Sweet & Salty Reviews - Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

The Dish
Lovecraft Country is a supernatural/eldritch horror novel written by Matt Ruff. In actuality, the book is more a collection of short stories. It weighs in at 372 pages in length and was published by Picador. It’s also now a major HBO series. Fans of Edgar Cantero’s Meddling Kids will probably really like because it’s in a similar vein - a kind of ‘extended universe’ Lovecraft story set in mid-century USA.

The Sauce
Atticus Turner returns from military service in the Korean war to find that a shady, eldritch cult has set its sights on him. What follows are eight tales of Atticus, his family and friends and their brushes with the cult and its sinister leaders. To make matters worse, the protagonists must contend with the prejudice endemic to the era, a proposition that is sometimes far more daunting than the lurking horrors of the supernatural world.

The Sweet
Ruff’s prose is elegant and stylish. He has constructed his stories cleverly, slotting each encounter with the cult together so that every tale builds neatly to a unified conclusion. His characters are charming and maintain a fine balance between down-to-earth and philosophical. It’s difficult to pick out a favourite because they are all so well-drawn, so multi-dimensional. Even the ‘villain’, Caleb Braithwhite, is perfectly charming and a lot of fun to watch in action.

What appealed to me most about Lovecraft Country was just how big a fanboy of H.P. Lovecraft Matt Ruff is. Reflected in Atticus’s thoughts on Lovecraft’s work, it’s clear that Ruff embraces the lore while still being painfully aware of its flaws. As such, there are wonderfully clever moments where he lampoons or straight-up mocks Lovecraft’s ignorance of his subject matter. There’s a lot of fun to be had in this book for fans of the Mythos.

Another thing this book does excellently is convey the danger experienced by black Americans during that era. The clenching fear that comes from encountering a mob of racists or a corrupt police officer, or the frustration of operating within a society that proclaims equality while enforcing segregation, often eclipses that of the stories’ supernatural elements. The first few stories, in particular, really hammered this ever-present terror and distrust home.

What I found most commendable about Ruff’s writing was that he chose not to divide the ‘good’ and ‘evil’ characters by colour. Included in this book are white people who suffered for their racially tolerant views, black people whose hard-line views polarise even their family members. Ruff gives a balanced account throughout and Caleb Braithwhite is the perfect antagonist for this book because he isn’t a racist. It places this book in a context where the ultimate conflict is a battle between good and evil, not black and white.

All the same, the aspect of racial tension, the new lens, really makes Lovecraft Country shine. The collision of pre-Civil Rights black culture and the Mythos provides an unusual context to the cults and hauntings and betentacled horrors that turns this book into something truly unique. It even raises some interesting questions about the original Mythos itself. Were the shoggoths in ‘At the Mountains of Madness’ really the villains, considering they were slaves who’d overthrown their masters? The challenge to Lovecraft’s presuppositions in his original works is both clear and apt.

I literally don’t love anything more than a self-aware novel and Matt Ruff delivers on that score. This is a book that is patently aware of the limitations of its source material and exploits it to great effect.

The Salty
There isn’t a lot to dislike in Lovecraft Country. My only real criticism is that the tension that Ruff spun out so beautifully in the early chapters started to flag in the last couple of stories. However, there is a reason for that, owing to the characters and events portrayed in those stories. It’s difficult to explain without giving spoilers but I think it makes sense.

Another issue, I suppose, is the note it ends on. Lovecraft didn’t exactly specialise in happy endings but, on the whole, Lovecraft Country’s tales tend towards being upbeat and hopeful. But you know what? Why the hell not? I really liked all the characters in this book and I’d probably have felt cheated if they didn’t get a happy ending. After all, they deserved it.

The Aftertaste
Lovecraft Country is a clever, well-crafted, funny and thoughtful read. I can say, with some certainty, that there isn’t really another book like it. I didn’t just enjoy reading it; it made me thoughtful too. At a time of civil unrest and with the BLM movement still in focus, this book has a lot of relevance, despite its mid-century setting.