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daumari's review against another edition
4.0
I started reading this after we watched the HBO series, and while it's only 4 episodes, I do think this is one of the adaptations that builds on the source material in a good way. I think that's because the adaption becomes an #ownvoices story, with Black creators adding nuance and depth to some already solid characters. Ruff does a decent job, as an example of writing outside your experiences because you do the homework to back it up. It does feel a little "I learned about X, gotta mention it", but what this novel does well is combining real life horrors with creeping pulpy horror. The chapters feel like issues of a comic book following different characters, though there is an overarching story.
Really solid read, and good addition to a 2020 reading list if you want to add fiction to your nonfiction.
Really solid read, and good addition to a 2020 reading list if you want to add fiction to your nonfiction.
barning's review
3.0
Ich wollte dieses Buch lesen, bevor ich mir die Serie anschaue. Ich beschäftige mich schon länger mit Lovecraft als Rassisten und bekam durch dieses Buch noch einmal weitere Eindrücke wie die klassische Science Fiction aus der Sicht von POC gesehen wird.
Hier ist auch schon mein großes Problem mit dem Buch. Ruff ist weiß und schreibt aus der Sicht einer schwarzen Familie eine Geschichte in der Jim Crow Zeit. Dadurch eignet er sich eine bestimmte Wortwahl aus der Zeit an, oder benutzt Wörter, die er eigentlich nicht nutzen sollte. Ich fühlte mich konstant unwohl und suchte sogar nebenbei auf Reddit nach Meinungen von POC. Immerhin war laut Reddit alles sehr realistisch erzählt.
Das Buch selber würde ich nicht unbedingt als Lovecraft Horror bezeichnen. Es erscheint mir dafür zu zahm und dafür sind die episodischen Kapitel zu kurz. Hier merkt man, dass das Buch eher ein Pitch für die Serie war. Trotzdem werden gegen Ende alle offenen Enden in ein zufriedenstellendes Finale zusammengeführt.
Spoiler: Am Ende kann eine Person sich bei Bedarf in eine weiße Frau verwandeln um sich somit Türen für ein besseres Leben öffnen. Slowclap für dieses fragwürdige Entscheidung vom Autor.
Hier ist auch schon mein großes Problem mit dem Buch. Ruff ist weiß und schreibt aus der Sicht einer schwarzen Familie eine Geschichte in der Jim Crow Zeit. Dadurch eignet er sich eine bestimmte Wortwahl aus der Zeit an, oder benutzt Wörter, die er eigentlich nicht nutzen sollte. Ich fühlte mich konstant unwohl und suchte sogar nebenbei auf Reddit nach Meinungen von POC. Immerhin war laut Reddit alles sehr realistisch erzählt.
Das Buch selber würde ich nicht unbedingt als Lovecraft Horror bezeichnen. Es erscheint mir dafür zu zahm und dafür sind die episodischen Kapitel zu kurz. Hier merkt man, dass das Buch eher ein Pitch für die Serie war. Trotzdem werden gegen Ende alle offenen Enden in ein zufriedenstellendes Finale zusammengeführt.
Spoiler: Am Ende kann eine Person sich bei Bedarf in eine weiße Frau verwandeln um sich somit Türen für ein besseres Leben öffnen. Slowclap für dieses fragwürdige Entscheidung vom Autor.
thechanelmuse's review
4.0
Hmm. There’s a lot of interesting, uncomfortable, and disturbing things happening in this tale, but it’s presented in a disjointed way. Feels more like an anthology than a cohesive book for the most part. It explains why the tv series based on this novel is structured that way.
thinkingbookishthoughts's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
awesomeallie's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jonathanelfving's review against another edition
3.0
Lovecraft Country was sort of a disappointment and a pleasant surprise at the same time.
The disappointment comes from the expectation that I thought I was going to get at Lovecraftian tale filled with cosmic horror and madness but told from a perspective Lovecraft himself could never even consider writing from. While there are some bits and pieces of the story scattered throughout that feel somewhat Lovecraftian what author Matt Ruff draws inspiration from seems to be more pulpy horror and Science-fiction written in the early 20th century in general, and not specifically Lovecraft. It is reminiscent of Stephen King's It in that way, both essentially being homages to the monsters and conventions the authors were inspired by. This isn't exactly a bad thing but I was hoping for something a bit scarier.
(spoiler alert) What surprised me was the anthology-like structure of the story, with each chapter being a short story told from the perspective of every member of the family the story is centered on. By doing this Ruff gets to jump through different sub-genres and explore every single character while still managing to have a throughline that never gets lost. This is the real triumph of the book, it manages to both be an anthology and a single story without feeling messy.
I might give the book a higher rating during a future reading, I liked the setting and the characters enough to want to stay around with them, and the story does have a powerful message that could have been either overtly preachy or down-right distasteful if handled badly, but Ruff keeps the tone of the supernatural elements fun and exiting while being respectful and serious about the historical aspects of segregation and racism in 1950's America and makes it all blend together in a unique story that feels both familiar and fresh.
The disappointment comes from the expectation that I thought I was going to get at Lovecraftian tale filled with cosmic horror and madness but told from a perspective Lovecraft himself could never even consider writing from. While there are some bits and pieces of the story scattered throughout that feel somewhat Lovecraftian what author Matt Ruff draws inspiration from seems to be more pulpy horror and Science-fiction written in the early 20th century in general, and not specifically Lovecraft. It is reminiscent of Stephen King's It in that way, both essentially being homages to the monsters and conventions the authors were inspired by. This isn't exactly a bad thing but I was hoping for something a bit scarier.
(spoiler alert) What surprised me was the anthology-like structure of the story, with each chapter being a short story told from the perspective of every member of the family the story is centered on. By doing this Ruff gets to jump through different sub-genres and explore every single character while still managing to have a throughline that never gets lost. This is the real triumph of the book, it manages to both be an anthology and a single story without feeling messy.
I might give the book a higher rating during a future reading, I liked the setting and the characters enough to want to stay around with them, and the story does have a powerful message that could have been either overtly preachy or down-right distasteful if handled badly, but Ruff keeps the tone of the supernatural elements fun and exiting while being respectful and serious about the historical aspects of segregation and racism in 1950's America and makes it all blend together in a unique story that feels both familiar and fresh.
savaging's review against another edition
4.0
I came to this because I loved the tv series based on it. Lovecraft's touted as a founding father of pulp horror, but read his work and it's clear the real horror is the reverse -- not the Black, disabled, femme, wild bodies and spirits he writes about with disgust, but the author's desire to gawk at and then punish them. I love that this work flips the lens and reveals the true horror. I love that it creates space for others to embrace the genre.
I'm also totally at sea with the revelation that this was written by a white man. Looking at others' responses to it, it seems like many Black critics find his characters to be well-done, not falling into stereotypes. There's a reason Jordan Peele and Misha Green wanted to adapt it. Also, I guess at least Ruff isn't falling into the pattern of writing only about white characters or only having peripheral Black characters who support the narrative arc of a white protagonist? In many ways it makes sense that if you want to write Lovecraftian horror, you have to focus on the creepy eerie all-pervasive threat of white supremacism.
I'm on uncertain ground and probably one insightful argument could make me change my mind about loving this book. But either way, lord it would be nice if Black authors got more space and time and funding to write all kinds of stories, their own and others'.
I'm also totally at sea with the revelation that this was written by a white man. Looking at others' responses to it, it seems like many Black critics find his characters to be well-done, not falling into stereotypes. There's a reason Jordan Peele and Misha Green wanted to adapt it. Also, I guess at least Ruff isn't falling into the pattern of writing only about white characters or only having peripheral Black characters who support the narrative arc of a white protagonist? In many ways it makes sense that if you want to write Lovecraftian horror, you have to focus on the creepy eerie all-pervasive threat of white supremacism.
I'm on uncertain ground and probably one insightful argument could make me change my mind about loving this book. But either way, lord it would be nice if Black authors got more space and time and funding to write all kinds of stories, their own and others'.