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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
Tonally very different from the preceding books, but a harrowing vision nonetheless. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2021/08/27/peakes-progress/
I still don’t know how I feel about this and I finished it a while ago….
There were elements at the beginning of the book that got me really excited (almost Phantom Tollbooth-ish?), but then everything fell apart and I was kind of confused and let down by the end??
There were elements at the beginning of the book that got me really excited (almost Phantom Tollbooth-ish?), but then everything fell apart and I was kind of confused and let down by the end??
Titus Alone loses a bit of the magic that [b:Titus Groan|39063|Titus Groan (Gormenghast, #1)|Mervyn Peake|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327871204s/39063.jpg|3250394] and [b:Gormenghast|258392|Gormenghast (Gormenghast, #2)|Mervyn Peake|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480786154s/258392.jpg|3599885] offer, but the language alone makes it worth a read.
Peake created a fascinating world, and a trilogy that I especially recommend to other writers: these books show that you can do whatever you want with words. A revelation, really.
I wrote this article about the Gormenghast novels.
Peake created a fascinating world, and a trilogy that I especially recommend to other writers: these books show that you can do whatever you want with words. A revelation, really.
I wrote this article about the Gormenghast novels.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In some ways, this work was both the most rewarding and the most peculiar of the original trilogy. Far apart from the original two in both setting and fantastical narrative, this work follows a solitary character through his misbegotten quest: to escape his rite of passage to rule Gormenghast.
While some reviewers are thrown by the abrupt and unexplained setting change (somewhat in the style of the worse of M Night Shyamalan films), more problematic to me was the role/purpose given to the characters either allegorical or thematically. While there are some overall motifs and questions at work across the text, little to nothing is resolved satisfactorily in either the plotting or the character conflicts established. For me, it seemed that Peake understood this problem, as well, for the end of the book makes some cursory efforts to identify and synthesize some internal conflicts. It may be, too (and it certainly seems so), that Peake had sketched out a larger canvas for Titus's quest (more books) in order to address these issues, but he never realized them before his death.
I don't want to call the reading non-sensical for this reason, because the foundations for something larger were still underfoot, as it were. So I am appreciative of the experience of the "completed" trilogy, with the first two volumes read as perhaps a more satisfactory completion. Now, however, since Peake's widow has collected his notes and partial drafts for a fourth work, completed the story, and had it published as Titus Awakes, I suppose the completest in me must . . . complete. And so I do so apprehensively armed. . . .
While some reviewers are thrown by the abrupt and unexplained setting change (somewhat in the style of the worse of M Night Shyamalan films), more problematic to me was the role/purpose given to the characters either allegorical or thematically. While there are some overall motifs and questions at work across the text, little to nothing is resolved satisfactorily in either the plotting or the character conflicts established. For me, it seemed that Peake understood this problem, as well, for the end of the book makes some cursory efforts to identify and synthesize some internal conflicts. It may be, too (and it certainly seems so), that Peake had sketched out a larger canvas for Titus's quest (more books) in order to address these issues, but he never realized them before his death.
I don't want to call the reading non-sensical for this reason, because the foundations for something larger were still underfoot, as it were. So I am appreciative of the experience of the "completed" trilogy, with the first two volumes read as perhaps a more satisfactory completion. Now, however, since Peake's widow has collected his notes and partial drafts for a fourth work, completed the story, and had it published as Titus Awakes, I suppose the completest in me must . . . complete. And so I do so apprehensively armed. . . .
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a falling off in quality from the first two installments of this trilogy! The decadently sensuous, baroque language and wicked sense of humor are still there (with an added quality of bitter disillusion that made this story seem more judgmental in its presentation), but the plot lurches randomly from one tedious episode to another, with vague characters appearing and reappearing for no apparent reason. Some episodes seemed to be sketchy or missing, the various themes are not fully worked out, and the chapters were quite short and choppy, some only a paragraph or two in length. There’s a wonderfully macabre finale that manages to bring back the much more interesting characters who were killed off by the end of the second volume, but by then it is too little and too late.
It was a shorter book than either of the first two, but was sometimes a chore to get through. The slackening of energy in this volume makes it seem more like the middle of a series than its culmination. Too much of the time the author seems to be spinning his wheels, getting by on style alone. There are reasons for all of this, of course – the author fell fatally ill and the novel had to be finished by others from his drafts, and he never had an opportunity to complete the projected further novels in the series.
Ultimately it is an occasionally brilliant but frustrating testament to what might have been. It’s still worth reading, though, just because the author left behind such a small but dazzlingly original body of work.
It was a shorter book than either of the first two, but was sometimes a chore to get through. The slackening of energy in this volume makes it seem more like the middle of a series than its culmination. Too much of the time the author seems to be spinning his wheels, getting by on style alone. There are reasons for all of this, of course – the author fell fatally ill and the novel had to be finished by others from his drafts, and he never had an opportunity to complete the projected further novels in the series.
Ultimately it is an occasionally brilliant but frustrating testament to what might have been. It’s still worth reading, though, just because the author left behind such a small but dazzlingly original body of work.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Although the three Gormenghast novels are now thought of as a trilogy, I wonder how appropriate this designation is. Peake's intention with the series was to tell the entire life story of the character Titus Groan, and he was working on the fourth book in this series at the time of his death. He planned to write five volumes in the series, the fourth and fifth being "Titus Awakens" and "Gormenghast Revisited." Clearly Peake didn't think of this book as the conclusion to a trilogy, but a middle-section in a much larger work.
Aside from that, the first two books in the series, Titus Groan and Gormenghast, tell a more-or-less complete story about the bizarre happenings at Gormenghast castle during Titus's youth. These two books, when taken together, form a complete story with a satisfying resolution. I have trouble seeing Titus Alone as part of this 'trilogy' because the storyline has very little connection to the first two volumes.
In this book, Titus has set out from Gormenghast castle on his own, attempting to escape the monotonous rituals of his home. The dark, medieval setting of Gormenghast is quickly left behind, and a world full of skyscrapers, cars, airplanes and factories surrounds him. Titus quickly regrets his decision to leave home, and wishes he could figure out how to get home.
Along his way, Titus's libido starts going nuts. He has a relationship with Juno, a fortysomething woman who saves him from being arrested, and ends up leaving her because he doesn't want to settle down. Later, the wealthy daughter of a factory owner becomes fascinated by him and tries to woo him. Titus is only interested in her sexually, and this makes her super-pissed, and she formulates a remarkable and haunting way of getting revenge.
(My favorite aspect of this book is that we never know if Titus is simply mad, and Gormenghast--and the first two volumes in the series--have only happened in his mind. At no point in this book is Gormenghast's existence proven by anything he encounters in his travels, and no one has heard of it.
This book is fascinating in many ways, but it doesn't live up to the high bar set by Titus Groan and Gormenghast. Those books were lush and complex and inspire a real sense of awe at the world's strangeness, where Titus Alone is a bit sketchy and sometimes even vague. And implausible. Titus is kind of a whiny bitch, so why does everybody and their mother want to follow him on his travels? And why do they all show up at the most convenient times? It feels more like the characters are just doing what the author needs them to.
This book isn't near perfect like the first two, but it's still an entertaining read, with some characters that are as compelling in their surreality as the other books' cast. The names aren't as awesome: Rotcodd and Steerpike and Prunesqallor were names from Gormenghast castle. The characters he's meeting in this book have names like Cheetah and The Black Rose. Not as entertaining.
And I digress. If you haven't followed my reviews on this series, I highly recommend both Titus Groan and Gormenghast as must-read fantasy. "Titus Alone" is an optional third part of this 'trilogy' which makes for an entertaining and quick read, but has neither the scope nor the depth of the volumes that came before.
Aside from that, the first two books in the series, Titus Groan and Gormenghast, tell a more-or-less complete story about the bizarre happenings at Gormenghast castle during Titus's youth. These two books, when taken together, form a complete story with a satisfying resolution. I have trouble seeing Titus Alone as part of this 'trilogy' because the storyline has very little connection to the first two volumes.
In this book, Titus has set out from Gormenghast castle on his own, attempting to escape the monotonous rituals of his home. The dark, medieval setting of Gormenghast is quickly left behind, and a world full of skyscrapers, cars, airplanes and factories surrounds him. Titus quickly regrets his decision to leave home, and wishes he could figure out how to get home.
Along his way, Titus's libido starts going nuts. He has a relationship with Juno, a fortysomething woman who saves him from being arrested, and ends up leaving her because he doesn't want to settle down. Later, the wealthy daughter of a factory owner becomes fascinated by him and tries to woo him. Titus is only interested in her sexually, and this makes her super-pissed, and she formulates a remarkable and haunting way of getting revenge.
(My favorite aspect of this book is that we never know if Titus is simply mad, and Gormenghast--and the first two volumes in the series--have only happened in his mind. At no point in this book is Gormenghast's existence proven by anything he encounters in his travels, and no one has heard of it.
This book is fascinating in many ways, but it doesn't live up to the high bar set by Titus Groan and Gormenghast. Those books were lush and complex and inspire a real sense of awe at the world's strangeness, where Titus Alone is a bit sketchy and sometimes even vague. And implausible. Titus is kind of a whiny bitch, so why does everybody and their mother want to follow him on his travels? And why do they all show up at the most convenient times? It feels more like the characters are just doing what the author needs them to.
This book isn't near perfect like the first two, but it's still an entertaining read, with some characters that are as compelling in their surreality as the other books' cast. The names aren't as awesome: Rotcodd and Steerpike and Prunesqallor were names from Gormenghast castle. The characters he's meeting in this book have names like Cheetah and The Black Rose. Not as entertaining.
And I digress. If you haven't followed my reviews on this series, I highly recommend both Titus Groan and Gormenghast as must-read fantasy. "Titus Alone" is an optional third part of this 'trilogy' which makes for an entertaining and quick read, but has neither the scope nor the depth of the volumes that came before.
Ok, so think of what it was in the first two books that really captured your attention and love. Was it the overwhelming sense of place that made Gormenghast so rich with details? Was it the style of language that was so absurd and macabre that it made you giggle? Was it the rich, ridiculous characters, with their farcical speaking patterns and personalities? Was it the surreal plot? The richly painted setting? The cunning of the villain? Well, if any of these things were intrinsic to your enjoyment of Titus Groan and Gormenghast, then Titus Alone is going to be a huge disappointment.
I was dreading this book after finishing Gormenghast. Titus was my least favorite character and I did not look forward to spending a book wandering around not-Gormenghast with him. Several of my favorite characters had been *ahem* removed from the plot, but there were still the Prunesquallors and the Professors to keep the comedy going. But, no, they were completely abandoned to follow Titus through his fits of bratty arrogance and anger management issues.
I realize that this book was not meant to be the final Gormenghast book and that Peake had a grand cycle in mind. But I think the best way to honor the author and his work is to read the first two and skip this one. It really can't compare with the grandeur of Gormenghast as it was originally conceived.
I was dreading this book after finishing Gormenghast. Titus was my least favorite character and I did not look forward to spending a book wandering around not-Gormenghast with him. Several of my favorite characters had been *ahem* removed from the plot, but there were still the Prunesquallors and the Professors to keep the comedy going. But, no, they were completely abandoned to follow Titus through his fits of bratty arrogance and anger management issues.
I realize that this book was not meant to be the final Gormenghast book and that Peake had a grand cycle in mind. But I think the best way to honor the author and his work is to read the first two and skip this one. It really can't compare with the grandeur of Gormenghast as it was originally conceived.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes