From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…

Titus Groan (Gormenghast, #1)

Mervyn Peake

Start date: February 1, 2017

Finish date: February 28, 2017

Discussion: Around Europe 2017

Why we're reading this: Winner of the Around Europe UK/Ireland poll
[close] Winner of the Around Europe UK/Ireland poll

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What Members Thought

Jun 07, 2013 Wendy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: blooms-western-canon, 1001-books, fantasy, all-time-favorites, gothic, infp

In Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast fantasy, there be no dragons. There are no magical wizards, spells, nor non-human races, here either. In fact, if a vast, Tolkien-like word that spans continents and generations, with complex politics, monsters and bloody battles between Good and Evil are the definition of fantasy, then this is anti-fantasy. Titus Groan may not have much of a plot, and may be set almost entirely within the grounds of one corroding and labyrinthine castle, but the atmosphere, the cha In Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast fantasy, there be no dragons. There are no magical wizards, spells, nor non-human races, here either. In fact, if a vast, Tolkien-like word that spans continents and generations, with complex politics, monsters and bloody battles between Good and Evil are the definition of fantasy, then this is anti-fantasy. Titus Groan may not have much of a plot, and may be set almost entirely within the grounds of one corroding and labyrinthine castle, but the atmosphere, the characterization, and downright surreal creativity left me aching for more as I closed the cover at the end.

That said, I can see how this could be hard to get into. I struggled a bit at the start, as the author inundated me with description after description of the Hall of Bright Carvings and its caretaker. The prose is poetic and very dense, and I was unable to read at my normal pace because I didn't want to miss a single word, and often found myself rereading passages to make sure I had unraveled them sufficiently and could picture everything clearly. Because there is so much to *see* within these words. Castle Gormenghast itself is a character on its own.

The point at which I really got into the book was when I met Steerpike, who starts as a humble kitchen boy under the tyrannical chef Swelter and eventually, propelled by his own sheer wit and ambition, begins a ruthless climb through the hierarchy of the castle staff. Steerpike is interesting because at first he seems set up to be the protagonist--many a fantasy novel elevates some humble working lad to heroic proportions as he strives to fight for Good--but that is not at all what happens here. Eventually Steerpike's more diabolical side is revealed, and one of the main reasons I'm eager to reader the next book is to see just where, and how dark, his character is going to get. Almost all the characters have a dark side and a grotesqueness about them, not to mention hilariously apt Dickensian names like Flay, Swelter, Prunesquallor and Slagg. Yes, there is some hilarity here, albeit of a dark bent. I laughed out loud a number of times at some of the ridiculous details: using cats as projectile weapons, for example, or Swelter's practice assassination scenarios. Oh, and the poetry. I usually skip/skim poetry in fantasy, especially Tolkien's (bless his heart), but I loved Peake's and plan to memorize "The Frivolous Cake" so I can recite it to the Progeny some day. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2016 Elise rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1940s, read-in-2016, spooky

A ponderous, beautifully written novel about grotesque and/or alien-like people and their isolated world. That kind of thing would ordinarily be insufferable, especially since Peake doesn’t quite take it seriously, but it never gets precious, mercifully. It’s a cool place in which to hang out, but the plot just snuffs itself out despite some initial momentum of Steerpike’s machinations. The characters’ separate arcs never intertwine satisfactorily either. I really enjoyed Peake’s command of lang ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Nov 23, 2013 Genia Lukin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, fantasy

Surprisingly, I didn't love this book.

Surprisingly, because it's chok-full of the stuff I like: creepy Gothic atmosphere, elaborate writing, semi-mystical landscape, classic of Fantasy... and yet, for some reason I can't explain, it left me tepid.

Perhaps the elaborate writing was just a little too elaborate; perhaps the atmospheric scenes and scenic atmospheres and all their ilk really took up too much of the book, chomping away at the rightful eminence of actual plot; perhaps the characters' ...more

1 like · Like · see review