Wednesday, October 05, 2011



Massive and definitive two volume biography of H. P. Lovecraft, arguably the most important writer of weird fiction of the 20th century. Lovecraft, like Poe (whose feverish internal landscapes I read and was affected by first) , had the ability to get under your skin, tho Lovecraft's was a cosmic bleakness. He had the added bonus of creating some memorable monsters thus ensuring him a life of pop culture celebrity to a degree. Makes me think of the way Munch's the Scream has been put on just about anything at some point, you can get a inflatable Cthulhu.
Personally, I think Lovecraft's writing resonates stronger and ages better every time I re- read his stories with passages of haunting beauty.
The only complaint I have about Joshi's engaging and thorough biography is I wish there were more pictures, the bare minimum is included. The blue used as the jacket colour is pretty awful too, should have just stuck with classic black.

No comments: