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writegeist 's review for:
Titus Groan
by Mervyn Peake
This is an incredible book for so many reasons. It defies categorization. Not a fantasy (but where does it take place?). Gothic? What's that? Well, never mind... Peake was an artist/illustrator, a poet, as well as a fiction and children's writer. This is not so much a novel as it is the written equivalent of a massive, wall-sized painting, exploring not just the actions but the motivations of its characters in language better read aloud than silently (but I fall asleep with audio books :-) ). Looming over everything is Gormenghast, a castle that has existed and expanded to gargantuan size through the reigns of seventy-six Earls, of which Sepulchrave of Groan is the latest. The castle is decrepit, decaying, as are the characters and their relationships. While the castle is filled with servants and officials, the story pares it down to a claustrophobic few: the Earl and his immediate family and servants, including the new-born seventy-seventh Earl, Titus. Considering that by the end of the novel (500+ pages!), Titus is only 18 months old, is the title a comic touch on Peake's part? Or is Titus the trigger for all that comes after? We shall see. The novel is daunting, but if you have a few of Dickens' novels under your belt, you should be okay.