by Mervyn Peake
Oh dear. Much as I love Peake (his writings and his art), such whimsy is not to my taste. Sadder still, the wonderfully rich language of the Gormenghast books is largely absent. Consequently, I find it hard to give it a meaningful rating, but have tried to judge it in its own right, rather than as a...
Would like a peek at this island through MP's wild and extravagant eyes. He spent some time painting and drawing here. The only other dramatic affiliation related to this island I have come across is The Dame of SarkA pressie with a photo tucked inside. How lovely to have the face to go with the nam...
After Gormenghast, I was hungry for more work by this superb author and happily, I came by this. Mr. Pye started off rather slowly, but by the third chapter I was utterly hooked by this simple, yet powerful fable of morality. It doesn't hit the heights of the Gormenghast Trilogy by a long shot but...
A remarkably well constructed parable, which deserves to be better known. The moral is, roughly: don't be ashamed of being a good person, even if it makes you feel ridiculous. Peake finds a clever and original way to say it.