Welcome to H. P. Lovecraft Week here on this blog! There are dozens of Lovecraft-inspired novels and short story collections being published each year. I thought I would feature some of the best Lovecraft material for your enlightenment and pleasure. Who can pass up alien soul-sucking entities, eldritch spells, and lurking doom? What better material to read during the run-up to the Republican Convention?
Although marketed as a novel, Lovecraft Country is really a series of interrelated stories with an ensemble cast of characters. Most of the characters are African-Americans. The stories are set in 1954. The United States in that period had a high degree of racism. One of the characters, George, operates a travel agency and publishes The Safe Negro Travel Guide that identifies areas to stay away from, and hotels and motels where African-Americans would be welcomed. The Lovecraft elements center around a rare book called The Book of Names that’s written in “the language of Adam.” Whoever masters the book is able to wield immense power. Atticus is an Army veteran who travels from Florida to Chicago because his father asks for his help. Atticus discovers his father, Montrose, is being held by a coven in Massachusetts. That adventure set off a series of mysterious events where cataclysmic threats hover over our world. My favorite characters are sisters: Ruby and Letitia. Both women encounter weirdness on a cosmic scale. I enjoyed this off-beat approach to Lovecraft’s Universe and hope that Matt Ruff writes more stories about the complex characters he’s created. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Lovecraft Country
Dreams of the Which House
Abdullah’s Book
Hippolyta Disturbs the Universe
Jekyll in Hyde Park
The Narrow House
Horace and the Devil Doll
The Mark of Cain
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
I tried a Lovecraft once and couldn’t get into it! What you describe sounds okay, but I have too much on my shelves now to spread my wings!
Bob, I found LOVECRAFT COUNTRY ground-breaking story-telling. Plenty of twists and turns!
I agree with you. I downloaded a copy from the library and enjoyed it thoroughly. The “lighthouse portal” (I’ll say no more) scene was also a good one. Great stuff. It was the third of Ruff’s books I’ve read (after BAD MONKEYS and THE MIRAGE) and, though all are quite different, he is an author to watch.
Jeff, I really didn’t know what to expect when I started reading LOVECRAFT COUNTRY. It was a very pleasant surprise!
Oh, yeah, this was a good book, George. My favorite character was the kickass Letitia. She can come and save my bacon any day.
Jerry, I”m with you on Letitia! I’m hoping Matt Ruff writes a sequel to LOVECRAFT COUNTRY with Letitia playing a major role.
Bad Monkeys has been sitting on the TBR for years. Maybe I will move on to this first.
Patti, I have CHAOS MONKEYS on order. I think you’d find LOVECRAFT COUNTRY fascinating.
this sounds really interesting I’ll check my library thanks for the tip
Maggie, I was impressed by the strong women characters in LOVECRAFT COUNTRY.
Meh. See you in a week.
Rick, you might enjoy tomorrow’s scary movie.