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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This is the most magnificently written piece of fantasy fiction I've ever read. I don't even like fantasy, but after perusing the first page, I went into hibernation and didn't resurface for days.
Peake has been compared favorably to J.R.R. Tolkien, a comparison that damns the former with faint praise, since Peake is twice the writer Tolkien ever hoped to be. His opening paragraph is mesmerizing in its quality, and his prose is as muscular and flush and devoid of cliche on the last page as it was on the first. When you finally put the book down, you are as amazed at Peake's
Peake has been compared favorably to J.R.R. Tolkien, a comparison that damns the former with faint praise, since Peake is twice the writer Tolkien ever hoped to be. His opening paragraph is mesmerizing in its quality, and his prose is as muscular and flush and devoid of cliche on the last page as it was on the first. When you finally put the book down, you are as amazed at Peake's
One of the best settings of a book I've ever read, but it was slooooow, it often felt like I was only keeping reading out of stubbornness
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I half-read this book as a kid, in that sort of obsessed but uncomprehending way that kids do, so reading and finishing it as an adult was an exciting mix of the nostalgic and new. It’s a fantasy book with nothing ‘fantasy’ in it, really—simply the machinations of some strange characters in a densely atmospheric setting. It’s gothic, grotesque, beautiful, bizarre, surprisingly poignant, and often funny.
It’s such an eccentrically written book, with a cavalier attitude towards punctuation, a scattering of half-wrong and nonsense words, and stylistic changes out of the blue. These are things I don’t think I’d embrace from a lesser author, but in Mervyn Peake’s hands they’re all part of a singularly strange and wonderful vision that I wanted to see raw and unvarnished. His writing can be meanderingly ornate or bitingly precise; sometimes daft and obscure, other times achingly real.
Peake’s characters are his strength: visceral and larger than life, stylised in a beyond-human way that speaks to his experience as a talented visual artist. I don’t think any author-artist has achieved such a perfect synergy between their written and drawn output as he did. So many of my favourite, most remembered character descriptions are in this book, as well as some of my favourite character illustrations. In an age of blandly beautiful, under-described, insert-yourself-here characters who speak the same and look like whatever you prefer, reading characters like Peake’s—whose features and mannerisms are so unique and peculiar that I’ve remembered their descriptions for at least 20 years—feels as nourishing and refreshing as a big glass of cool water. Fuchsia’s stoop and Flay’s cracking knees are dear to me.
I don’t love the story outside the walls of Gormenghast as much as the story inside, but the former has some of the most beautiful and moving writing, and a lot of the book’s emotional heart lies there. So maybe I do love it after all.
There are moments where the writing gets a little too obscure for its own good, but, for me, those are far outweighed by the moments that are brilliant and unforgettably vivid.
It’s such an eccentrically written book, with a cavalier attitude towards punctuation, a scattering of half-wrong and nonsense words, and stylistic changes out of the blue. These are things I don’t think I’d embrace from a lesser author, but in Mervyn Peake’s hands they’re all part of a singularly strange and wonderful vision that I wanted to see raw and unvarnished. His writing can be meanderingly ornate or bitingly precise; sometimes daft and obscure, other times achingly real.
Peake’s characters are his strength: visceral and larger than life, stylised in a beyond-human way that speaks to his experience as a talented visual artist. I don’t think any author-artist has achieved such a perfect synergy between their written and drawn output as he did. So many of my favourite, most remembered character descriptions are in this book, as well as some of my favourite character illustrations. In an age of blandly beautiful, under-described, insert-yourself-here characters who speak the same and look like whatever you prefer, reading characters like Peake’s—whose features and mannerisms are so unique and peculiar that I’ve remembered their descriptions for at least 20 years—feels as nourishing and refreshing as a big glass of cool water. Fuchsia’s stoop and Flay’s cracking knees are dear to me.
I don’t love the story outside the walls of Gormenghast as much as the story inside, but the former has some of the most beautiful and moving writing, and a lot of the book’s emotional heart lies there. So maybe I do love it after all.
There are moments where the writing gets a little too obscure for its own good, but, for me, those are far outweighed by the moments that are brilliant and unforgettably vivid.
With every word worth lingering over, this has been a slow, but delightful read. The book almost demands to be read slowly, in keeping with the stately, ancient pace of ritual portrayed within. An atmosphere of stagnation is practically the main character throughout the story. That might make it sound dull, but each of the rather grim characters are drawn in a detail that is both fascinating and darkly humorous. The plot is intriguing, gradually unwinding over the course of the book, but most threads are left hanging for the next book in the series, so it does not really stand alone from a storytelling perspective, but that doesn't matter as the journey is far more important in this case than the destination.
Mervyn Peake is a worthy contemporary of JRR Tolkien.
The story he writes is interesting and intricate, with the obvious focus on the characters and their... Struggles, for a lack of better word.
Indeed, these characters are very well written. Not only are some.characteristics in the extreme, they still manage to be subtle in ways and not one dimensional. Even for the most minor character you acquire if not sympathies then at least strong emotions.
The story he writes is interesting and intricate, with the obvious focus on the characters and their... Struggles, for a lack of better word.
Indeed, these characters are very well written. Not only are some.characteristics in the extreme, they still manage to be subtle in ways and not one dimensional. Even for the most minor character you acquire if not sympathies then at least strong emotions.
Peake is now the standard to which I now hold a phrase I quite enjoy: "Paint me a picture with your words". The plot may not have gripped me, but Peake's writing is vivid and unique, and kept me on until the end.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Geen epische strijd tussen goed en kwaad, fantasiefiguren of tovenaars in deze fantasy-klassieker, maar een bizar kasteel met bizarre bewoners, vastgeroest in rituelen. Er is echter verandering op komst!
Mervyn Peake is een fantastisch schrijver die werkelijk de beste (en meest uitvoerige) beschrijvingen neerpent, maar het geheel voelde toch net wat te veel aan als een aanloop tot het moment waarop de verhaallijn werkelijk start. Ik ben dus erg benieuwd naar het volgende deel, en of Peake zijn fantastische schrijfstijl kan combineren met een beetje plot.
Mervyn Peake is een fantastisch schrijver die werkelijk de beste (en meest uitvoerige) beschrijvingen neerpent, maar het geheel voelde toch net wat te veel aan als een aanloop tot het moment waarop de verhaallijn werkelijk start. Ik ben dus erg benieuwd naar het volgende deel, en of Peake zijn fantastische schrijfstijl kan combineren met een beetje plot.