Matt Ruff tells us a series of Lovecraftian tales highlighting the state of racism in 1950s America. I am quite a fan of stories in the mould of H.P. Lovecraft. Not in his style, but that grasp the ideas that appear in his stories: the haunted house; the murderous cult; travel in time and space; the scientist; other body experiences etc. Matt Ruff takes these ideas and places an African American family in the middle of them. The obvious comparison is that the day to day horror of the racism they face is often far worse than the supernatural or other-worldly terrors they are confronted with. Well written and evocative of the time I felt he painted a realistic picture of the racism. Much to my surprise Matt is not African American, but he is complemented by other reviewers on not pulling his punches and writing the uncomfortable truth. I am not sure this is a novel, more a series of novellas linked by the common characters of two brothers, George and Montrose, their friends and family. While the book lagged a bit in the middle and was a bit of a stitch up at the end, it was both shocking and enjoyable.
As a footnote I also enjoyed the book cover.
No comments:
Post a Comment