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iaraya's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Racism
greenteadragon's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Police brutality, and Racial slurs
pastelwriter's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I fucking loved this novella! It was brilliant. It was layered. For such a short read, it sure packed a punch.
One of the things that made me love this novella was that it did not sugar coat the time period it was dealing with. It did not gloss over the racism of the 1920s. It did not try to hold your hand and say, “Not all white people are bad.” It’s the kind of book that expects you to face the facts and deal with them. If you can’t, then you just don’t have the spine for the story being told.
To go into more detail, one of the topics this novella covered was how cops not only get away with murder but deliberately plan it. Mr. Howard and Malone were perfect examples of this. They embodied the way in which cops think they are above the law. To this day, the police think that feeling “threatened” by a black person holding a “weapon” is enough for them to murder them not by shooting them once but multiple times. Cops still will use the collective power of the police to intimidate black communities with little thought spared to how this negatively impacts the communities. Ugh. Honestly, it made me so angry to see how Malone and Mr. Howard behaved and what they said. Law enforcement should never be used to protect men who break the law in the most heinous ways.
This novella also perfectly represented how invisible and hypervisible black people are to white people. When the novella shifts to Malone’s perspective, we see this more starkly as Malone can hardly make himself think of Tommy beyond the color of his skin. Despite him being the “nicer” of the two cops, he still dehumanizes Tommy and disregards him until Tommy can be of use to him.
Furthermore, this novella perfectly tackled the white savior trope. Mr. Suydam was the prime example of a white man who tries to sell himself as the savior of people of color. He preaches that he sees their plight and only wishes to fix it, but he ultimately sees the people of color he’s “saving” as beneath him and unable to save themselves. Uff. Just so well done.
In terms of Tommy, we saw through his experiences the way frustration at being treated as subhuman and as a monster leads to an accumulation of rage. When individuals have done nothing wrong, or petty wrong-doing, the fact that they are only viewed as monsters can make someone want to embody this. At least there, there’s a twisted sense of being in charge. There is power over deliberately living into what is assumed about you. The way this novella tackles this is just 👌🏼
Finally, the writing style of this and the paranormal elements were fantastic. The writing was just so atmospheric. It really got the heart pounding! I could hardly unglue myself from the pages because of it. We love to see it.
One of the things that made me love this novella was that it did not sugar coat the time period it was dealing with. It did not gloss over the racism of the 1920s. It did not try to hold your hand and say, “Not all white people are bad.” It’s the kind of book that expects you to face the facts and deal with them. If you can’t, then you just don’t have the spine for the story being told.
To go into more detail, one of the topics this novella covered was how cops not only get away with murder but deliberately plan it. Mr. Howard and Malone were perfect examples of this. They embodied the way in which cops think they are above the law. To this day, the police think that feeling “threatened” by a black person holding a “weapon” is enough for them to murder them not by shooting them once but multiple times. Cops still will use the collective power of the police to intimidate black communities with little thought spared to how this negatively impacts the communities. Ugh. Honestly, it made me so angry to see how Malone and Mr. Howard behaved and what they said. Law enforcement should never be used to protect men who break the law in the most heinous ways.
This novella also perfectly represented how invisible and hypervisible black people are to white people. When the novella shifts to Malone’s perspective, we see this more starkly as Malone can hardly make himself think of Tommy beyond the color of his skin. Despite him being the “nicer” of the two cops, he still dehumanizes Tommy and disregards him until Tommy can be of use to him.
Furthermore, this novella perfectly tackled the white savior trope. Mr. Suydam was the prime example of a white man who tries to sell himself as the savior of people of color. He preaches that he sees their plight and only wishes to fix it, but he ultimately sees the people of color he’s “saving” as beneath him and unable to save themselves. Uff. Just so well done.
In terms of Tommy, we saw through his experiences the way frustration at being treated as subhuman and as a monster leads to an accumulation of rage. When individuals have done nothing wrong, or petty wrong-doing, the fact that they are only viewed as monsters can make someone want to embody this. At least there, there’s a twisted sense of being in charge. There is power over deliberately living into what is assumed about you. The way this novella tackles this is just 👌🏼
Finally, the writing style of this and the paranormal elements were fantastic. The writing was just so atmospheric. It really got the heart pounding! I could hardly unglue myself from the pages because of it. We love to see it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Gore, Violence, Gun violence, and Murder
spiritedfaraway's review
dark
reflective
tense
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Xenophobia
Minor: Ableism
kingweirdo's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Racism
naika's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.0
What resonated with me the most was the look into racism and injustice through a fantasy and horror lens. Charles Thomas Lester is a young, Black man in 1920s NYC finding a way out of no way. To survive he hustles, trying his best to draw as little attention to himself from police and his white neighbors. Of course, he can't escape or distance himself from the two. In fact, in the midst of one of his hustles, he finds himself unknowingly invited to a supernatural world by a peculiar, surly old white man. This "chance" encounter alters his world and identity, morphing him into Black Tom.
The Ballad of Black Tom is divided into two parts: the first part through the POV of Tom, and the second through the POV of Malone, a police officer. Personally, I found Tom's point of view strongest and most resonate. I think I understand the utility of Malone's character, but when the book transitioned to his POV, I felt a bit lost and it seemed as though so much of the integral pieces - particularly that of the transformation of Tom - occurred off screen.
There were aspects that were introduced that did not seem fully realized (e.g. the older woman who sought out Tom's services to retrieve a powerful book). Given all the moving pieces, I kept thinking how I would probably absorb the story better if it were adapted on screen. I have not read the source material this book was inspired by - and don't believe I ever will. I'm firmly comfortable getting a taste of Lovecraft's work through the perspective of Black authors, given his blatant racism.
The Ballad of Black Tom is divided into two parts: the first part through the POV of Tom, and the second through the POV of Malone, a police officer. Personally, I found Tom's point of view strongest and most resonate. I think I understand the utility of Malone's character, but when the book transitioned to his POV, I felt a bit lost and it seemed as though so much of the integral pieces - particularly that of the transformation of Tom - occurred off screen.
There were aspects that were introduced that did not seem fully realized (e.g. the older woman who sought out Tom's services to retrieve a powerful book). Given all the moving pieces, I kept thinking how I would probably absorb the story better if it were adapted on screen. I have not read the source material this book was inspired by - and don't believe I ever will. I'm firmly comfortable getting a taste of Lovecraft's work through the perspective of Black authors, given his blatant racism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Police brutality
simonamiller's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Gore
sweenerjoey's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Gore, Violence, and Body horror
Moderate: Police brutality
Minor: Racial slurs
defcon's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Really enjoyed this retelling of Lovecraftian horror from a modern, Black perspective. There is one major trigger warning I'm adding below related to police brutality.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Hate crime, and Gore
ehmannky's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This novella was so good that it almost made me want to read the Lovecraft story it was based on, just to get the full scope of the craft that went into turning it here. I loved that LaValle uses this story to just really prod at the terror that white people, from the random lady on the block, to the cops in the force reinforce racial terror that is both targeted (towards all Black folk) and random (it doesn't matter to the white powers that be which Black person dies). There's a lot of power packed in so few pages, and the ending was so moving. I want a book club to discuss the last chapter, because to talk about it here would be a spoiler. But I loved the way it looks at who is a monster and how does a monster (as the dominant society defines it) become into being.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, and Violence