10.08.2004
The Gormenghast Trilogy
by Mervyn Peake
953 pgs, paperback
Barnes & Noble page
Overall Grade: B+
This is book actaully encompasses 3 works, 'Titus Groan' 'Gormenghast' and 'Titus Alone.' The first two were made into an excellent tv miniseries by the BBC a few years back which prompted me to read them in the first place. That said, these are some of the weirdest books you'll ever read. The first two are very cohesive and tell the intertwining story of the boyhood of the future Earl Titus, his sister Fuchsia, power-hungry former kitchen boy named Steerpike, and the large cast of surrounding characters. Peake devotes long passages to describing precedent and physical aspects of the characters. This is definitely not a book to make you happy, or mow through without a mental commitment. Once you get past that a wonderfully rich, dark world flows around as you read. Unfortunately the last book feels much more piecemeal. Perhaps this is an effect to enhance the reader's immersion into Titus' character, but personally I was just puzzled most of the time. Titus is a hard one to understand & I'm pretty sure that I don't get it because I have little to none of the issues he grapples with. Overall quite excellent, watch the miniseries too!
953 pgs, paperback
Barnes & Noble page
Overall Grade: B+
This is book actaully encompasses 3 works, 'Titus Groan' 'Gormenghast' and 'Titus Alone.' The first two were made into an excellent tv miniseries by the BBC a few years back which prompted me to read them in the first place. That said, these are some of the weirdest books you'll ever read. The first two are very cohesive and tell the intertwining story of the boyhood of the future Earl Titus, his sister Fuchsia, power-hungry former kitchen boy named Steerpike, and the large cast of surrounding characters. Peake devotes long passages to describing precedent and physical aspects of the characters. This is definitely not a book to make you happy, or mow through without a mental commitment. Once you get past that a wonderfully rich, dark world flows around as you read. Unfortunately the last book feels much more piecemeal. Perhaps this is an effect to enhance the reader's immersion into Titus' character, but personally I was just puzzled most of the time. Titus is a hard one to understand & I'm pretty sure that I don't get it because I have little to none of the issues he grapples with. Overall quite excellent, watch the miniseries too!
Labels: genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, media: book
