As part of the Gothic Book Club, chances are you’ve started the first book in Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy and I am really excited to hear what you think of it all so far. Over the next few days, you’ll make your way through the corridors, attics and hidden rooms, which will become your home for the next few weeks.
As this is an iconoclastic Gothic fantasy book written in the 1940s, it may take a little adjustment to become comfortable with the delivery, tone and structure of the story.
Here’s one trick which really helped me with that aspect:
Consider the opening chapters as if you’re being guided through a cavernous, labyrinthine world; experiencing a revolving door of characters. You don’t have to know everything yet, so be assured that all will be revealed as and when it needs to be. This approach will allow you to become comfortable in your new surroundings.
Gormenghast, the sprawling castle and grounds that exists under the reign of the Groan dynasty, is a self-contained ecosystem, and one which takes a little figuring out. Thankfully, Peake does all the heavy lifting on that front.
Delving into the world, we will experience the characters and their dynamic interplay; the dislike, sycophancy, indifference and jealousy of several main players is efficiently (and effectively) laid out within the first 100 pages or so.
The ritualistic elements, which are sacrosanct to Gormenghast, are also presented, along with the hierarchical elements of those involved. Everyone has a very specific role to play, and the governance in which those relationships exist falls into place remarkably quickly.
World-building can be a challenging experience for a reader, but for some reason, Titus Groan is different. Peake has a draftsman’s eye for detail, but also an amazing flair for linguistic trickery, which can make even the most mundane or everyday tasks and events seem both enriching and salubrious.
Take, for example this description of Steerpike, a rebellious kitchen worker, eating a pear he has found in the chamber of Fuchsia Groan (the teenage daughter of the ruling family).
‘Making use of the miniature and fluted precipice of hard, white discoloured flesh, where Fuchsia’s teeth had left their parallel grooves, he bit greedily, his top teeth severing the wrinkled skin of the pear, and the teeth of his lower jaw entering the pale cliff about halfway up its face - in that abactinal region where, since the petals of the pear flower had been scattered in some far June breeze, a stealthy and profound maturing has progressed by day and night.’
This is Peake’s immense talent in action. Much like the way in which H.P. Lovecraft utilizes a distinctive lexicon, blended with a bizarre narrative approach, Peake achieves the same (without the unfortunate and problematic elements of HPL). His artist’s perspective (kudos to anyone reading the illustrated editions) allows him a lens through which to view the story, and one which sets in place a very concrete and tangible landscape; the geography of which becomes evident a lot quicker than one would expect.
So, whether you’re 30 pages in or 100, I genuinely hope you’re enjoying the experience. If you think someone you know would be interested in joining the Gothic Book Club, by all means feel free to spread the word. I’ve been delighted with the response and conversations generated so far, and greatly look forward to seeing where the next few weeks take us. Happy reading.
As always, I can be found on IG and TT (@colinjmccracken) - Search for the #gothicbookclub hashtag for recent posts (I’ve seen some remarkable editions being shared, which are a joy to behold)
Anthony burgess so wonderfully explained the concept and style of the series, in the introduction of Titus Groan …very much like you said in your reel…[ ‘a whole ecosystem ‘ ]…as ‘’Aggressively three dimensional’’ and with ‘’A certain ponderous architectural quality ‘’…..one cannot help but be immersed in this spatial description of worlds with a quality of an entire dimension and attitude, emotion and otherworldly quality .
The abc series , although doing it justice as a story..far removes ..in my opinion …that delicate nurturing of world building through a private mind. Which is why the book …even in the first few intricate weavings is a show of Peake’s extraordinary capacity to linger words into an entire psyche of being and formulating caverns of a magical existence.
[I originally commented this in ig but found it better to post here. Apologies Colin 🥹😊]
im now 128 pages in on the illustrated ebook my physical copy needs to get here ASAP i think reading along with the audio books definitely helping me not only with my dyslexia but also bringing the way the characters talk to life the doctors laugh is so anoying its like a shrill version of Doctor hibert from the Sampsons in truth i do not like any of the characters but thats ok i enjoy wuthering heights and hate all the characters in that so im perfectly fine not liking the characters