Reviews

Zgroza w Dunwich i inne przerażające opowieści by H.P. Lovecraft

mittland's review against another edition

5.0

what an entirely lovely story. i love the whateley family. nothing better than a truly odd bunch sticking together! in the beginning (and to some extent, all the way through the story) i felt empathy towards this family, which i don’t think was the intent (could have been, but highly unlikely.) yes, they’re all weirdos and have strange demonic connections but they’re also a family... i may be projecting quite a bit (i fully am) but i just think they’re neat.
the scientist characters who solve the whole mess are a good enough group but not kooky enough to really hold interest. luckily, we have the big boy himself, the dunwich horror, who’s the star of the show, pulling all attention. and what a star! what an icon! who has ever been such a complete monstrosity before? not disappointing in any way!
i’m sad about the way wilbur is described (especially after you know what). a little more respect please! nothing wrong with being a touch monstrous. really love how lovecraft ends on that amazing zinger of a one-liner. great, great line.

book_busy's review against another edition

4.0

Fascinating read but the ending sort of felt a tad hurried given the length of the setup. This being said, I also have complains in the sense that it felt like Lovecraft wasn't subtle about one of the characters' appearance in terms of the way he described it, which to a certain extent is effective in terms of creating terror but.... less so for the immediate horror of surprise. This was still very decent in terms of my overall enjoyment of the text; I don't know to what extent it would be that rewarding on a level of literary analysis. Probably deserves a re-read.

hikio123's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

I feel like this story is closer to what people assume is Lovecraft writing. It was on the short side, but was a better mix of unknown and explained. The twist at the end was a bit of a surprise, but not that much if you spent a bit thinking about it. Hi writing clearly improved over his years and this is getting to the level of writing that is a good mix of characters and events without being dependent of knowing his past stories.

northerngypsyblog's review against another edition

5.0

Is this a horror for 2023? No. Can I see this being a horror in 1929? Absolutely. It is necessary to recognize the time when a piece is written and that should be taken into consideration. This is beautifully written and a quick read. Entertaining and moments of suspense. A great story for around a campfire as cool weather hits.

bperl's review against another edition

3.0

Eh. Not one of Lovecraft’s finest pieces. Although it’s the first I’ve encountered NOT narrated in the first person, which was a refreshing change of pace.

cdyer's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Good introduction to lovecraft,s works.

clummo's review against another edition

3.0

First time reading Lovecraft. The writing style is obviously quite different from most stories published today, but after getting used to the verbose, impersonal narration the story was quite intriguing. It's easy to see why so many authors even today cite Lovecraft as a source of inspiration.

murinius's review against another edition

4.0

I'm writing a story with my friend and brushing up on writers who had the skills to do what we want to do so we can learn how to do it. The language is really up to my taste, most of it sounds like a way someone would speak who never talked to another human being but only read books from a prior century. Not counting the parts where he tries to simulate a dialect. My friend said, "Thanks, I hate it" as I was copying it for them in bafflement. Love the mixture of references real and unreal, and the atmospheric writing is just what I needed, things happening unnervingly at every moment.

Do have to warn however for references to incest and eugenicist language. Read up on eugenics in the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries and you will understand what is the context of its writing. Lovecraft was a racist and a eugenicist but not particularly so considering what were the policies of his government. Also read on how poor whites were regarded in the US and you will understand it even better; 18th century philosophers and travel writers were already talking about the "backwaters" in similar terms, referring to these poor whites as the refuse of England's shores and such. Lovecraft is an exceptional writer in many ways but by no means outstanding in this aspect.

redlynx's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

Way better than call of cthulu.

flavio_fly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0