Titus Groan
Mervyn Peake
Read it in
deceivably small 9 point black print, paperback, at 396 pages.
Before being to ask
a reading group for this series of books, I had never heard of them at
all. This was also my first experience
with a reading group on Goodreads. My
fellow book devourer is much more active on Goodreads than I am and had invited
me to read with him/them. I had two
months to read this first one and I was able to kill it in one. I had thought it was going to be a faster
read than it turned out to but none the less I struck it down and placed in on
the shelf next to my other victories.
I have been
struggling to write this review for some time.
It's an interesting book.
The author, Mervyn
Peake was born in 1911 and is best known as a writer, poet, illustrator, and
general artist. Besides this series of
three, Peake is probably best known for his work as a commissioned to depict
war scenes during World War 2. Although
the three books known as the Gormenghast series was intended to be a 'lengthy
cycle' their completion was halted by Peakes' death from dementia with Lewy
bodies during his work on the third novel, Titus Alone. Titus Groan was published in 1946.
The story opens with
the birth of a new heir to the Groan house deep within the towering and ancient
complex of Gormenghast. At this point we
are introduced to a plethora of characters that inhabit the castle and work for
the Earl of Groan, Lord Sepulchrave, as well as his wife the Countess Gertrude
and their daughter Fuschia. The whole
story is riddled with characters of different stations that are forced to
interact and work together, despite in some situations hating one another. This creates some interesting dynamics within
the castle as the characters are constantly trying to impress Lord Sepulchrave
and vie for power within their little worlds.
As the story comes together you learn a lot of the intricacies and
rituals that revolve around Gormenghast.
I can't recall that
I have read a book like this before, in which the surroundings are as much a
character as the characters themselves.
While Martin and Tolkien are famed for it I found that they both use the
surroundings to set the mood, the surroundings change and as fond as the reader
may be of a specific location and its ideals, no real attachment to these lands
changes the story, only how the characters might be changed by their
surroundings and the interactions within those settings. This is not the case with Gormenghast. Gormenghast is a haunted place with a long
rich lineage. Parts of the castle are
little more than rubble and the passageways that are still standing are complex
and polished with ware. What is really
the defining difference to me is that we don't have any view of other lands
beyond the realm of Gormenghast, the realm and castle exist in a timeless state
of decay without any other comparison.
At times parts of the castle are busy and bustling while others are
always doomed to abandon. This sense of
endurance makes the castle feel as much as the story as the characters that
exist within its walls. As the book
progresses the interactions ratchet up and characters start making moves that
will irreparably change Gormenghast forever.
It took me some
time, about 150 pages, for Titus Groan to sink in and allow me to start
enjoying it, but once I did I was thoroughly mesmerized by it. It's an enchanting story full of exotic
characters and I am excited to read the other two in the 'cycle.'
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