Gormenghast

My initial thought is that Tim Burton should've made a movie out of this. A quick check of IMDB turns up this production instead, which looks brilliant: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0197154/

Gormenghast isn't so much horror–although if you mediate for a few minutes on the lives these people are trapped in you'll find plenty of that–as it is a grotesque, the literary equivalent of an old-style circus freak-show, which it's characters all pushed to the far extremes of caricature. Peake manages for all of that to make them human, although I found none sympathetic.

This book really wasn't my cup of tea, but that's not it's fault: if you enjoy rich, often funny, grotesque historical fiction, it's worth a look. And I can't really compare it to anything because it really isn't like anything. It's original. The love-child of Lovecraft, Dickens and Poe is probably the closest comparison. I get the impression Peake has been an influence on Pratchett: Stearpike or Flay or Swelter would be well at home in Anhk Morpork, but Pratchett doesn't quite have the cruel streak required for Gormenghast, and that's just fine by me.

Merciless scheming
all undone by one harsh word
dead in the water.

I think I'd only read Gormenghast (the book) once before, maybe twice, whereas I've read the first book, [b:Titus Groan 39063 Titus Groan (Gormenghast, #1) Mervyn Peake http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327871204s/39063.jpg 3250394], multiple times. Unsurprisingly, I didn't remember this second book nearly as well as I did the first.The second book is also simply not as strong a book as the first. Titus Groan is chock full of dark images and heavy symbolism seen through an obscuring cloud of gloom. In Gormenghast, in contrast, Peake literally comes straight out and tells the reader what the symbols are. This is most evident in the first 50-100 pages, but also occurs toward the end, when Titus is making his plans for the future. One character, the 'Thing', is clearly created purely for symbolic purposes, and it's disconcerting that Peake removes all possibility of mystery by telling us exactly what the character's meaning is.That character is itself an awkward construct. While most of the new characters introduced in this book are decently put together - the Professors as a corps, and to some extent as individuals, some, such as this special one, seem more like afterthoughts. It's incongruous, then, for this one to play (we're told) such a central role on Titus' life.Peake does a nice job of reconnecting with other characters, and tieing them back into the castle's (and Titus') story. The Countess, the Bright Carvers, and the Doctor all play important roles. Flay, while central, seems less fully developed, which is odd, since it seems clear that Peake fully intended this return to prominence. Peake also resolves Fuchsia's plotline in a seemingly offhanded manner.The plot itself itself is interesting. Steerpike develops in a credible way. There's a key flood whose mechanics are questionable, but then Gormenghast is not tied too closely to reality. There's quite a lot of humor in the book.There are a number of consistency errors - several related to Fuchsia's age, and one to Titus' location - signs of rushed or limited editing, perhaps. And there are scattered instances of words misused (‘flaunt' for ‘flout'), which would be less surprising in a writer less careful than Peake.I've focused on the negative, because I found the book disappointing in comparison with its predecessor, but that's not to say it isn't a good read. All in all, it's a sturdy successor to Titus Groan, but lacking the magic of the first volume. Worth reading for people who were caught up in the characters that inhabit the castle, but less so for those who mainly liked the imagery.3.5 stars rounded up to 4.