Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake

In the first book of The Gormenghast Trilogy (Titus Groan), Mervyn Peake introduces us to the world of Gormenghast; a rumbling down secluded castle, on the edge of the earth cut off from reality. Gormenghast is a place of traditions, rituals, and repetition. It is a castle whose dynamic is to constantly look back to the history of its past and embrace it. The characters of Gormenghast are moulded from the very stone the castle was built from, they are one breathing entity. They live non-lives, every day repeats itself. This world of Gormenghast is dead; the winding corridors of the castle are dead; the stifling air that the characters breathe is dead and their souls are dead. However, little do the inhabitants know that all is about to change with the birth of Titus Groan, heir to the Gormenghast throne.

            This story has a Once Upon A Time feel to it. Set in a bizarre place full of unfathomable strange characters and ludicrous traditions. Reality is certainly not the core of this book and these traditions have little reasoning behind them. The novel resembles something close to the middle ages; there seems to be few rules and to act on impulse is what is done. Although, in this dead world impulses are few. This book emerged after the war in 1946; unlike the other books which appeared at the same time it is not a book about learning from our mistakes and moving on. Instead it celebrates violent acts. The castle survives upon traditions, which have been initiated from the very first earl of Gormenghast.  Titus Groan is now the 77^th.

Mervyn Peak is essentially describing an unchanging world, where nothing out of the ordinary ever comes to play. The language in the book evokes a feeling of lethargy, stillness and non-life. Yes it is flowery, ever so poetic and beautiful at times, but its description causes the book to move slowly, a technique Peake uses to his benefit. At times I found it hard going and I would put it away, intending not to continue reading but the book always pulled me back in, its descriptions ticking over in my mind and its strange characters haunting my memory.

            I found the characters of Gormenghast very fitting to their surroundings, mirroring the qualities of real people but ghastly over exaggerated. Lord Sepulchrave’s twin sisters for example, are whimsical characters; if you placed them in the world we live today they would simply belong in an asylum. Every character in this story is different and has its unique set of traits yet they are all connected to each other, Titus groan and the castle itself. Everyone’s actions have consequences. Personally my favourite character has to be Steerpike, a character largely influenced from World War II. A radical leader, no doubt, who uses people to get to the top. He can be compared to Stalin, the leader of Russia at the time telling people “Equality is a great thing, Equality is everything”.

The ending has left the story wide open for the second book of this trilogy and I am looking forward to getting my hands on it and seeing what happens next in Gormenghast Castle.
 4/5

Next week Lady Ardour will be reviewing Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking.

Gypsy Boy on the Run by Mikey Walsh

Gypsy Boy on the Run is the phenomenal story of a young Romany Gypsy boy who runs away from his family. In this sequel to Gypsy Boy, Mikey Walsh invites us into a distant world unfamiliar to our own where we gain insight into the Romany Culture. A male dominated -world where women are second class citizens, education means nothing, acts of violence solve issues and homosexuals do not exist.  We see Mikey Walsh’s struggle throughout the book as he makes the decision to leave behind all he knows and loves to be who he is.

            From the age of seven, Mikey Walsh is different to other gypsy boys. He knows this and wishes to be accepted by his father, an honoured man in his community. At age fifteen he spends his night times praying to God that he isn’t actually gay. Throughout this story his wish to hear his father utter the three words ‘I love you’ is something he clings to. However, it is his father’s rejection which cements his decision to leave home and pave a different future for himself, to defy his culture and its beliefs.

            On his journey he meets different people who help him along the way, strong characters who inspire him, steadfast friends who encourage him and remain in his life ‘till the end. A character that greatly influences him and remains in his heart is his mother. She haunts his memories, continually cropping up in times least expected to put a smile on his face and bring a tear to his eye. A strong traveller woman, she stands for everything his father is not, and recognises that different is good.

This is essentially a story of survival, of endless hope and courage as one young unhappy fifteen year old boy changes his future and his fate. Mikey Walsh will not grow up to be a gypsy man, like his father and his father before him. Gypsy fighting, drinking and conning are no acts which appeal to this travelling man. It is one man’s story of not giving up and striving on, facing his demons and killing them. It is a journey that Mikey takes not alone, but with the company of the reader; beside him all the way we share his darkest moments and thoughts, his ugliest falls and his greatest successes. His natural and relaxed tone helps him achieve this. We read on in support and anticipation as our friend, the underdog wins.

This is a true a story where love conquers all. Love for his family and his culture is prevalent, having left all he knows behind him, Mikey Walsh still is proud to be a gypsy and looks back on his memories with fondness; whether it be singing to Disney movies with his sister Frankie, or hiding under a rug in the backseat from the witches as his mother secretly smokes a cigarette. Even the numerous beatings from his father and the other men in his community cannot extinguish his strong feeling towards a way of life and a people that means so much to him.

            Leaving the familiar behind, Mikey becomes a changed man. Never will he fit into this world that he yearned to be a part of and missed so much. Instead the ‘gorgia’ world has become his oyster and he proves he can achieve anything he puts his mind to. Gypsy Boy on the run is one remarkable story about one remarkable person.  

 

4/5

Next week Lady Ardour will be reviewing Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake.