Customer Reviews

TITUS GROAN

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I read the Gormenghast Trilogy for the first time when I was in high school, some eighteen years ago, and while many of the scenes and the overall mood remained in my memory, I completely missed most of the humor and beauty in the writing itself, as I discovered when recently rereading Titus Groan. The sonorous, skewed beauty of the language demands to be read slowly and savored as prose poetry -- I read only a few pages a day over several months. Take a passage like the following:

"Suns and the changing of the seasonal moons; the leaves from trees that cannot keep their leaves, and the fish from olive waters have their voices! ... Stones have their voices and the quills of birds; the anger of the thorns, the wounded spirits, the antlers, ribs that curve, bread, tears and needles. Blunt boulders and the silence of cold marshes -- these have their voices -- the insurgent clouds, the cockerel and the worm. ... Voices that grind at night from lungs of granite. Lungs of blue air and the white lungs of rivers. All voices haunt all moments of all days; all voices fill the crannies of all regions."

If you find this sort of thing boring, by all means skip this book. This has almost nothing to do with either Tolkien or his less skilled successors who churn out a 500-page volume every six months. I think it has more in common with a book like Moby Dick (which I have been advised not to read until I reach forty years of age), in that it demands that the reader relate the text to his own experience of life and literature.

Many of the characters are grotesque parodies, but as with other masters of satire, Peake's exaggeration rings truer to life than a more "realistic" depiction would. The characters are neither good nor evil -- even Steerpike, though ambitious and unscrupulous, is not the evil villain of so many fantasy epics, but is in many ways a sympathetic character. Perhaps the main character is the castle Gormenghast itself, the concrete embodiment of the venerable yet often dysfunctional traditions under which the human characters labor.

Mervyn Peake has here created a true fantasy -- a unique vision with its own consistency and texture, sometimes stifling and febrile, morbidly comic, but with glimpses of pathos and tranquility, sustained by an amazing elasticity of language and poetry.

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.

This is one of those excellent books that I have been fortunate enough to find. I actually picked it up while in the waning stage of my annual Tolkien revival, hoping to find some similar fantasy. I was pleasantly surprised to find a story that was nothing like our present day conception of celtic/teutonic based fantasy. In fact, this book is so completely different that it reminds me more of Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shoppe than anything. Yet I believe, yes, I believe that I prefer this book to anything Dickens. Peake is a beautiful artisan of prose, but he also has a humerous bite to his language that plays strongly off the parody stereotypes introduced in this epic. I'm not British, but I cannot help but wonder if the English see this book as a parody of their monarchy. This may answer the reason for Titus's popularity in England, whereas we Americans don't seem to pay Gormenghast the attention it deserves.

So if you are into GOOD fantasy, read this book; and when I say GOOD fantasy, I'm refering to Tolkien, not the novel-a-minute writers whom we see so often at present. This book also takes a bit of work, so if you don't like Dickens, you probably won't like Peake.

Well do I remember the momentous day in 1975 when a good friend loaned me a copy of Titus Groan and suggested I might enjoy it. Enjoy it? I was hooked from that first glimpse of the Hall of Bright Carvings; utterly transfixed by strange but compelling stories of the denizens of Gormenghast: a weird place and weird people, to be sure, but not so weird as to be beyond recognition. Peake's prose is masterful throughout; his characters are so profoundly realised that you really do feel you know them: Fuschia, Prunesquallor, Steerpike, Titus himself, my personal hero Mr Flay...wonderful. The narrative has been critized for being ponderous, but bear in mind this is a "big read" and it is best absorbed at a steady pace. The action, when it comes, is all the more startling: consider the cobweb-strewn battle to the death between Flay and the loathsome Swelter, and in Gormenghast, Titus's deadly encounter with Steerpike (now evil personified) amid the stifling ivy. "Titus Groan" and "Gormenghast" are famously more satisfying than "Titus Alone", written when Peake was seriously ill and fading fast, but even "Titus Alone" has some strangely affecting characters and situations. Its strangeness is more disturbing than the first two books however, which are totally enthralling. Since that first encounter over 25 years ago I have re-read this trilogy many, many times, always with more enjoyment than the time before. I made a chess-set with characters from the book (grey scrubbers make great pawns) and have enlivened many a dull day at work by likening some of my colleagues (in my minds eye, of course) to some of Peake's so-called grotesques...the Civil Service is not without its Barquentines and Sourdusts, not to mention the Deadyawns and Cutflowers! This is one book (along with the Bible) I would just not want to be without.

It really fits for me that this book was written by a professional illustrator. It reminded me not so much of other books as of the anime movie Spirited Away, or of a cartoon version of Alice in Wonderland. Action is so secondary to description - vivid, sensory description. There is a constant oppressive mood - not merely in the population of grotesques, but in the stream of pejorative adjectives. Were Peake to insert words before subjects like `rainbow', `puppy' and `light', I'd expect something along the lines of `malevolent', `ghoulish' and `cancerous' (or even `aspersing', `preternatural' and `internecine': Peake certainly loved a thesaurus). The characters are ghostlike, perhaps part of a theme that people are so transient compared to tradition or even buildings. They don't seem quite human, they are so defined by (generally wretched) appearance and perseverations. Gormenghast itself dominates everything in oppressive (as opposed to comforting) permanence.

I was surprised to see this in the BBC's top 100 list, although I can see that it would polarise readers: I can't say I've read anything like it before. There is a plot of sorts as the Machiavellian Steerpike rises, with enticing hints of crossing future events, but the book is hardly driven by story. Rather it saturates the mind's eye with uncomfortably detailed image after image. Perhaps that's why I'm unlikely to go on with the next two books (though I am tempted - compelled - is it something like your eyes being pulled towards misery or an accident?) - I've never had a particularly visual imagination. Although perhaps someone more empathetic to this sort of lurid, macabre thing would be repelled!

I have never read anything quite like this!

The first book revolves loosely around a newborn Titus Groan that is heir to the earldom of Gormenghast and it's Castle, an archaic, monolithic, stiffly-traditioned place. Throughout the first volume, we meet various members of the castle staff, the royal family and even a few commoners. You'll love Peake's unique way of portraying characters with his hilarious attention to detail. I don't think I'll ever forget the eccentric Mr. Flay or the effeminate Dr. Prune... The Antagonist, Steerpike, has got to be the most villainous, calculating creature I've come across in any book. He's someone you'll love to hate, but also admire. Since this is one of those rare books in which you can easily become attached to the characters, I'll warn you, Peake is not hesitant to dispose of them!

At first, there doesn't seem to be a definitive plot to follow. But, as the story progresses and Titus matures, you begin to see that he is feeling more and more strangled by this static castle life. But, Titus and nearly all of the castle's dwellers are ignorant of what lies beyond Gormenghast. It's important to note that the reader is also kept in the dark. You get the impression that Gormenghast "Was, is and always shall be." And if it's inhabitants have ever dreamed of lands beyond, it is doubtful that any could consciously imagine any other place.

The truth is revealed in book 3. Believing there is nothing left for him, Titus does the unthinkable and abandons his castle, his people and more importantly, his duties as the 77th Earl. The world Titus finds is quite unlike his own. So different in fact that he begins to doubt it ever existed. Even as the reader, I couldn't help wondering if Titus imagined it all during some delirious state of mind. But, the ending satisfies...

I highly recommend this trilogy to lovers of fantasy and haters alike. This work is not classifiable fantasy in a strict sense, as there aren't any mythical beasts or obvious magics. It's kind of a mish-mash of fantasy, sci-fi and drama. But make no mistake, you'll reserve a spot for this classic epic right next to Tolkien. (Though I'm not comparing the two, each is a classic in it's own right).

The power went out at my house yesterday, and I picked up Titus Groan to read by candlelight. Peake reminds some of Dickens, but he is much more eccentric than Dickens and the humor is darker. I would instead associate Titus Groan with strange and fantastic books like A Voyage to Arcturus, The King in Yellow, Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath, House on the Borderlands, some of the Zothique stories, perhaps Ligotti, maybe Brian Aldiss's Malacia Tapestry, and maybe even some Richard Adams (Girl in a Swing?, Shardik?). But I only associate it with those books because they also took me to some very very odd places soaking with strange atmosphere, but maybe they wouldn't work for you, and it is perhaps best to say that Peake is unique. Peake has an almost feverish view of his odd castle and its self-absorbed inhabitants. His descriptive technique is exceedingly different, for instance, there are birds and bird imagery on every page, and nearly everyone seems to be birdlike with Sepulchrave taking this to the marvelous extreme. While unique and marvelous, his prose is not perfect--he often overuses certain metaphors and gets a bit repetitious with his "paper" sun and moon, "sepia"-colored everything, inky shadows, towers as perpindicular rulers, pearls and strings of water, reflections in droplets and pools, "pricks" of light, and he certainly is fond of "sucking" metaphors (feet, swamps, ghost-cats, etc.), he even has "sighing" flagstones at one point. Maybe floorboards can sigh, but surely not flagstones. The twins dialog is tiresome, but I love the characters, all as lavishly and precisely drawn as, well, drawings. Making them a bit 2 dimensional. The prose goes positively delirious in Blood at Midnight and other places, but I rather like the sometimes awkward, raucous and jumbled imagery. I certainly recommend this book to anyone who wants oceans of atmosphere and absolutely vivid character archetypes that will accompany you forever through life, and jump readily to mind the next time you think you observe a bloated and perverted chef perhaps tip-toeing while whispering to a monstrous cleaver, or a totally mad king perched on a mantle hooting like an owl, or an enormous and serene earth mother with birds in her unkempt hair and a sea of cats swirling at her feet, or a mincing tittering winking yet charming doctor. Who is more marvelous than Mrs. Slagg or Mr. Flay? Anyway, I can't do justice to this book. I recommend it to anyone with a hungry imagination.

Titus Groan is often mentioned with Lord of the Rings and incorrectly categorized as epic fantasy. This is a gothic drama. The story revolves around a dysfunctional, simple minded, royal family that adheres to archaic traditions. Trouble ensues when an ambitious youth manipulates them in a grab for power. Titus Groan could have been a short story. Weighing in at 400 pages, with 350 pages of deeply poetic detail, you should only read it if you like authors like Charles Dickens. If you're a fan of richly detailed descriptions, you'll probably enjoy this book. In order to help you figure out if you'd appreciate Titus Groan, I've made a simple quiz:

1) Which description do you prefer?
A - Making use of the miniature and fluted precipice of hard, white discoloured flesh, where Fuchsia's teeth had left their parallel grooves, he bit greedily, his top teeth severing the wrinkled skin of the pear, and the teeth of his lower jaw entering the pale cliff about halfway up its face; they met in the secret and dark centre of the fruit - in that abactinal region where, since the petals of the pear flower had been scattered in some far June breeze, a stealthy and profound maturing had progressed by day and night. As he bit, for the second time, into the fruit his weakness filled him again as with a thin atmosphere, and he carefully lowered himself face down over the table until he had recovered strength to continue his clandestine meal. (+50 Points)
B - Steelpike bit into Fuchsia's pear. It was yummy. (0 Points)

2) For every one of these words that you know, give yourself 5 points.
a) perspicaciously (+5 Points)
b) escutcheon (+5 Points)
c) conflagration (+5 Points)
d) seraphic (+5 Points)
e) escarpment (+5 Points)

3) Do you like the style of the characters in Tim Burton movies?
a) Yes, the grotesque personifications are humorous. (+10 Points)
b) No, they look all weird and stuff. (0 Points)

4) Would you like to read about a rotten royal family in a crumbling castle fall to pieces through manipulation?
a) Yes, to hell with kings and monarchs! (+10 Points)
b) No, that sounds kinda lame and depressing. (0 Points)

5) Do you like parodies or dark humor?
a) Yes! (+5 Points)
b) Nope! (0 Points)

Ok, add up your points:_____
See what score is closest to your point total.

100 Points - You should buy the entire trilogy today! Your mind's eye will be filled with vivid images of manipulation, treachery, decay, and parody. You will reread this book again and again!
80 Points - You'll enjoy reading this book and will be deeply entertained.
60 Points - You may have trouble with the book, but you'll probably finish it because the story is entertaining.
40 Points - You should probably skip this book.
25 Points - There's enough drama on TV. There's no reason to read this book.
0 Points - If someone puts a gun to your head and forces you to read this book, take your chances and try to escape!

So, there you have it.

The Gormenghast Trilogy consists of two wonderful books, Titus Groan and Gormenghast, and one dreadfully confused book Titus Alone. I recommend the reader work through all three but really, the first two can be read alone perfectly satisfactorily.
Mr Peake invokes an ancient castle set in no particular time where ritual has become as much part of the fabric of life as food. For Titus, young heir to the kingdom, there is no escaping the drudgery of court life. Every day of the year his movements are proscribed by the ancient tomes that are cared for and interpreted first by Sourdust, then Barquentine and finally the arch villain, Steerpike. The atmosphere is Gothic, surreal, as menacing and slow as a quicksand. The characters are bizarre freaks moving against the dark, grim backdrop of the castle. Overwhelmed by all this tradition, Titus rebels and quickly finds himself at odds with the very fabric of his ancient home. His allies and his enemies take their sides and begin their macabre dance and, to use Mr Peakes phrase, Titus is wading through his childhood. Fantastic.

Peake's vast Gormenghast trilogy deserves to be rediscovered by fans of dark and surreal literature, who will probably be amazed by the work's influence even if they've never heard of it. This first book of the trilogy (from 1946) highlights the rewards and demands of reading Mervyn Peake. While most would categorize the story as fantasy, Peake avoids stock mythical creatures and vague supernatural magic, and sticks with the human drama of a large cast of eccentric and diverse characters. Most of the story takes place within the oppressive Gormenghast castle and its immediate surroundings, so there is also no stereotypical fantasy quest or swashbuckling adventure. A good (if simplistic) assessment of Peake's style would be a mix of the Tolkienesque and the Shakespearean with a Dickensian mood.

Peake's skills with language were stupendous, particularly with building moods and settings. This novel features highly scenic and ornate prose that really gives the reader a sense of the vast and dark confines of the monolithic Gormenghast castle, and the melancholy to Machiavellian lives of the inhabitants, who have been variously unhinged by their oppressive surroundings and entrenched rituals. In the first half of the story, not very much happens in terms of plot development and the pacing is very slow, In short, a moribund and oblivious palace culture, made so by the isolation and vastness of the castle, is shaken up by the birth of the heir to the throne and the arrival of a scheming interloper. The problem is, when action scenes and true character developments start to pop up in the second half, the reader may barely notice because all are equally buried under avalanches of Peake's ornate prose. This gives the novel a rather tiresome sense of sameness (and slowness) that does not do justice to the unique developments taking place beneath the florid writing.

Readers who appreciate the arts of prose construction and skills of description will surely enjoy this book the most. Those looking for more plot and action will be intrigued by the story but might find the reading to be exasperating or unrewarding. In either case, knowledgeable readers will notice the vast influence of the Gormenghast story. And unlike many of his future imitators, Peake actually wrapped up this first book enough to make it both a fine stand-alone novel and an effective teaser for the next installment in the trilogy. [~doomsdayer520~]