Thomas Zimmerman's Reviews > The Gormenghast Novels
The Gormenghast Novels (Gormenghast, #1-3)
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I've only read the first novel, Titus Groan, and I certainly understand why these books have such rabid fans, but I doubt I'll ever be one of them.
The writing is admirable. Rarely has a world been so vivid in my mind, and in such a distinctive style. Reading this, I saw the story unfold like an animated movie created with jagged quill pen drawings. This vivid style also applies to the characters, who are as distinctive as Dick Tracy villains. Mervyn Peake is a genius when it comes to naming his creations. It's hard not to love monikers like Prunesquallor, Swelter and Mr Flay. My favorite of all is Steerpike, who is one of the most sinister villains I've ever read.
But for all that praise, I simply could never get into this book. The pacing is excruciatingly slow. This is very deliberate, but I found it too painful. This became most abundantly clear when I was stuck in traffic on a Greyhound bus. All I had with me was Gormenghast, and I swear that dreary castle was nearly as bad as the reality of rush hour on I-95.
I unashamedly love escapism. It sucks when the fantasy I am escaping into is more boring than commuting. No wonder I liked the villain so much, as he was practically the only person making this world move at all.
I will hold onto this book and maybe return to the other novels when I've gained a bit more patience, or I'm in the mood for something particularly saturnine.
......well, we'll see about that. Ok, I'm going to go watch a Die Hard movie.
The writing is admirable. Rarely has a world been so vivid in my mind, and in such a distinctive style. Reading this, I saw the story unfold like an animated movie created with jagged quill pen drawings. This vivid style also applies to the characters, who are as distinctive as Dick Tracy villains. Mervyn Peake is a genius when it comes to naming his creations. It's hard not to love monikers like Prunesquallor, Swelter and Mr Flay. My favorite of all is Steerpike, who is one of the most sinister villains I've ever read.
But for all that praise, I simply could never get into this book. The pacing is excruciatingly slow. This is very deliberate, but I found it too painful. This became most abundantly clear when I was stuck in traffic on a Greyhound bus. All I had with me was Gormenghast, and I swear that dreary castle was nearly as bad as the reality of rush hour on I-95.
I unashamedly love escapism. It sucks when the fantasy I am escaping into is more boring than commuting. No wonder I liked the villain so much, as he was practically the only person making this world move at all.
I will hold onto this book and maybe return to the other novels when I've gained a bit more patience, or I'm in the mood for something particularly saturnine.
......well, we'll see about that. Ok, I'm going to go watch a Die Hard movie.
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