gormenghast

[Ouisie]

Has anyone read these books and if so what are they like?

[chonky]

I started but found the first book really heavy going. I never got into it really .

[flamesparrow]

I found it really heavy too - one day I'll tackle it again (my A level Eng Lit teachher raved about it).

[Oliviab]

They are SO worth the effort, I still escape to Gormenghast in my head years after first reading them! Try skipping the first couple of chapters of Titus Groan until you get caught up in Steerpike's adventures. He's such a bad boy, I love 'em.

[Ouisie]

Thanks for your opinions - I must say I'm finding it all pretty heavy going at present and am asleep within a couple of pages!

[Oliviab]

I've found that people who like Lord of the Rings don't like Gormenghast - people are generally in one camp or the other.
I find the LOTR plot tedious, characters lacking depth or charm (apart from Gollum/Shmeegol) and the prose poorly written. It leaves nothing to the imagination and has no sex appeal - the men are all too busy rolling about with each other. Clearly written by an old man who hasn't had any for years - what's in it for the girls?
This should start a nice long fight...!

[TinyGang]

Oliviab - that's a very interesting point. I can't get along with LOTR/Hobbit either. I took the short cut in the end and watched the films, but didn't like them much either really. I just find it so overblown, and looong zzzz!

I have been very keen to read Gormenghast for some time (especially so now, in the light of your observation!), but think I might need to do it when I have a bit more time to concentrate, as I know it will be quite involved.

It was adapted for television a few years ago. I absolutely loved that, although I don't know how faithful it was to the book. It had terrible reviews as I remember and I ended up thinking I was the only one who had enjoyed it. It was like an adult fairytale/Alice in Wonderland and fabulously surreal.