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calarco 's review for:
The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories
by H.P. Lovecraft
It is pretty hard to read something within the horror genre that has not been influenced by H. P. Lovecraft in some way, shape, or form. I’ve long struggled with how to go about reading his most influential stories, and ultimately settled on S. T. Joshi’s edition of Lovecraft’s early work originally published 1919–36, [b:The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories|160149|The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories|H.P. Lovecraft|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320618937l/160149._SY75_.jpg|6750943].
Given the gift of hindsight, I probably should not have read these stories right before going to bed, I had some admittedly warped and trippy dreams, though I’d be lying if I said I did not enjoy the bizarre experience. There is also something validating, even cathartic, about reading well composed work that so accurately captures the feelings of detachment and depression. I found this very much to be the case with the titular ”The Call of Cthulhu”…
”The Thing cannot be described - there is no language for such abysms of shrieking and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order. A mountain walked or stumbled.”
There were also a lot of original elements that I enjoyed in stories like ”The Rats in the Walls” and the ”The Shadow Over Innsmouth”; though I did begin to notice that the type of horror that thematically drove narrative very much stemmed from fear of the foreign other. It must be stated that these stories are definitely a byproduct of their time and contain an obscene amount of racist language and assumptions. While significantly better than other colonial era authors like Joseph Conrad or Arthur Conan Doyle (I’m full of bold claims today), there were many choices that detracted from otherwise strong work.
This volume will not be for everyone; I also found it to be uneven in quality and at times repetitive given the scope of the collection. Even today, Lovecraft is one of those polarizing figures whom people seem to either intensely love or hate. I fall between these two extremes and enjoyed the work, but would not put it on a pedestal. So, take of that what you will.
Given the gift of hindsight, I probably should not have read these stories right before going to bed, I had some admittedly warped and trippy dreams, though I’d be lying if I said I did not enjoy the bizarre experience. There is also something validating, even cathartic, about reading well composed work that so accurately captures the feelings of detachment and depression. I found this very much to be the case with the titular ”The Call of Cthulhu”…
”The Thing cannot be described - there is no language for such abysms of shrieking and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order. A mountain walked or stumbled.”
There were also a lot of original elements that I enjoyed in stories like ”The Rats in the Walls” and the ”The Shadow Over Innsmouth”; though I did begin to notice that the type of horror that thematically drove narrative very much stemmed from fear of the foreign other. It must be stated that these stories are definitely a byproduct of their time and contain an obscene amount of racist language and assumptions. While significantly better than other colonial era authors like Joseph Conrad or Arthur Conan Doyle (I’m full of bold claims today), there were many choices that detracted from otherwise strong work.
This volume will not be for everyone; I also found it to be uneven in quality and at times repetitive given the scope of the collection. Even today, Lovecraft is one of those polarizing figures whom people seem to either intensely love or hate. I fall between these two extremes and enjoyed the work, but would not put it on a pedestal. So, take of that what you will.