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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
We part only to greet
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
I stumbled onto this series reading about some of the influences that had gone into Gideon the Ninth, and the descriptions sounded promising; massive gothic castle, esoteric rituals and grotesque characters, and a Dickensian spin on high fantasy. And, yes, it did have all of those things.
But wow was it a slog to read. The language is admittedly gorgeous, with nearly every sentence reading like some finely crafted, multifaceted gem, glittering with clever wordplay and decadent, evocative phrases. But it's nearly every sentence, and it quickly becomes exhausting to slog through, like a plate piled too high with a rich dessert you'd otherwise only want a bite or two of.
In truth, most of the buzz I had read was tied to the sequel, Gormenghast, so I at least had in mind that I just had to make it through this book as an introduction to the next. But the problem is, Titus Groans spends seemingly half of its length just being an intro to itself before it gets around to working through a few key events that themselves only seem as setup for the next book. Like the issue above, the narrative just didn't have the drive to make me want to push forward, nor the payoff to make me glad that I did.
If I assumed Gormenghast would be a beautiful tapestry, I'd understand if Titus Alone were the gathering of the threads needed to weave it, but no, we have to first learn about a farm, and the lives of its inhabitants, before we can ever learn of the birth of the sheep, and forget actually getting to the shearing before having to learn of the lives of the other animals as well. Only then do we finally get to see what happens to the wool, and how it might be spun into yarn, and died the appropriate colors to setup the making of the tapestry in the subsequent book.
I'll still (at this point grudgingly) read Gormenghast, but it'll be a good while before I do.
But wow was it a slog to read. The language is admittedly gorgeous, with nearly every sentence reading like some finely crafted, multifaceted gem, glittering with clever wordplay and decadent, evocative phrases. But it's nearly every sentence, and it quickly becomes exhausting to slog through, like a plate piled too high with a rich dessert you'd otherwise only want a bite or two of.
In truth, most of the buzz I had read was tied to the sequel, Gormenghast, so I at least had in mind that I just had to make it through this book as an introduction to the next. But the problem is, Titus Groans spends seemingly half of its length just being an intro to itself before it gets around to working through a few key events that themselves only seem as setup for the next book. Like the issue above, the narrative just didn't have the drive to make me want to push forward, nor the payoff to make me glad that I did.
If I assumed Gormenghast would be a beautiful tapestry, I'd understand if Titus Alone were the gathering of the threads needed to weave it, but no, we have to first learn about a farm, and the lives of its inhabitants, before we can ever learn of the birth of the sheep, and forget actually getting to the shearing before having to learn of the lives of the other animals as well. Only then do we finally get to see what happens to the wool, and how it might be spun into yarn, and died the appropriate colors to setup the making of the tapestry in the subsequent book.
I'll still (at this point grudgingly) read Gormenghast, but it'll be a good while before I do.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So I was past the half-way mark with "Titus Goran" (book 1 of the Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake). The opening moves like a glacier (and that's being generous) when I realized something.
Earlier, I had tried to "power" through the starting, but I found something strange happening to me. I some how sensed (maybe subconsciously) that I was forcing it. It was almost as if the book itself was telling me to slow down and take your time. That the book demanded to be read at a steady pace and wouldn't have all this rushing about.
So I gave in.
I promptly went back to the beginning and relaxed and let the story roll out at its own measured pace. That's when it happened. I felt myself totally fall into this book's world. It is very much like walking through an abandoned gothic art gallery.
The texture and the layers upon layers of the characters, setting, and wordcraft. The crazy thing is there's a point about half-way thru (where I was recently) where it starts to feel like a potboiler of a thriller! But the pace didn't ramp up, nothing was being forced. It was a natural culmination.
Now that I've finished the book, I almost wished I had read even a little slower and taken in the writing a bit more. A book like this really reminds you that there are more elements to a novel (especially a genre novel) than just an entertaining plot line. There is characterization, there is introspection, and most of all there is a setting.
And I don't mean someone droning on about world building mechanics. Such as how the magic system works in some made up world. I'm talking about the color of drapes, the way people who live in a nearby village look and dress, and what kind of paintings and carvings are on display within the halls of an enormous gothic castle.
Gormenghast the castle is legitimately a character in this story. Anyways, I loved it. I recommend it. Read it.
Earlier, I had tried to "power" through the starting, but I found something strange happening to me. I some how sensed (maybe subconsciously) that I was forcing it. It was almost as if the book itself was telling me to slow down and take your time. That the book demanded to be read at a steady pace and wouldn't have all this rushing about.
So I gave in.
I promptly went back to the beginning and relaxed and let the story roll out at its own measured pace. That's when it happened. I felt myself totally fall into this book's world. It is very much like walking through an abandoned gothic art gallery.
The texture and the layers upon layers of the characters, setting, and wordcraft. The crazy thing is there's a point about half-way thru (where I was recently) where it starts to feel like a potboiler of a thriller! But the pace didn't ramp up, nothing was being forced. It was a natural culmination.
Now that I've finished the book, I almost wished I had read even a little slower and taken in the writing a bit more. A book like this really reminds you that there are more elements to a novel (especially a genre novel) than just an entertaining plot line. There is characterization, there is introspection, and most of all there is a setting.
And I don't mean someone droning on about world building mechanics. Such as how the magic system works in some made up world. I'm talking about the color of drapes, the way people who live in a nearby village look and dress, and what kind of paintings and carvings are on display within the halls of an enormous gothic castle.
Gormenghast the castle is legitimately a character in this story. Anyways, I loved it. I recommend it. Read it.
A rich, dark chocolate layer cake of a book. It's huge, overblown and indulgent but nearly always deliciously so.
To break that metaphor, I really enjoyed it. There are parts that go on way too long (a climactic battle between two central characters in the dark corridors of the castle lasts over 10 pages but is almost free of event until the last few; the section on Titus' first birthday party and the attendee's reveries is a painful rip-off of James Joyce). But yet there are moments of such humour, horror and beauty and the characters are just first class - my favourites are the vacuous and deadpan twin aunts or possibly the capricious but steely sister of the heir, Fuschia. I didn't care for Keda much although her story adds some emotional depth.
This whole grotesque, bleak but darkly and weirdly funny book is utterly unique. If I had to pick its shelf mates, it's as if Lewis Carroll had an unholy love child with JRR Tolkien and Charles Addams, but it would only partly describe Titus Groan. I can't wait to read the follow up, Gormenghast.
To break that metaphor, I really enjoyed it. There are parts that go on way too long (a climactic battle between two central characters in the dark corridors of the castle lasts over 10 pages but is almost free of event until the last few; the section on Titus' first birthday party and the attendee's reveries is a painful rip-off of James Joyce). But yet there are moments of such humour, horror and beauty and the characters are just first class - my favourites are the vacuous and deadpan twin aunts or possibly the capricious but steely sister of the heir, Fuschia. I didn't care for Keda much although her story adds some emotional depth.
This whole grotesque, bleak but darkly and weirdly funny book is utterly unique. If I had to pick its shelf mates, it's as if Lewis Carroll had an unholy love child with JRR Tolkien and Charles Addams, but it would only partly describe Titus Groan. I can't wait to read the follow up, Gormenghast.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced