The Ballad of Black Tom - Lovecraft Reimagined
I went into this book having read almost all of H.P. Lovecraft's works. Knowing that he was so blatantly racist, xenophobic, and bigoted, always produced a fight within me because the lore is so horrifying and interesting to me. I adored that the dedication at the start of The Ballad of Black Tom is a statement by the author that conveys the very same thoughts: "For H.P. Lovecraft, with all my conflicted feelings."
I read this book in two short sittings. I was completely enraptured. It is so well-written and I am smitten with LaValle's writing style and word choices. It was frightening. It did justice to the injustices of the time for immigrants and people of colour. I was transported to the 1920’s and put into the body of a man who really was pushed into becoming a monster. He clearly knew that becoming a monster himself was still not the right answer, but it was all he had in his anger.
My feelings on this book are strong. I want Victor LaValle to re-write every Lovecraft story and make them his own so I can enjoy them through new eyes. I can see such beauty in the concept of using Lovecraft's mythos as a foundation for inclusive, wonderful horror produced from varying perspectives. I can almost imagine that Lovecraft's raison d'etre was simply to produce the monsters of his imagination on paper just so they could later be utilized and evolved by the people he targeted and excluded in his works. Like a carnation placed in a gun barrel, LaValle reworks Lovecraft in the most memorable way.
You simply must not sleep on this one.