Review of 'Titus Alone'
Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake
3rd book in the 'Gormenghast' series
In this the final book in the Gormenghast trilogy Titus has left his ancestral home of Gormenghast and responsibility as the 77th Earl of Groan to “find himself” in the bigger world. It is a strange world indeed populated with unusual characters and places with Titus blythely stumbling his way through all of it. The picture is not altogether a pleasant one with the characters and the world seeminly out to get Titus (particularly the beautiful but vindictive Cheeta whose spite knows no limits). Quite a departure from the rest of the series this is a much more focused book about Titus himself and the question as to whether he will return to his responsibility as Earl. My mind was drawn to parallels between this book and White's “The Once and Future King” where Arthur goes on a similar voyage of discovery (in a very different tone than the rest of the series). I found this book difficult to read with no, real, likeable characters (though vividly described). I felt that this was a disappointing conclusion to the series.
Rating: “A bit better than average”
Review Date: 2004-11-20
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Penguin Modern Classics
Publication Date: 1959
Other reviewed books in the 'Gormenghast' series:
- Titus Groan (Book 1)
- Gormenghast (Book 2)
Other reviewed books by Mervyn Peake:
- Gormenghast (Book 2 of Gormenghast)
- Titus Groan (Book 1 of Gormenghast)