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ungoliant1234 's review for:
Titus Groan
by Mervyn Peake
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Peake is a master at crafting sentences: from the atmosphere to character interactions. However, there are times when his desire to write well goes to far and results in severely overwrought and rigid paragraphs.
Conceptually, this book appeals to me; and at some level I find several individual sequences impressive. That said, not only is the book glacially slow, it lacks any interesting characters (unlike Dickens, Tolstoy, Proust, etc.) and the little humour to be derived from their eccentricities is soon exhausted. Steerpike is indeed compelling- and I liked Fuschia and the countess- but nearly every other character grated on me as the pages went on. I genuinely believe that I would enjoy this more in a different frame of mind- perhaps reading a chapter a day- or as a television show watched slowly.
Conceptually, this book appeals to me; and at some level I find several individual sequences impressive. That said, not only is the book glacially slow, it lacks any interesting characters (unlike Dickens, Tolstoy, Proust, etc.) and the little humour to be derived from their eccentricities is soon exhausted. Steerpike is indeed compelling- and I liked Fuschia and the countess- but nearly every other character grated on me as the pages went on. I genuinely believe that I would enjoy this more in a different frame of mind- perhaps reading a chapter a day- or as a television show watched slowly.