Sami Sundell reviewed Horror at Red Hook by H. P. Lovecraft
Review of 'Horror at Red Hook' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
I read The Horror at Red Hook as a background for [b:The Ballad of Black Tom|26883558|The Ballad of Black Tom|Victor LaValle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447086249s/26883558.jpg|46932536], because it's basically a retelling of this Lovecraft's story.
As other reviewers have said, Lovecraft's racism is clearly on display here. It's not thinly veiled, it's not just the way people thought back then; the way Lovecraft describes first his wholesome white main character and then the black and Asian as basically Devil worshippers and evil by nature makes it a heavy read. Lovecraft does manage to build that creeping horror of his in there, so if you're not bothered by the blatant racism, this might be a story for you.
This did make me value [a:Victor LaValle|1762294|Victor LaValle|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1280959466p2/1762294.jpg] more, though, so I do think reading The Horror at Red Hook might be beneficial to understanding what is happening in The Ballad of Black Tom. That isn't exactly a …
I read The Horror at Red Hook as a background for [b:The Ballad of Black Tom|26883558|The Ballad of Black Tom|Victor LaValle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447086249s/26883558.jpg|46932536], because it's basically a retelling of this Lovecraft's story.
As other reviewers have said, Lovecraft's racism is clearly on display here. It's not thinly veiled, it's not just the way people thought back then; the way Lovecraft describes first his wholesome white main character and then the black and Asian as basically Devil worshippers and evil by nature makes it a heavy read. Lovecraft does manage to build that creeping horror of his in there, so if you're not bothered by the blatant racism, this might be a story for you.
This did make me value [a:Victor LaValle|1762294|Victor LaValle|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1280959466p2/1762294.jpg] more, though, so I do think reading The Horror at Red Hook might be beneficial to understanding what is happening in The Ballad of Black Tom. That isn't exactly a high praise for The Horror at Red Hook, but that's best I can offer.