The Gormenghast Trilogy

[ninjaboy]

I understand that Titus Alone was very fragmented.. And why.. But even with that in mind I just found it all.. nonsensical.. And too different to the first two books. The only thing I liked about it was Muzzlehatch's love for his animals.

I had really wanted more on Clarice and Clora (i think that's the names) the twins - especially after they'd turned on Steerpike.. I'd wanted them to have another go at taking him out.. They were funny. It was dark, but not dark enough.. And frankly some of the main characters (the Countess and Fuschia) were under-developed..

And I got through it by briefly reading a couple of mangas (Lady Snowblood, Deadman Wonderland and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind) when i got stuck.. it took me a month and a half to get through it all..

As to why? I wanted to see how it ended..

[Darujhistan]

I've recently been rewatching the BBC series of Gormenghast. The show has its flaws, but part 2--with the descent of the duke into madness--is just brilliant; and part 4--other than Titus' terrible acting--is pretty good as well.

He's terrible, and so is Rhys-Meyers unfortunately. Steerpike is a great character done a disservice by an actor out of his depth at that time. An earlier poster highlighted how Meyers had got Steerpike motives completely wrong. Alongside people llike Richardson, Sessions, June Brown, Celia Imrie, Christoher Lee, Warren Mitchell and Richard Griffiths he looks amatuerish. That's not mis-understand the role, that's a lack of skill though.

I thought part 4 was poor to be honest, but then again the novel ends disapointingly. The magic of Gormenghast in print and in this adaptation lies in the earlier parts (as you exemplified with Groans decent). I think it's most effective when 'scene setting' rather than wheh the plot is actually revealed, but many works are like that.

I often think of Gormenghast as a triumph of descriptive writing and style over plot and storyline, no surprise when you consider Peake was an artist first before becoming a writer.

[I'm Murrin]

Yes, I believe I mentioned how my opinion of Rhys-Meyers plummeted when I watched the DVD extras and heard him talk about his character. He had completely the wrong idea. But I don't think the performance was too bad for it, really.

[Orlion]

Woot! This is old news, and I've heard about it before, but this is the first time I've confirmed it! And a new edition of the trilogy? I hope it's in hardcover!

*BTW, the link is about how a new Titus Groan novel written by Peake's wife is to be published!

[Orlion]

I get Titus Awakes on Monday

[Cambo]

Be interested to know how it is, Orlion. The original series is one of the few truly unique things I have read.

[Avatar]

Oh god, there's another one? Lemme see how I do on the original first.

--A

[Iolanthe]

Gosh, I remember watching this on the telly years ago! What a cast (Wikipedia)!

[Avatar]

So I'm finally done. This may be the only time ever that I have been unable to read through an entire series consecutively.

I read book one, then read other stuff until I ran out.

Then I read Gormenghast, and had to intersperse that with 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and computer games to make it through.

Finally I raced a bit through Titus Awakes, thankfully it was less than half the size of the one before, and better edited so it didn't feel so dense.

Uh...why are these classics? Not that they didn't have their moments, but overall they were bloody heavy going.

--A

[I'm Murrin]

Because they're incredible. Shut up.

More seriously: Peake excels at his depictions of the absurd and grotesque. Gormenghast is satirical in many ways, pretty tongue-in-cheek.

[Orlion]

Because they're incredible. Shut up.

More seriously: Peake excels at his depictions of the absurd and grotesque. Gormenghast is satirical in many ways, pretty tongue-in-cheek.

Pretty much. In my opining, the Gormenghast Trilogy is the height of the fantasy genre in terms of literary value... one that has not been reached since.

[wayfriend]

(I found it ghast-ly, myself.)

[Avatar]

My gods Orlion...tell me you're joking.

Maybe Murrin, and like I said, it had its moments, if you could find the flow, but they're buried beneath a hundred-weight of unwieldy constructions, each and every one.

I can honestly say that I will never reread this series. And that's rare for me. But once was enough and then some.

--A

[Orlion]

My gods Orlion...tell me you're joking.

--A

Nope. It's one of those cases where I can see why some distinguish between the "genre" and the "literary". In this case, Peake relies entirely on his unique style. He is not 'following' or 'overturning' tropes (as if those were the high forms of literature ), na, he was much too busy creating bonafide art then to consider such trivial matters.

Lord Dunsany also does quite a bit with fantasy, but he was before Peake.

[I'm Murrin]

Gormenghast is as worthy of classic status as Lord of the Rings... more so, as it's superior on a literary level.

[Avatar]

It's a superior pain in the ass to read.

--A

[aliantha]

It's a superior pain in the ass to read.

--A

I will grant you that. Still, I think the trilogy had its moments. I think I could argue that the house itself is one of the main characters. But I probably won't ever re-read it, either.

[Avatar]

I said it had it's moments from the start. And yes, the Castle itself was the best part.

But I can tell you this...

Peake. Wrote. One. Word. At. A. Time.

And. He. Expected. You. To. Read. The. Same. Way.

--A