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crufts's review against another edition
3.5
Summary: Characters you'll adore; pages and pages of unnecessary description that you won't.
In a castle governed by ancient rules (Gormenghast Castle), a cunning kitchen boy plots and enacts his destructive rise to power.
Pros:
- Charming and eccentric characters whose physical defects only make them more endearing.
- Weaves several entertaining subplots through the story.
- Conflict tension is heightened because you genuinely don't know who you want to win.
- [Effeminate Male Character] is portrayed as a hero and not as a gay-coded villain, which is a nice change and quite impressive given that the book was published in 1946.
- [Bad Guy Protagonist] is a particularly great character, because yes, he's evil, but he's also sympathetic; he's the only person who's actually trying to change [Ridiculous Status Quo].
Cons:
- Annoyingly description-heavy prose only made tolerable by reading quickly. The author falls in love with his words at the expense of his pacing.
- I don't understand [Foreigner Nursemaid]'s subplot. It builds up and up and then just ends with [Sad Arc Ending].
Overall: Reasonably fun. You might like it better if you can tolerate the over-long descriptive paragraphs. Or better yet, watch the freely-available BBC television adaption.
In a castle governed by ancient rules (Gormenghast Castle), a cunning kitchen boy plots and enacts his destructive rise to power.
Pros:
- Charming and eccentric characters whose physical defects only make them more endearing.
- Weaves several entertaining subplots through the story.
- Conflict tension is heightened because you genuinely don't know who you want to win.
- [Effeminate Male Character] is portrayed as a hero and not as a gay-coded villain, which is a nice change and quite impressive given that the book was published in 1946.
- [Bad Guy Protagonist] is a particularly great character, because yes, he's evil, but he's also sympathetic; he's the only person who's actually trying to change [Ridiculous Status Quo].
Cons:
- Annoyingly description-heavy prose only made tolerable by reading quickly. The author falls in love with his words at the expense of his pacing.
- I don't understand [Foreigner Nursemaid]'s subplot. It builds up and up and then just ends with [Sad Arc Ending].
Overall: Reasonably fun. You might like it better if you can tolerate the over-long descriptive paragraphs. Or better yet, watch the freely-available BBC television adaption.
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence
badbadwolf's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
jollyg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Suicide
steveatwaywords's review against another edition
dark
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Phew!
While I understand the awe created by Peake's undertaking (specifically in style, in creating tableaux, in forging humorous characters and satirizing behaviors), the work expected of the reader is not small. And while writers like Tolkien offer expansive worlds, despite the size of the castle, Gormanghast is insular and claustrophobic. As the sentences and scenes revolve around themselves, it is difficult to find a thread of theme or significance in the story.
Indeed, there is very little. Some characters are in conflict with others, one is fast becoming a master manipulator, another is born heir to the domain, and all are broken and misshapen by the tiny spaces they have for generations inhabited. But what story? what goal? what outcome? It was difficult as a reader to discover a reason for caring.
So my high rating is for the style, scale, and uniqueness of the work. However, I am unlikely to return to it.
While I understand the awe created by Peake's undertaking (specifically in style, in creating tableaux, in forging humorous characters and satirizing behaviors), the work expected of the reader is not small. And while writers like Tolkien offer expansive worlds, despite the size of the castle, Gormanghast is insular and claustrophobic. As the sentences and scenes revolve around themselves, it is difficult to find a thread of theme or significance in the story.
Indeed, there is very little. Some characters are in conflict with others, one is fast becoming a master manipulator, another is born heir to the domain, and all are broken and misshapen by the tiny spaces they have for generations inhabited. But what story? what goal? what outcome? It was difficult as a reader to discover a reason for caring.
So my high rating is for the style, scale, and uniqueness of the work. However, I am unlikely to return to it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
cnohero's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a dark atmospheric read. The charcters are very quirky and imaginative. The castle of Gormenghast is a character all by it's self.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Mental illness and Blood
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