Post by GRWelsh on Jul 10, 2023 17:14:45 GMT -5
I downloaded a sample onto my Kindle and was hooked enough to buy a hard copy on eBay. From what I can tell, this is a story set in the same Dreamlands as THE DREAM-QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH (completed 1927, published 1943) by H. P. Lovecraft, but I can't tell yet if it is a sequel or not. It starts out at a women's college in Ulthar, so it appears the protagonist is a woman from the Dreamlands. The Dream Cycle stories are among my favorite by HPL, so I'm always looking for way to revisit that material through the eyes of another author... The reviews are mostly all good.
One thing I'll say to get it out of the way... I don't like it when authors or reviewers talk about "correcting" or "improving" Lovecraft by addressing his racism, alleged misogyny or, as they see it, bad writing. It seems disrespectful to on one hand ride on Lovecraft's coattails by writing a story or book based on his creation, and then turn around to get snarky about his flaws. I don't like HPL's racism and make no excuses for it. But for the most part, his racism isn't overt in his fiction (as it is in his private correspondence) and he filters much of it through his imagination to make what he fears and is disgusted by into, well, some damn impressive fiction! As for his under-representation of women in his fiction, that doesn't necessarily equate with misogyny... HPL loved and took care of his mother and aunts, he married a Jewish Russian immigrant named Sonia Haft Greene, and he had female clients and friends that he visited and corresponded with... All or most thought highly of him and considered him a gentleman. It's more likely he used male protagonists in his fiction because they were easier to write. Also, HPL didn't seem to care nearly as much about his protagonist as the atmosphere and setting... In many cases, one could imagine the protagonists of many of his stories as women and it wouldn't change the story at all, since it isn't so much about them as what they find out about the world.
Okay, that being said, I have no problem with approaching the Lovecraftian worlds through a feminist lens or any other lens to present a new angle, and I'm hoping this book is good and I'm willing to give it a chance. I just don't like the accepting of help while giving insults at the same time.
One thing I'll say to get it out of the way... I don't like it when authors or reviewers talk about "correcting" or "improving" Lovecraft by addressing his racism, alleged misogyny or, as they see it, bad writing. It seems disrespectful to on one hand ride on Lovecraft's coattails by writing a story or book based on his creation, and then turn around to get snarky about his flaws. I don't like HPL's racism and make no excuses for it. But for the most part, his racism isn't overt in his fiction (as it is in his private correspondence) and he filters much of it through his imagination to make what he fears and is disgusted by into, well, some damn impressive fiction! As for his under-representation of women in his fiction, that doesn't necessarily equate with misogyny... HPL loved and took care of his mother and aunts, he married a Jewish Russian immigrant named Sonia Haft Greene, and he had female clients and friends that he visited and corresponded with... All or most thought highly of him and considered him a gentleman. It's more likely he used male protagonists in his fiction because they were easier to write. Also, HPL didn't seem to care nearly as much about his protagonist as the atmosphere and setting... In many cases, one could imagine the protagonists of many of his stories as women and it wouldn't change the story at all, since it isn't so much about them as what they find out about the world.
Okay, that being said, I have no problem with approaching the Lovecraftian worlds through a feminist lens or any other lens to present a new angle, and I'm hoping this book is good and I'm willing to give it a chance. I just don't like the accepting of help while giving insults at the same time.
