Lovecraft Country: A Novel
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Paperback
It's so important to realize how far we've come, respective to where we've been, notwithstanding our current problems. That said, this was one of the most intense books I've ever read in my life. It's a good reminder of how things were for a group of people long marginalized, and, in many ways, who still are. The fact that there ever had to exist an actual book entitled "The Negro Motorist Green Book," which essentially provided travelers with "safe havens," not unlike some type of modern-day Underground Railroad, is beyond comprehension. It's vital to acknowledge that at this time, in the 1950s, "Sundown Towns" weren't an abstraction: they were so real to actual people that a book was written and widely circulated on how to avoid them.
This is one of the most creative and sophisticated novels I've read in quite some time. It tells the story of an enigmatic family, the Turners, whose mysterious origins come back to haunt them, in a way they could least expect. The various family members, notwithstanding the unimaginable reality they face, are surprisingly relatable, as each individual has a unique story of their own. The Turners are anything but superheroes: they face their unique challenges with human weaknesses, but also with dignity and surprising reslience. These include both the horrors they face in their everyday lives which boggle the mind, and the ethereal machinations of a scheming, modern-day wizard, Caleb BraithWhite (play on words from "Braithwaite?"), who murdered his father and his entire "coven" to gain control.
The most striking, and appalling, feature of the novel is the juxtaposition of the supernatural horrors the Turners encounter with the everyday horrors of Jim Crow racism, which plagued every Black living in the US in the 1950s, and, as the novel depicts, not just in the deep south. H.P. Lovecraft, whose blatantly racist ideas feature prominently in his writings, was a product of an elite, New England (specifically, Providence, Rhode Island) upbringing, not a southern one. His early works supported and promulgated segregation as a way to preserve both distinct races and cultures, although, curiously, he married a Jewish woman, whom he described as "well-assimilated." It's long been argued that his collection of space oddities, a diverse world of aliens and supernatural beings, are essentially proxies for humans of different races, whose stereotypical features often mirror those of their terrestrial counterparts.
Lovecraft himself was not highly educated, dropping out of high school and never attending college, but he was quite well-read and considered himself an atheist, choosing to put his faith instead in science as opposed to religion. As such, he was well-read in the sciences, including chemistry and astronomy, but without much formal training, it's questionable as to how critically he was able to engage with the material he was absorbing, as much of it was viewed through the lens of so-called "scientific racism," which clearly influenced his thinking, and, subsequently, his writings. He constitutes yet another tragic example of someone who knows how to believe, an inherent human ability, but who has never been taught to think, an acquired ability - the latter being the REAL purpose of education, which this talented and creative author lamentably never received.
The novel intertwines a series of vignettes of pulp fiction regarding the encounters of the Turners and the people around them, from their vicious neighbors, to the cultists who are bent on what appears to be world domination. I don't want to provide many spoilers here, but, fair warning, it's definitely not for the faint of heart. The overt racism is sickening, especially if you've seen or experienced it firsthand, but it provides an opportunity to present some much-needed realism to an audience who may otherwise not ever encounter this type of material. It's something of a covert history lesson, and a much-needed one. It's now reaching an even greater audience, as it's become an HBO series, which I haven't seen, but might be looking for now, although the subject matter is admittedly disturbing.
This is one of the most creative and sophisticated novels I've read in quite some time. It tells the story of an enigmatic family, the Turners, whose mysterious origins come back to haunt them, in a way they could least expect. The various family members, notwithstanding the unimaginable reality they face, are surprisingly relatable, as each individual has a unique story of their own. The Turners are anything but superheroes: they face their unique challenges with human weaknesses, but also with dignity and surprising reslience. These include both the horrors they face in their everyday lives which boggle the mind, and the ethereal machinations of a scheming, modern-day wizard, Caleb BraithWhite (play on words from "Braithwaite?"), who murdered his father and his entire "coven" to gain control.
The most striking, and appalling, feature of the novel is the juxtaposition of the supernatural horrors the Turners encounter with the everyday horrors of Jim Crow racism, which plagued every Black living in the US in the 1950s, and, as the novel depicts, not just in the deep south. H.P. Lovecraft, whose blatantly racist ideas feature prominently in his writings, was a product of an elite, New England (specifically, Providence, Rhode Island) upbringing, not a southern one. His early works supported and promulgated segregation as a way to preserve both distinct races and cultures, although, curiously, he married a Jewish woman, whom he described as "well-assimilated." It's long been argued that his collection of space oddities, a diverse world of aliens and supernatural beings, are essentially proxies for humans of different races, whose stereotypical features often mirror those of their terrestrial counterparts.
Lovecraft himself was not highly educated, dropping out of high school and never attending college, but he was quite well-read and considered himself an atheist, choosing to put his faith instead in science as opposed to religion. As such, he was well-read in the sciences, including chemistry and astronomy, but without much formal training, it's questionable as to how critically he was able to engage with the material he was absorbing, as much of it was viewed through the lens of so-called "scientific racism," which clearly influenced his thinking, and, subsequently, his writings. He constitutes yet another tragic example of someone who knows how to believe, an inherent human ability, but who has never been taught to think, an acquired ability - the latter being the REAL purpose of education, which this talented and creative author lamentably never received.
The novel intertwines a series of vignettes of pulp fiction regarding the encounters of the Turners and the people around them, from their vicious neighbors, to the cultists who are bent on what appears to be world domination. I don't want to provide many spoilers here, but, fair warning, it's definitely not for the faint of heart. The overt racism is sickening, especially if you've seen or experienced it firsthand, but it provides an opportunity to present some much-needed realism to an audience who may otherwise not ever encounter this type of material. It's something of a covert history lesson, and a much-needed one. It's now reaching an even greater audience, as it's become an HBO series, which I haven't seen, but might be looking for now, although the subject matter is admittedly disturbing.
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