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mtzfox's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It's really hard to totally sum up what this graphic novel means, because it really wasn't what I expected and there is just so much to digest. I'd recently finished Alan Moore's From Hell Master Edition (which I loved) and have read many of H.P. Lovecraft's stories, so I was genuinely excited to see what he did with it.
For fans of Alan Moore, there's no doubt that the guy really likes to go deep. This graphic novel is absolutely steeped in literary references, not just to Lovecraft, but also to his contemporaries. It works hard to build a case for the effect this work has had on the broader culture and question and commercialization of characters like Cthulhu. I recommend Alan Moore's own provided annotations (Facts in the Case of Alan Moore's Providence on WordPress) as you read to get a fuller picture. Many details in the panels that may not make immediate sense often refer to details of Lovecraft's work that Moore is nodding to in order to get the reader to dig into the lore.
As with many of Moore's major works, it's really hard to compare this to other graphic novels just due to the depth; this really isn't light reading, and in fact I found it more difficult than any of his other novels to get through.
The handwritten sections between each chapter were often grueling, especially considering they're often just the main character's reactions (in the format of a commonplace book) to the events he's experiencing. I'm not sure exactly why Moore chose to do this, but it could be to slow the reader down or to feel a first-person perspective of the main character sinking into madness and trying to make sense of what's happening. It's an interesting device, but still difficult to get through and really demotivated me at times. The handwriting was hard to read at first, though I got used to it.
It should be noted, this book includes an undercurrent of bizarre homoeroticism and turns a critical eye towards the homophobia of the time. It also has a scene of strange incestuous rape that I could see bothering people. There are also some gruesome panels of gore and disturbing images. Pretty par for the course for Alan Moore, but be warned that this is horror and a very adult novel.
In many ways, this book is a masterpiece, and far beyond the depth of your average graphic novel. It makes me want to delve further into H.P. Lovecraft's larger universe, as well as his influences and contemporaries (i.e., 'The King in Yellow'). The art is great, and there is so much that will stick with me. That said, it still has its flaws, and I'm many people will find it difficult to digest due to the mountain of references and uneven pacing. This book really makes you work for it, but it's ultimately rewarding. 4 1/2 stars.
For fans of Alan Moore, there's no doubt that the guy really likes to go deep. This graphic novel is absolutely steeped in literary references, not just to Lovecraft, but also to his contemporaries. It works hard to build a case for the effect this work has had on the broader culture and question and commercialization of characters like Cthulhu. I recommend Alan Moore's own provided annotations (Facts in the Case of Alan Moore's Providence on WordPress) as you read to get a fuller picture. Many details in the panels that may not make immediate sense often refer to details of Lovecraft's work that Moore is nodding to in order to get the reader to dig into the lore.
As with many of Moore's major works, it's really hard to compare this to other graphic novels just due to the depth; this really isn't light reading, and in fact I found it more difficult than any of his other novels to get through.
The handwritten sections between each chapter were often grueling, especially considering they're often just the main character's reactions (in the format of a commonplace book) to the events he's experiencing. I'm not sure exactly why Moore chose to do this, but it could be to slow the reader down or to feel a first-person perspective of the main character sinking into madness and trying to make sense of what's happening. It's an interesting device, but still difficult to get through and really demotivated me at times. The handwriting was hard to read at first, though I got used to it.
It should be noted, this book includes an undercurrent of bizarre homoeroticism and turns a critical eye towards the homophobia of the time. It also has a scene of strange incestuous rape that I could see bothering people. There are also some gruesome panels of gore and disturbing images. Pretty par for the course for Alan Moore, but be warned that this is horror and a very adult novel.
In many ways, this book is a masterpiece, and far beyond the depth of your average graphic novel. It makes me want to delve further into H.P. Lovecraft's larger universe, as well as his influences and contemporaries (i.e., 'The King in Yellow'). The art is great, and there is so much that will stick with me. That said, it still has its flaws, and I'm many people will find it difficult to digest due to the mountain of references and uneven pacing. This book really makes you work for it, but it's ultimately rewarding. 4 1/2 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Body horror, Pregnancy, Rape, Blood, Incest, Violence, Gore, Suicide, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Antisemitism and Homophobia
jstrahan's review
5.0
It’s watchmen but for lovecraft instead of superheroes. It’s incredible, I love it. I might be on the brink of reading a lot of lovecraft now.
supernovaesque's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Builds to a fine, terrifying finish with lots of scares along the way. I've read lots of Moore, but this one stands tall as a measured work of research, fan service, and just plain old good storytelling. Definitely recommended, and holds up well rereading it a year later.
violet_hayes's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If you're a writer, especially of horror, I highly recommend Providence.
This book has layers that peel back and whisper secrets to the reader with an open mind. I didn't know very much about cosmic horror -- never cared for Lovecraft even -- but there is so much love for the genre and its history packed into this story that I found myself taking breaks between chapters to research the names, titles, and idioms as they came up. And I'm so glad I did! Robert Chambers, Lord Dunsany, and Sidney Sime are just a few of the artists I gained a new respect for after reading Providence.
Beyond its value as an historical study, the story is both fun and frightening. Certain aspects of it are disgusting and difficult to stomach, but there's also a subtlety to the characterization that creates this wonderful mysterious atmosphere that only thickens after the first chapter.
This book has layers that peel back and whisper secrets to the reader with an open mind. I didn't know very much about cosmic horror -- never cared for Lovecraft even -- but there is so much love for the genre and its history packed into this story that I found myself taking breaks between chapters to research the names, titles, and idioms as they came up. And I'm so glad I did! Robert Chambers, Lord Dunsany, and Sidney Sime are just a few of the artists I gained a new respect for after reading Providence.
Beyond its value as an historical study, the story is both fun and frightening. Certain aspects of it are disgusting and difficult to stomach, but there's also a subtlety to the characterization that creates this wonderful mysterious atmosphere that only thickens after the first chapter.
jammasterjamie's review
3.0
It's great to have the whole shebang of Providence in one handy and affordably priced collection, but I fear that many readers will suffer thanks to its lack of including The Courtyard and Neonomicon as the ending makes no sense without the context they provide. Outside of that, the Lovecraft backdrop that Moore uses as his setting for this exploration of the duality of nature and the underlying darkness of our lives and culture provides the perfect creepy atmosphere to bring forth the hidden truths he wants to illuminate.
sanrodsara's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I don't know what I was expecting from this graphic novel, but it wasn't this. Lovely art style and that's the only reason it gets 2 stars instead of 1.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Body horror, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Transphobia, Antisemitism, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, War, Genocide, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Blood, and Pregnancy
Please do yourself a favour and read the trigger warningsmattait's review against another edition
3.0
Hm. A tough one this. One that probably requires a second reading to really decide whether it succeeds or not. Thoughts on a first reading then: it's dense. Jam packed with Lovecraftian lore and literary history, unfriendly to the casual reader looking for a solid horror yarn. On that count I'm not sure it succeeds, unlike the much shorter and tighter Neonomicon which packs a real gut punch, grotesque and unpleasant as that is.
Some of that may be down to Jacen Burrows accomplished but uninspired art which is great at setting place and the deliberate pace, but lacks the imaginative flair to pull off the "cosmic horror" - his renderings of Lovecraft's "unknowable" seem all too known and familiar at this point, which highlights the problem of most visual representations of the lore; without a truly deft touch and/or idiosyncratic vision to match Lovecraft's own, any depiction will fall well short of "vast, cosmic mystery" and belly flop into horror movie cliche. Lovecraft is often criticised for his reliance on vague adjectives, endless synonyms for "unfathomable" adding up to (for some) an authorial shrug: "well, you know, our pathetic human language just isn't up to the task, here, try 'indescribable corruption of natural law' on for size!", but of course he knew what he was doing, leaving it up to the reader themselves to figure out, or not.
Luckily Moore's writing and plotting is able to pick up some of that slack, nicely depicting the protagonist's growing disorientation while it feeds our own with some genuinely disquieting revelations, and one revolting pivotal scene which manages to cover every point on the perversity scale and a few even it didn't quite stretch to.
Of course Moore has some big ideas to tackle here, his major thesis apparently being that Lovecraftian lore and its offshoots represent a new, modern, North American (U.S.) folklore encompassing all that culture's ugliness, prejudice, and contradiction, and I suppose the buried fear of its ultimate futility. Pretty invigorating stuff! Most of this is spelt out in the protagonist's diary entries at the end of each (comic) chapter, and it's here that I think I had my biggest problem with the book. The effect of these entries for me on this first read was to bring the narrative to a shuddering halt, blowing up any tension and momentum earned in the more traditional comic book section preceding. They're a mixture of recap and expansion, very expository, and they often feel redundant, even vaguely condescending (true, this is one of the protag's characteristics) in that they sometimes feel as if Moore doesn't trust the reader to cotton on to what he's attempting, even though much of that is latent in the main narrative. And where it isn't, I couldn't help thinking well, why isn't it?
Which circles me back round to the beginning, and my feeling that a second read might be necessary to decide what purpose these interludes serve (Moore never seems anything but deliberate), and whether they work in that context to deepen the narrative. I definitely have a preference for horror in which the subtext (if you want to look) is buried within the story - I doubt Lovecraft himself had any idea at all of what he was doing (certainly that's Moore's contention in Providence) beyond writing the stories he was able to write by way of his own peculiar pathologies and prejudices, and that's their power for better or worse. I don't naturally incline myself towards Providence's kind of metatextual tom-fuckery, interesting as it is, so I lay that down as context for this review. Still, I am going to read this again.
Some of that may be down to Jacen Burrows accomplished but uninspired art which is great at setting place and the deliberate pace, but lacks the imaginative flair to pull off the "cosmic horror" - his renderings of Lovecraft's "unknowable" seem all too known and familiar at this point, which highlights the problem of most visual representations of the lore; without a truly deft touch and/or idiosyncratic vision to match Lovecraft's own, any depiction will fall well short of "vast, cosmic mystery" and belly flop into horror movie cliche. Lovecraft is often criticised for his reliance on vague adjectives, endless synonyms for "unfathomable" adding up to (for some) an authorial shrug: "well, you know, our pathetic human language just isn't up to the task, here, try 'indescribable corruption of natural law' on for size!", but of course he knew what he was doing, leaving it up to the reader themselves to figure out, or not.
Luckily Moore's writing and plotting is able to pick up some of that slack, nicely depicting the protagonist's growing disorientation while it feeds our own with some genuinely disquieting revelations, and one revolting pivotal scene which manages to cover every point on the perversity scale and a few even it didn't quite stretch to.
Of course Moore has some big ideas to tackle here, his major thesis apparently being that Lovecraftian lore and its offshoots represent a new, modern, North American (U.S.) folklore encompassing all that culture's ugliness, prejudice, and contradiction, and I suppose the buried fear of its ultimate futility. Pretty invigorating stuff! Most of this is spelt out in the protagonist's diary entries at the end of each (comic) chapter, and it's here that I think I had my biggest problem with the book. The effect of these entries for me on this first read was to bring the narrative to a shuddering halt, blowing up any tension and momentum earned in the more traditional comic book section preceding. They're a mixture of recap and expansion, very expository, and they often feel redundant, even vaguely condescending (true, this is one of the protag's characteristics) in that they sometimes feel as if Moore doesn't trust the reader to cotton on to what he's attempting, even though much of that is latent in the main narrative. And where it isn't, I couldn't help thinking well, why isn't it?
Which circles me back round to the beginning, and my feeling that a second read might be necessary to decide what purpose these interludes serve (Moore never seems anything but deliberate), and whether they work in that context to deepen the narrative. I definitely have a preference for horror in which the subtext (if you want to look) is buried within the story - I doubt Lovecraft himself had any idea at all of what he was doing (certainly that's Moore's contention in Providence) beyond writing the stories he was able to write by way of his own peculiar pathologies and prejudices, and that's their power for better or worse. I don't naturally incline myself towards Providence's kind of metatextual tom-fuckery, interesting as it is, so I lay that down as context for this review. Still, I am going to read this again.
mizar's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I discovered Lovecraft in the beginning of my 20's through a translated collection of his early short stories. I was at the time at a transition point, where my interest in the fantastic was emerging and having exhausted the limited offerings translated in my native language, I was slowly beginning to read whatever I could get my hands on in English.
Lovecraft's writings shaped my perceptions of Horror with his long winding descriptions, his refusal to name things plainly, always pitting the rationality of his protagonists against the unnamed and their insistence to not see that which is right there before their eyes right until the final pages where they are driven either to death or mad . In his world, the universe is cold and uncaring, we live our lives ignorant of the horrors lurking just outside the light and this is for the best because there can be no winning.
Moore's offerings on the other hand flesh out the horror, bringing it forward in graphic detail. Especially the 2 previous stories in the series, 'The Courtyard' as well as 'Neonomicon" feel like a slap in the face! 'Providence' is much more subdued, with the horror elements building up gradually and at least in my perspective requiring a good knowledge of Lovecraft's body of work to be able to be appreciated in full.
Finally, Moore has accomplished something unique here. he has managed to tie up Lovecraft's dreamland cycle with his Mythos stories in a consistent narrative, while at the same time demonstrating how books, language and pop-culture in general shape our perspectives and the world around us.
Lovecraft's writings shaped my perceptions of Horror with his long winding descriptions, his refusal to name things plainly, always pitting the rationality of his protagonists against the unnamed and their insistence to not see that which is right there before their eyes right until the final pages where they are driven either to death or mad . In his world, the universe is cold and uncaring, we live our lives ignorant of the horrors lurking just outside the light and this is for the best because there can be no winning.
Moore's offerings on the other hand flesh out the horror, bringing it forward in graphic detail. Especially the 2 previous stories in the series, 'The Courtyard' as well as 'Neonomicon" feel like a slap in the face! 'Providence' is much more subdued, with the horror elements building up gradually and at least in my perspective requiring a good knowledge of Lovecraft's body of work to be able to be appreciated in full.
Finally, Moore has accomplished something unique here. he has managed to tie up Lovecraft's dreamland cycle with his Mythos stories in a consistent narrative, while at the same time demonstrating how books, language and pop-culture in general shape our perspectives and the world around us.
cybergoths's review
4.0
Enjoyable, although the faux-handwriting sections are challenging to read. I need to revisit the Neonomicon to remind myself of the interlinks.