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A review by twilliamson
A Song for Quiet by Cassandra Khaw
4.0
A Song for Quiet is the second novella in the Persons Non Grata series, featuring John Persons, the strange P.I. who seems to have something of an affinity for Lovecraftian horrors. But it's not really about John Parsons at all; this novella focuses tightly on Deacon James, a blues musician with a world-ending seed in his head that speaks music to him. It's a neat concept for a novella, but it's not what makes A Song for Quiet really sing.
What makes this novella most impressive are the many timely elements Khaw explores. Deacon, a black man in a white man's world, is faced with casual horrors of the racist world around him, an existential dread that pervades throughout the story in much more tactile and visceral ways than the Lovecraftian horrors sailing around in Deacon's head. There's a horror external to Deacon--the racism he faces--and a horror internal to him--the world-ending seed in his mind that manifests as torrential and existential rage. Khaw uses these two complementary ideas to find the power of empathy, or the limits of how much a person can take before becoming so radicalized they don't recognize themselves any more. There's some great politics at play in this novella, and Khaw's willingness to face the racial conflict in both period fiction and Lovecraftian fiction is noteworthy.
Khaw's prose is also a selling point for A Song for Quiet, although much like in other fiction I've read from Khaw, there's an eagerness to overwrite a scene for the purpose of diversifying the prose--even if some of that diversification becomes highly repetitive. Khaw has a unique style that lends their stories interesting perspectives, but sometimes the prose just gets in the way and the artifice of it all tends to wear. Not all of the prose in this novella is equal, with some passages being exquisite and others being so overcooked as to become a meme.
All things considered, A Song for Quiet is a fantastic novella, one that I enjoyed quite a lot. Its creepy ideas mesh well with its strong political stance, and it feels like a fitting reinterpretation of a racially problematic figure like Lovecraft. I'd read more.
What makes this novella most impressive are the many timely elements Khaw explores. Deacon, a black man in a white man's world, is faced with casual horrors of the racist world around him, an existential dread that pervades throughout the story in much more tactile and visceral ways than the Lovecraftian horrors sailing around in Deacon's head. There's a horror external to Deacon--the racism he faces--and a horror internal to him--the world-ending seed in his mind that manifests as torrential and existential rage. Khaw uses these two complementary ideas to find the power of empathy, or the limits of how much a person can take before becoming so radicalized they don't recognize themselves any more. There's some great politics at play in this novella, and Khaw's willingness to face the racial conflict in both period fiction and Lovecraftian fiction is noteworthy.
Khaw's prose is also a selling point for A Song for Quiet, although much like in other fiction I've read from Khaw, there's an eagerness to overwrite a scene for the purpose of diversifying the prose--even if some of that diversification becomes highly repetitive. Khaw has a unique style that lends their stories interesting perspectives, but sometimes the prose just gets in the way and the artifice of it all tends to wear. Not all of the prose in this novella is equal, with some passages being exquisite and others being so overcooked as to become a meme.
All things considered, A Song for Quiet is a fantastic novella, one that I enjoyed quite a lot. Its creepy ideas mesh well with its strong political stance, and it feels like a fitting reinterpretation of a racially problematic figure like Lovecraft. I'd read more.