Reviews with content warning for Death - The Ballad of Black Tom

THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM is a Lovecraftian retelling which transforms the original story from a litany of racism to a story of a 1920's Brooklyn Black man's existence in that racist miasma, and bloody revenge after a murder by the police.

The world-building dances a delicate line of conveying the racism of the 1920's while using only as much explicit racism as is needed to show the attitudes of the various characters. There's a scene which is all the more stark and impactful for using phrases still wielded today against Black people who have been murdered by police. I don't know if those exact phrases are anachronist or not, but if they are then the "authentic" 1920's version would involve a lot more slurs, and I have no quibbles with the author's choice of language here.

I love the first half where Tom is narrator, and at the end when he reprises the role. It's evocative and emotionally powerful, and to me it's the heart of the story. The section with the detective was good, I didn't like it as much because I don't like the detective, but it's really well written, and it shows how racism and xenophobia skews his impression of what's happening around him.

This is amazing on its own and I wish I'd just left it there. In order to review this in its full context as a retelling of THE HORROR AT RED HOOK by H.P. Lovecraft I read the source material. That was a terrible decision, I have regrets, it's so bad that it doesn't get a separate review, it's just bad. Almost all of the text is a litany of racial slurs and xenophobia with the barest thread of a plot. THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM is amazing and deserves to stand on its own, just forget about the original.

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mfieldshalva's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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spiritedfaraway's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense

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jbellomy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.0

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naika's review against another edition

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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.

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ehmannky's review against another edition

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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.

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