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A review by ostrava
Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake
1.0
I'm not going to sugarcoat it, it's a mess.
Utterly irredeemable? Probably not, but not worth a read in my opinion, unless you're deeply curious about what might have been a potential third novel and don't mind digging up a poor draft to get one. The book is impatient about revealing itself to you, and it comes across as jarring as a result.
Now, I get that the author was going through some serious struggles at the time of writing this, so I'm not going to pretend it only boils down to a miss. It's actually quite amazing how much Peake managed to do at this moment of his life. There are great images and some ideas here and there that do have potential, but very little of it actually goes somewhere. As I see it, this feels like a book of what-ifs rather than of genuine substance.
So, sorry, but I'll recommend skipping it.
P.S: I also wanted to say that Muzzlehatch is one of my least favorite characters in anything in a minute. What the hell was his deal...
Utterly irredeemable? Probably not, but not worth a read in my opinion, unless you're deeply curious about what might have been a potential third novel and don't mind digging up a poor draft to get one. The book is impatient about revealing itself to you, and it comes across as jarring as a result.
Now, I get that the author was going through some serious struggles at the time of writing this, so I'm not going to pretend it only boils down to a miss. It's actually quite amazing how much Peake managed to do at this moment of his life. There are great images and some ideas here and there that do have potential, but very little of it actually goes somewhere. As I see it, this feels like a book of what-ifs rather than of genuine substance.
So, sorry, but I'll recommend skipping it.
P.S: I also wanted to say that Muzzlehatch is one of my least favorite characters in anything in a minute. What the hell was his deal...