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A review by mlc_1316
A Lush and Seething Hell: Two Tales of Cosmic Horror by John Hornor Jacobs
5.0
This was such a stunning book. The prose was absolutely beautiful. It’s the kind of writing you want to savor. It’s apparent how much research he did when writing these two stories. There’s so much rich detail packed into them. There’s even a bibliography included in at the end of the works he consulted while writing these 2 stories. In the 2nd story, “My Heart Struck Sorrow”, it shows his skill on how he’s able to take a real song like “Stagger Lee” and turn it into something supernatural and menacing.
The first story, “The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky”, was probably my favorite of the two by just a small bit. Simply because during my undergrad days at the University of Kentucky I took a course on the history of Latin America and had the opportunity to visit Argentina that same year, completely falling in love with the area.
“The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky” explores topics like the U. S.’s history of meddling in Latin American governments and the horrors we perpetrate on each other while “My Heart Struck Sorrow” explores the subjects of race, privilege, grief and guilt. While reading the 2nd story, it brought to mind Victor Lavalle’s novella, Black Tom, a little. Both stories are gorgeously layered and textured with much to unpack. There’s so many great discussions that could be had. If I ever get the chance to start a book club at my library this would be at the top of the list for my first pick.
The first story, “The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky”, was probably my favorite of the two by just a small bit. Simply because during my undergrad days at the University of Kentucky I took a course on the history of Latin America and had the opportunity to visit Argentina that same year, completely falling in love with the area.
“The Sea Dreams It Is the Sky” explores topics like the U. S.’s history of meddling in Latin American governments and the horrors we perpetrate on each other while “My Heart Struck Sorrow” explores the subjects of race, privilege, grief and guilt. While reading the 2nd story, it brought to mind Victor Lavalle’s novella, Black Tom, a little. Both stories are gorgeously layered and textured with much to unpack. There’s so many great discussions that could be had. If I ever get the chance to start a book club at my library this would be at the top of the list for my first pick.