
– Shelved as:
sf-fantasy
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Cecily
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rated it 5 stars
Jun 19, 2012 03:56AM
Yes, the pacing is sometimes slow, but only because Peake is so in love with words: the descriptions are so vivid, creative and beautiful.
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Yes, his writing style continued growing on me, and by the time I got to Gormenghast, I was enjoying the leisurely and surreal style of Peake's writing a lot. Gormenghast and Titus Groan are now among my very favorites, although I'm still not a huge fan of Titus Alone. It seemed a little rushed for some reason.
The reason is that he was suffering from a form of Parkinson's disease and depression. It was arguably not the same man who wrote the third story. In many ways, I think "Titus Alone" is the opposite of its two precursors and I disliked it when I first read it, in spite or because I loved the other two so much. Rereading them all, I have grown to like and understand it more (but still not as much as the first two).
Ah, I didn't realize that. I have a biography of Peake on my shelf that I have yet to get around to reading, but other than knowing he also illustrated a bunch of books, I don't know much at all about who he was.
It's also worth knowing, though you may well have guessed from the way he describes things, that in addition to writing, he was an artist.Other key things in his life that you can see in his work are:
* He spent his formative years in Imperial Peking (as it then was), which was not dissimilar to Gormenghast.
* As an official war artist, he was present at, and forever haunted by, the liberation of Belsen.
Arch, this seems to be attracting attention at the moment and your review doesn't help dampen the enthusiasm!! Thanks. I think.
Architeuthis wrote: "Gormenghast and Titus Groan are now among my very favorites, although I'm still not a huge fan of Titus Alone. It seemed a little rushed for some reason. "I can see how it would be jarring. I think because I expected the drastic difference, and waited a while between Gormenghast and Titus Alone, I'm not really experiencing the same disappointment others have expressed. Nice, concise review!
Cecily wrote: "He spent his formative years in Imperial Peking (as it then was), which was not dissimilar to Gormenghast."
I didn't know that Cecily! I knew he was born in China, but his exposure to a sprawling palace makes sense.
Scribble wrote: "Arch, this seems to be attracting attention at the moment ..."
And it's about bloody time too!
Kyle wrote: "...I didn't know that Cecily! I knew he was born in China, but his exposure to a sprawling palace makes sense..."A couple of bios you could try (reviewed on my Gormenghast shelf):
A World Away: A Memoir of Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Peake: The Man and His Art
Scribble wrote: "Arch, this seems to be attracting attention at the moment ..."And it's about bloody time too!
Agreed! I wrote this review after reading the book for the first time, and I doubt that I will be updating it, but the series continues to grow on me as a set of favorites. This review more accurately sums up my feelings for the series.
The bio I have so far is My Eyes Mint Gold: A Life, and it is still unread, despite the fact that I've now invested money in some very nice editions of the Gormenghast trilogy.
