Titus Groan is the story of Gormonghast and the first year and a half of it's 77th Earl, Titus Groan. Gormonghast is a huge Gothic fortress inhabited by equally Gothic and uncanny characters. The story also follows the rise of a young man named Steerpyke from being an oppressed kitchen boy to the Guy who works for Gormonghast's Tradition Master. Tradition is very important in Gormonghast, as nothing is done without following the strictest ritual.
Besides the entertaining and whimsical prose, the thing that first struck me about Titus Groan is that the entire place has a very autistic vibe about it. I wonder how popular this book is among other Aspies out there. Countess Gertrude is pretty autistic. She has next to no interest in human contact, instead obsessing over her several birds and cats. Her husband, Sepulcrave, who was the Earl before Titus, is also comes of as autistic because of his obsession with his books, but since he's the Earl he has to uphold tradition. The inhabitants of Gormonghast are in all likely hood autistic because of environment, not of birth.
The plot is unconventional. It is in fact, several interlocking plots. We've got Steerpyke's rise to power, Sepulcrave's descent into madness, his daughter Fushia's coming of age, the tense rivalry between Flay and Swelter which comes to a bloody conclusion, and the tragic story of Titus' wet nurse Keda. In the end, Titus becomes the Earl, but there is foreshadowing of some event in the future that will turn Gormonghast on it's head.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
My Dad said awhile back that I should read more of the great writers. He said I should read female writers, but since I couldn't find any in my collection and my sister is probably not going to lend me her Jane Austen anytime soon, I decided to look into my collection for classics. I had bough the Great Gatsby awhile back at a Church sale thing so I decided to read that.
The Great Gatsby isn't a long novel, and I wouldn't describe the novel as an epic. Simply, it's the story of a summer in the life of a man named Nick Carraway, as he observes his neighbour Jay Gatsby and his attempt at romance with his ex-girlfriend Daisy Buchanan among the various parties that occurred in 1922. The character of Gatsby is the fulcrum from which the novel springs. He's rich, he throws amazing parties and when he dies at the end of the novel his funeral is only attended by Nick, Gatsby's father and a guy who came to his parties and commented on Gatsby's books.
The story is about the American Dream. I don't think it was a positive look at it, as in the end Gatsby, who exemplifies the American Dream dies alone and the woman he loves doesn't even come to his future. I believe Fitzgerald may have had something there. In the end, America will collapse and the world will move on. Yes, there will be economic repercussions, but will get bye somehow. New nations will come up with new dreams, and they will write novels exemplifying there own dreams (The Great Gao? The Great Gupta?). Americans are aware of this, but most are afraid to look at it. If I may quote the Invisibles "The Rosicrucians who founded this nation wouldn't recognize it if they saw it today." This s paraphrasing mind you.
But I digress. I can't say that The Great Gatsby fully sunk in with me. I'm not used to reading realism, and Gatsby is the second realistic book I read on my own accord, the first one being On the Road. But The Great Gatsby, unlike On the Road, isn't the Beat celebration of life. The Great Gatsby is the tragedy of the 20th century. I think that I should re-read it again, just to figure out how it worked, but I don't feel like reading it anytime soon. I need to read some fantasy or science fiction.
Besides the entertaining and whimsical prose, the thing that first struck me about Titus Groan is that the entire place has a very autistic vibe about it. I wonder how popular this book is among other Aspies out there. Countess Gertrude is pretty autistic. She has next to no interest in human contact, instead obsessing over her several birds and cats. Her husband, Sepulcrave, who was the Earl before Titus, is also comes of as autistic because of his obsession with his books, but since he's the Earl he has to uphold tradition. The inhabitants of Gormonghast are in all likely hood autistic because of environment, not of birth.
The plot is unconventional. It is in fact, several interlocking plots. We've got Steerpyke's rise to power, Sepulcrave's descent into madness, his daughter Fushia's coming of age, the tense rivalry between Flay and Swelter which comes to a bloody conclusion, and the tragic story of Titus' wet nurse Keda. In the end, Titus becomes the Earl, but there is foreshadowing of some event in the future that will turn Gormonghast on it's head.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
My Dad said awhile back that I should read more of the great writers. He said I should read female writers, but since I couldn't find any in my collection and my sister is probably not going to lend me her Jane Austen anytime soon, I decided to look into my collection for classics. I had bough the Great Gatsby awhile back at a Church sale thing so I decided to read that.
The Great Gatsby isn't a long novel, and I wouldn't describe the novel as an epic. Simply, it's the story of a summer in the life of a man named Nick Carraway, as he observes his neighbour Jay Gatsby and his attempt at romance with his ex-girlfriend Daisy Buchanan among the various parties that occurred in 1922. The character of Gatsby is the fulcrum from which the novel springs. He's rich, he throws amazing parties and when he dies at the end of the novel his funeral is only attended by Nick, Gatsby's father and a guy who came to his parties and commented on Gatsby's books.
The story is about the American Dream. I don't think it was a positive look at it, as in the end Gatsby, who exemplifies the American Dream dies alone and the woman he loves doesn't even come to his future. I believe Fitzgerald may have had something there. In the end, America will collapse and the world will move on. Yes, there will be economic repercussions, but will get bye somehow. New nations will come up with new dreams, and they will write novels exemplifying there own dreams (The Great Gao? The Great Gupta?). Americans are aware of this, but most are afraid to look at it. If I may quote the Invisibles "The Rosicrucians who founded this nation wouldn't recognize it if they saw it today." This s paraphrasing mind you.
But I digress. I can't say that The Great Gatsby fully sunk in with me. I'm not used to reading realism, and Gatsby is the second realistic book I read on my own accord, the first one being On the Road. But The Great Gatsby, unlike On the Road, isn't the Beat celebration of life. The Great Gatsby is the tragedy of the 20th century. I think that I should re-read it again, just to figure out how it worked, but I don't feel like reading it anytime soon. I need to read some fantasy or science fiction.
2 comments:
I didn't really "get" Gatsby either. I'm not sure that I'll ever understand why that one's supposed to be such a classic.
Now that I don't have to read stuff like that for school, I tend to stick to nonfiction and sci-fi. That type of stuff is much more interesting if you ask me.
I hadn't heard of Titus Groan before but I think I might try that one out sometime.
For people stories I liked On the Road better. I'm not sure why. I should probubly reread it.
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