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Summary: Gormenghast
Review: this is the best book i have ever read!! Unfortunately the last book 'Titus Alone' isn't as good!!READ THIS!! NOW!!
Rating:
Summary: An enormous pleasure to read.
Review: This is the first book of the Gormenghast trilogy (before Gormenghast and Titus Alone). The castle of Gormenghast is a huge, maze-like fortress built on the side of a mountain. It's surrounded by a tall wall, that helps keep the noble "Castle" people and their menials inside, and the "Bright Carvers", a tribal people who live in mud dwellings, outside on the arid plain. In this first volume, we're introduced to the castle's inhabitants, amidst the bustle of Titus the seventy-seventh Earl's birth, and a few days later, of his christening. There's the melancholic Lord Sepulchrave, the seventy-sixth and current Earl of Groan, his enormous wife Gertrude and her white cats, and their teenage daughter Fuchsia. And there is Mrs. Slagg, the frail old Nanny who's always complaning about her poor heart, and Mr. Flay, the Earl's tall first servant with the clicking knees. And also Mr. Rottcodd, curator of the Hall of Bright Carvings, and Sourdust the Librarian, guardian of the Protocol. Doctor Prunesquallor with his nervous laughter, and his spinsterly sister Irma, as well as Swelter the tyrannic cook and his kitchen boys, among which the young Steerpike. Then come Cora and Clarice, the Earl's asinine twin sisters, envious of his and Gertrude's power... and a few others. As the story flows, we watch these numerous protagonists interact, as Steerpike slowly works his way up the ranks of the castle. Charming high-born ladies, plotting arson, nothing daunts him. And what was a so well-greased, fine-tuned machine of minutiae and protocol, the very essence of Gormenghast, is starting to crumble slowly and inexorably. It's very hard to summarize Titus Groan in a couple of paragraphs. It's so brimming with court intrigue and mischief, interspaced with lush descriptions of this amazingly intricate fortress where I wanted to escape to, or play hide and seek in. As a whole, all I can say it that it was an enormous pleasure to read and that I can't wait to read the next book.
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Summary: A timeless, extraordinary, & vivid work of a decaying world
Review: This trilogy seems to be an underground classic of sorts, and it's certainly not for everybody. Yet in the simple premise of a child born and raised under the burden of royalty and rituals, Peake has fashioned a work that is unlike any other. No other author has yet created a world more vivid, more beautiful in its decay, or more heartbreaking. Trapped by the oppressive weight of his lineage and birthright, Titus Groan is sthe story of the birth and childhood of the title character, the Seventy-Seventh Earl of Gormenghast - as well as the tale of the castle and its many inhabitants. The second volume continues on with his life and his dreams of freedom and escape, while the third - reviled by many - breaks away from the setting of Gormenghast to trace the journey of Titus Alone. Though the third is weaker than the first two, it is perhaps the most vividly grotesque and unsettling. All three form a work that will most likely never be equalled by contemporary fantasy writers. Worthy of scholarly consideration. In one of the editions published by Overlook Press, there are critical reviews of Peake's trilogy. Worh a look if you can obtain this volume.
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Summary: Underrated Classic
Review: Titus Groan is impossible to classify. Is it fantasy? Is it gothic? Is it a Dickensian flight of fancy? Well it's been classified as all of these things, but none of these labels is quite adequate. It is perhaps ultimately best described as a black comedy. The book begins with the birth of the 77th Earl of Gormenghast, a gigantic castle were ritual rules all. Gormenghast castle seems to exist in an alternative universe to ours; however, there is no magic or cuddly hobbits, just grim realism. The plot chronicles the ramifications of when the royal family and servants encounter Steerpike, a young kitchen worker who finagles his out of kitchen service (most jobs in the castle are assigned along heriditary lines). A self-possessed rebel and clever 17-year-old, Steerpike turns their world upside down. Steerpike is like many people you may know, manipulative, self-serving, and solicitous. However, the royal family and servants are so exceedingly self-occupied, that they are easily tricked by this young upstart. Steerpike may just be the most likeable villian ever; it's hard to blame him for the things he does considering the easy targets he selects. The book is packed with other extremely memorable characters, including the sullen royal daughter (Fuschia), the Countess who seems to care only about her "pets," innumerable wild birds and and white cats, and her sisters-in-law, the identical twins (Cora and Clarice) who are the primary pawns of Steerpike. The book also provides splendid details about the castles and its world, not surprising considering that Peake is perhaps best known as an illustrator (a few of his illustrations are included here). The writing is dense and ponderous at times, but provides so many laughs and pleasures, that it is well worth the time investment. Of course, Titus Groan is just the first part of an epic. I have not read the remaining two books yet, but am tremendously excited to do. A most highly recommended read.
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