2,555: Gormenghast Readalong: Week Four of Gormenghast

What is it with Mervyn Peake?  He just can’t seem to stop himself killing off major characters.  Just cast your mind back to the beginning of Titus Groan and compare the cast list to those still standing at the end of Gormenghast.  There are crime and horror writers out there who’d be proud of this kind of body count.  You’ve basically just got Titus, the Countess, the Prunesquallors and Rottcodd left and, let’s face it, only Titus and the Countess have really been central to the story.

In a way, I’m a little uneasy about beginning Titus Alone as we near the final part of the Gormenghast Readdalong.  There is something so final and so appropriate about the ending of Gormenghast that I have a feeling Titus Alone may feel a bit unnecessary, a drag on the first two books.  We’ve seen Titus from birth to adulthood, striding out from a storm-drenched Götterdämmerung into the wider world, having thrown off the shackles of Gormenghast’s deadly ritual.  I’m not convinced that his next steps won’t, in hindsight, reduce the impact of the climax of Gormenghast.

Having said that, I’m not actually greatly impressed with young Titus.  As I said in my post on Jackie’s Farm Lane Books Blog last week, I have trouble with Titus’ selfish impulse to run away from his responsibilities.  Yes, I know that he is young.  Yes, I know that the dead hand of tradition must have been weighing heavily on him but I can’t help feeling that he should have stayed and used his position as Earl Groan to begin to change things.  I feel more strongly about this now that we know that he is viewed as a hero by the castle community for the killing of Steerpike.  He must have been able to take advantage of this goodwill to instigate some changes.  Instead, he chooses to leave, to venture out into the world.  Perhaps the loss of Fuchsia broke the final emotional tie to the castle.

I’m also struck by the almost organic way in which old habits and customs reassert themselves in the castle after the storms, the folds and the deaths.  The Poet assumes the role of Keeper of Ritual that Sourdust, Barquentine and Steerpike had all held (I wonder if he had any second thoughts, given the grisly ends his predecessors came to?) and begins to make matters even more elaborate.  At the very end, there’s a palpable sense that the very castle itself is exert itself to make things fall back to the way they were.  Almost as if the castle were healing itself.  I wonder if Titus Alone will feature the castle at all.  I’d like to see what happens there as well as what happens to Titus.

Another thing that has jumped out at me in this last part of Gormenghast is the Icarus-like nature of Steerpike’s fall.  Having plotted, manipulated and killed his way to the top, his hubris at trying to seduce Fuchsia and wanting to kill and replace Titus has attracted the wrath of Gormenghast’s gods and his descent into disgrace, madness and death follows inevitably.  There’s also a nice symmetry to his death.  At the start of Titus Groan, he uses the ivy on the castle walls to help him climb up and away from the kitchens.  At the end of Gormenghast, he is slain while hiding amongst the outgrowth on the castle wall.

The most striking part of the book, however, was not, for me, any of the set pieces or big deaths.  It was this small gesture:

“The face of the Countess showed nothing, but once she drew the corner of the sheet up a little further over Fuchsia’s shoulder, with an infinite gentleness, as though she feared her child might feel the cold and so must take the risk of waking her.”

For so much of the story, the Countess has been portrayed as feeling nothing for her children but here, at the end of things, no words are necessary.  I guess that all of us who are parents will have done this, or something similar to our sleeping children, pulling a cover up, tucking a stray limb back into bed or brushing an unruly mop of hair away from a small, sleeping face. I’ve certainly done it on many nights.   With everything that’s been in the news over the past few days, I’ve had cause to spend time reflecting on how heart-rending the loss of a child must be and so, when I read this sentence, I felt a lump in my throat. The Countess didn’t need to say anything but, with this single action, I felt her love for Fuchsia and her grief.

Gormenghast has been moving and thrilling – Titus Alone has a hard act to follow.

Gormenghast Readalong: Week Three of Gormenghast

Last week, the minor inconveniences of having to earn a living and wanting to spend some quality time with my family meant that I got woefully behind with the Gormenghast schedule and so I didn’t post.

This week, I caught up and am guest posting on Jackie’s Farm Lane Books blog.  If you would like to hear my thoughts and join in the discussion, click HERE.

Gormenghast Readalong: Week One of Gormenghast

Our Gormenghast Readalong, hosted by Jackie at Farm Lane Books has moved this week on to Gormenghast, the second book in the original trilogy, and five years have passed since the Earling of Titus.

Peake opens with an ingenious way of recapping events from Titus Groan, presumably for the benefit of new readers (or existing readers with a short memory!).  The ghosts of the dead from Titus Groan swirl around young Titus and we see from his perspective what he knows of the events of those earlier years and of what he is still ignorant.  There’s an ethereal, almost mystic feel about his writing at this point and, I am afraid to say, I found the first few pages as difficult to get through as the beginning of Titus Groan the first time I tried to read it.

Although the pacing of this first part of Gormenghast is quite slow, there is a huge amount going on.  Interestingly, the book so far is focusing on characters who played relatively minor parts in Titus Groan.  We are beginning to see a different aspect to Countess Groan who, in the first book, appeared to be almost devoid of normal human feelings, being only capable of showing care and affection towards her army of white cats and the birds of Gormenghast.  Here, however, she is starting to wake to the atmosphere of uncertainty and change that is hanging over the castle and there is even a vestige of maternal protectiveness in her desire to crush the animating spirit behind the change she feels:

“She drew a deep breath and then, very slowly: ‘…and I will crush its life out: I will break it: not only for Titus’ sake and for his dead father’s, but more – for Gormenghast.”

It remains to be seen whether this is a true awakening for the Countess but I am beginning to have more of a feeling for her.

The same cannot be said for Steerpike, about whose malignancy surely noone can now have any doubt.  We see not just ruthlessness but also an element of sadism in his treatment of Cora and Clarice. In a lesser, more predictable book, I would be confident of his ultimate fall from grace but here, who knows?

But there is relatively little of Steerpike in the first part of Gormenghast.  Instead, we are given our first lengthy glimpses of the new Earl Groan.  He likes to ride his grey pony and to explore the castle and its environs.  He takes pleasure in discovery and has the makings of a rebel himself in his willingness to skip class to explore Gormenghast Mountain.  His actions as a toddler at his Earling were the first clues that he was not going to follow the calcified ritual and tradition of his forefathers and the character that we are starting to see is a further strong hint that Steerpike is not the only disruptive personality in the castle.

The centrepiece of this first instalment, however, is the school part of the castle and its collection of absurd and grotesque schoolmasters.  It looks like they will play a significant role in not only the plotline involving Titus and his education and growth but also in the comic sub-plot of Irma Prunesquallor’s search for love.

Indeed, one of the strongest impressions of Gormenghast so far is the comedic tone.  Peake is actually genuinely funny in a dry, sardonic kind of way.  As well as the overall comedy of the situation and the lampooning of the social and intellectual peculiarities of the staff, there are several witty asides and barbed comments:

“As for their being ‘gentlemen’ – perhaps they were.  But only just.  If their blood was bluish, so for the most part were their jaws and finger-nails.  If their backgrounds bore scrutiny, the same could hardly be said for their foregrounds.”

There is an interesting contrast between this overt comedy and the more serious tone that Peake uses when describing Titus and his thoughts and deeds which may be intended to highlight the importance of the development of Titus’ awareness and hopes by comparison to the self-important small-mindedness of many of Gormenghast’s other inhabitants.

There’s a very different and, I believe, more complex feel to Peake’s writing in Gormenghast as compared to Titus Groan.  Different voices are being used not only for different characters but also for different plot elements.  It’s clever but it does take more effort to follow through.  I hope that I will get more accustomed as the book progresses – there is certainly a lot going on and many plotlines need to be developed.

Further thoughts on the first instalment of Gormenghast can be found by:

1.         Birdie, guest posting at Farm Lane Books.

2,559: Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake - Week Four of the Gormenghast Readalong

CAUTION – PRETTY BIG SPOILERS ALERT!!!

It’s a good job that we can start the second book in the pseudo-quadrilogy (I’m not convinced that the new fourth book should be seen as part of the whole, as Peake himself only really contributed outline notes for it) immediately as I would have been most disgruntled at having to wait for it.  For, at the close of Titus Groan, the shadows of change are gathering around Gormenghast Castle.

As I have said previously, I have had a go at reading Titus Groan before and gave up after only a few pages.  Had it not been for the fact that I am taking part in the Gormenghast readalong, hosted by Jackie at Farm Lane Books, I may well have similarly fallen at the first hurdle this time. I persevered though and have been thoroughly rewarded as it is a truly rich and immersive book.  It is true that Peake’s language can be dense and indigestible at times but this is probably the price that needs to be paid for the almost three dimensional sense of his descriptive writing.  

This last instalment brings together many of the strands of the novel and leaves matters nicely poised with the main characters positioned by Peake almost as if they were pieces on a chess board.  Steerpike has succeeded in getting closer to the Groan family and, judging by this quote clearly has plans for both Fuchsia and Titus:

“Steerpike was watching Fuchsia through the branches.  She would be difficult, but it was only a matter of careful planning.  He must not hurry it.  Step by step…………….There was Titus, of course – but what were problems for if not to be solved.”

He is a most splendid villain and Peake has made him mesmerising, both to most of the castle’s inhabitants (Flay and Prunesquallor honourably excepted) and to the reader.  I desperately want him to get his just desserts but know that the books would be much duller without him.

The main theme of Titus Groan has been the tension between tradition and change.  Steerpike has been the main agent of change but in a purely personal fashion, indirectly provking the madness of Sepulchrave and hence his death.  At the end of the book, however, it feels as if another source of disruption is emerging.  Titus’ actions at the Earling clearly portend a breal in the numbing ritual of the castle and I hope that, as he grows, he will sweep away much of the must and rust of the castle.

One of my gripes about earlier sections of the book was the seemingly redundant sub-plot relating to Keda, the former wet nurse of young Titus but we can now begin to understand what Peake is trying to achieve as Titus, having cast aside his Earling props into the lake, faces Keda and her new-born – his foster-sister.  Maybe another symbolic theme is beginning here.  Titus, the product of a loveless but dutiful marriage and his foster-sister the product of Keda’s apparent love for both her suitors may come to be counterpointed as time passes.

As the first act of the Gormenghast novels comes to an end, the character who has grown emotionally and even morally the most is also my favourite, Fuchsia.  From her beginnings as a wild, unruly girl, she has grown over the book into a loving and caring young woman, trying to connect with her father through his madness, almost reversing roles with Nannie Slagg and even starting to take an interest in her little brother.  It is becoming increasingly apparent that a romantic sub-plot involving her and Steerpike will come to the fore and I fear for her – Steerpike does not strike me as a kindly or selfless lover.

There’s plenty to look forward to in Gormenghast.  As well as the above plot strands, the gruesome twosome of Cora and Clarice are still at large, a threat not only to Steerpike but also to everyone else in their simple malice.  Prunesquallor, another character who has grown in my estimation is slowly coming to suspect Steerpike.  We shall see whether he manages to do anything about him. And, finally, Lady Groan is threatening to take over the care of young Titus, something that would probably concern the Gormenghast regional social services office, if there were one.

There’s more going on in Gormenghast than in your average soap opera and it’s much better so why not join in the readalong as we start Gormenghast next week.

Further thoughts on Titus Groan can be found by:

1.         Jackie at Farm Lane Books;

2.         Margaret at Books Please; and
3.         Ellie at Curiosity Killed the Bookworm.

Gormenghast Readalong: Week Three of Titus Groan

As the library burned and as Steerpike’s face popped up at the window, ready to save the day, I had a momentary mind meld of the aforesaid villain and John “Hannibal” Smith of the A-Team and could almost see a thought bubble of “I love it when a plan comes together!” appearing above his head.

Things are going pretty well for the boy in this third instalment of the Gormenghast readalong, hosted by Jackie at Farm Lane Books.  If we remember that only a short while ago he was a ragged escapee from Swelter’s kitchen and now he has manipulated his way into the lives of Cora and Clarice, is seen as a hero for having rescued the family from the burning library and has had a piece of luck in seeing Flay, not one of his greatest fans, banished from the castle by Countess Groan.  Yet, it’s just not enough for him and he is already, I suspect, beginning to insinuate himself into Earl Groan’s favours by promising to sort everything out for the Breakfast as he and Prunesquallor are dismissed from Sepulchrave’s bedchamber.

It’s not going all his way, though.  The sisters are making rumbling noises about getting their prize for having burned the library, Prunesquallor is suspicious and I have a feeling we will be seeing more of Flay, despite his banishment.  More importantly, he has failed to anticipate the inevitable influence of tradition in the appointment of Barquentine to succeed his father, Sourdust, as Master of Ceremonies.  The theme of tradition and ritual runs through Titus Groan, as seen in the frequent mentions of some pointless ritual, its meaning forgotten but its performance prescribed.  Steerpike is an agent of change and revolution, an upstart breaking the bounds of precedent in the castle, but I wonder how he is going to continue his rise when the higher he goes, the stronger the weight of tradition and inheritance.

Steerpike is beginning to exercise a malign fascination for me, rather like the hypnotic sway of a rearing cobra.  He is ruthless, manipulative and deceitful.  And those are just his good points.  He is extremely dislikeable but you can’t help but watch him.

There is something ominous starting to happen between him and Fuchsia.  I am starting to feel quite paternal towards her.  She is starved of affection from her family with only Prunesquallor and the frankly deranged Nannie Slagg showing her any love and it is becoming increasingly clear that she is yearning to be loved.  I found that the scenes where she starts to connect with Sepulchrave through the shadow of his growing madness were touching and herein lies the danger.  Fuchsia is a romantic and I fear that, in this instalment, we are witnessing the first stirrings of love.  I am worried that she is starting to fall for the loathsome Steerpike.  He is adventurous, energetic, ambitious and “different”.  It’s Bad Boy Syndrome.  For his part, Steerpike is going out of his way to establish a relationship with her.  I want to shout, “No!!  He’s only going to hurt you!”  Not that it would do any good.  The omens are not looking good for Fuchsia I fear.

I am now completely hooked on this book, although the density of language lends itself to reading by instalment rather than ploughing through large chunks of it.  I still find Keda and her wretched suitors pointless and distracting, although I can dimly see how she, at any rate, may become significant.  We have found out from her encounter with the Old Man that she is pregnant.  Her child, when he or she is born will be a natural counterpoint to young Titus, whom Keda wet-nursed.  Maybe, there is some significance here that will give Keda’s fictional existence some reason.

I am torn between wanting to see Steerpike get his comeuppance and wanting to see how he manages to acquire more power in the castle.  We can, I think, also look forward to seeing more of the Flay-Swelter grudge match and the continuing descent of Sepulchrave into madness.  Maybe he will hurl himself off a battlement, thinking he is an owl?  My only worry is that Fuchsia will not be able to see through Steerpike.  We shall see.

Further thoughts on this week’s instalment can be found by:

1.                  Jackie at Farm Lane Books; and

2.                  Bellezza at Dolce Bellezza.

Gormenghast Readalong: Week Two of Titus Groan

If the first part of Titus Groan is the set-up, an exposition of the setting and the introduction of the main dramatis personae, then this second instalment of the Gormenghast readalong, hosted by Jackie at Farm Lane Books, starts to position the characters and set up what promises to be a key set piece in the book, the burning of Lord Sepulchrave's library.

Some of the characters, such as Rottcodd, Sourdust and even the Earl and Countess are moved into the background, with Sepulchrave in particular beginning to fill a role as someone around whom the action revolves rather than a protagonist himself.  By contrast, the oleaginous and increasingly ominous Steerpike has moved front and centre stage and much of our second instalment is concerned with the way he stealthily claws his way up from lost kitchen boy to having a Svengali-like hold over Sepulchrave’s sisters.  Indeed, I can see a parallel between the way Peake moves his characters around the imposing stage of Gormenghast and the way that Steerpike manipulates the other inhabitants of the castle to enable his plans to come to fruition.

Another sub-plot that is slowly starting to heat up is the Flay-Swelter feud.  This one kicked off in the first instalment with Flay giving Swelter a lashing with his chain of office and is now motoring along with Swelter sharpening his knife and practising his stalking.  I am looking forward very much to seeing who is going to come out on top in this grudge match.

There’s a pleasing increase in momentum in this second part and I am now totally sucked in.  Plots are beginning to coalesce and Steerpike’s progress is dreadful in its fascination.  Lies, theft, manipulation and now arson.  What is he going to do to top that?  And what on earth is he going to do with the purloined swordstick?

What is truly impressive is the way Peake is holding my attention and interest in what, let’s face it, is a pretty unappetising collection of characters.  Even Keda, previously the most sympathetic character, is starting to morph into something much less attractive with the way she has treated her suitors on her return to the village of the Dwellers.

Actually, I wish that Peake had not bothered with the whole Keda sub-plot.  It doesn’t feel like a natural part of the book and doesn’t seem to add anything to the main narrative.  I didn’t want to bring in another Tolkien reference but I find Keda a bit like Tom Bombadil, an exercise in pointlessness, the excision of whom would not subtract anything of value from the narrative.  I now await the wrath of Keda and Tom fans everywhere!

There are a couple of other small quibbles – I find that Peake’s writing style doesn’t deal particularly well with changes of pace and Steerpike’s ascent has been a little too quick for my imagination to accept fully.  These are minor, however, and I am now thoroughly enjoying Titus Groan, something I didn’t think would happen at the beginning of the readalong.

Week two thoughts can also by found by:

1. Helen, guesting at Farm Lane Books; and
2. Bellezza at Dolce Bellezza.

Gormenghast Readalong: Week One of Titus Groan

Jackie at Farm Lane Books has taken on the thankless task of hosting a positively huge summer readalong of Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy, comprising Titus Groan, Gormenghast and Titus Alone.  The timing of the readalong is, intentionally I am sure, very timely.  2011 is the centenary of Mervyn Peake’s birth and, in addition to the publication by the British Library of Peake’s Progress, a selection of his writings, edited by his widow, Maeve Gilmore, will also see the release this month of Titus Awakes, a fourth Gormenghast book.  Titus Awakes was largely written by Gilmore, using notes left by Peake and was discovered last year by their granddaughter in an attic.

The Gormenghast trilogy centres on the inhabitants of Gormenghast Castle, a huge Gothic pile, within whose walls a largely self-contained society lives, governed by Sepulchrave, 76^th Earl of Groan.  Week 1 of the readalong takes us through the first 100 pages or so of Titus Groan, the first in the trilogy.  The eponymous Titus is the newborn heir to the Earldom of Groan and the book opens with Flay, the chief servant of Lord Sepulchrave, making a trip to announce the birth of Titus to Rottcodd, curator of the Hall of Bright Carvings.

I have to confess here that I tried to read Titus Groan many years ago when I was at school and failed miserably, giving up after only a few pages.  The novel is slow moving and much of the first part of the book is given over to scene setting, introducing a number of characters and describing parts of the castle itself.  Indeed, the castle is almost a character in itself and is the centre of the lives of all of its inhabitants.

Peake was an artist and illustrator, first and foremost, and, so far, the descriptive passages of the book are incredibly visual, richly detailed in an almost textural manner.  Peake’s use of language is extraordinary and lends itself perfectly to the depth of imagery so far.  In particular, there is a passage describing the scenes in the kitchens of Gormenghast after Titus’ birth that is so vivid and visceral that I could almost smell and taste the atmosphere.

Having said that, if I’m being totally honest, part of the reason I gave up on Titus Groan the first time around was that there was so much description that not a great deal else was actually happening.  I’m glad I persevered this time though as I’m really starting to get immersed in Peake’s world and am taking the time to enjoy the text.

I’ve also been struck by the near-Dickensian names he gives his characters – Sourdust, Prunesquallor, Steerpike – and the subtle counterpointing of humour and darkness.  Ultimately, Gormenghast appears to be the home of grotesques and I am finding it hard at this point to empathise or identify with any of the main characters.  Titus, who is clearly intended to be the main protagonist of the trilogy, is only a newborn Keda, his wet nurse, who is the only near-normal character so far, is actually just a little bit boring.  The joy and fascination of the book is that of observing the workings of the castle and witnessing the slow development of characters like Steerpike, a fiercely ambitious kitchen boy.  He is starting to show a level of cunning and manipulation that holds out the promise of him becoming a wonderful villain.

Peake is often compared to Tolkien and described as a fantasy writer.  There are, however, fundamental differences between their approaches to fantasy.  So far (and I have no reason to suppose that this will change), there is no magic in Peake.  There are no orcs, elves or wizards.  It appears that any evil will come from inside the human characters rather than from an external, magical agent.  To that extent, I would query whether Peake should be described as a fantasy writer, rather than a writer of the gothic fantastic.  I actually feel uncomfortable with the notion of Tolkien and Peake being put in the same category.

Some commentators have gone as far as to say that if you like one you can’t (or won’t) like the other.  This premise must be wrong but I can see a kernel of truth in it.  Tolkien’s world is an open, expansive world.  His world is full of woods and animals, mountains and open plains.  He peopled his world with different races and species (largely so he could develop his created languages) and he drew detailed maps of countries and lands.

As far as I can tell (and these are early days), Peake, on the other hand, looks inward.  His world is largely enclosed within the castle walls and even the outside world is referenced by its relationship to the castle.  His focus seems darker and lies on the natures of his characters.

The next resting point in the readalong is next Wednesday and will take us another 100 or so pages on in the narrative.  I am intrigued to see what will transpire.

If you want to read more first week thoughts, please visit:

1. Jackie at Farm Lane Books;
2. Bellezza at Dolce Bellezza;
3. Margaret at Books Please; and
4. Birdie at Birdie's Nest