Re-reading HP Lovecraft - oh, dear!

[Extollager]

Well, perhaps if the threads on HPL's philosophy are revived I will take a look. It's easy to get beyond HPL when topic of philosophy and science come up. Does anyone know what he thought of Freud? As for me, when I think of Freud I think of Frederick Crews's Skeptical Engagements, published in the 1980s.

But anyway on the topic of this thread I've spoken my piece. I did reread HPL a great deal for many years. I certainly won't say I'll never read him again, but if I do I suspect it'll largely be for the sake of nostalgia, since he was a favorite from that impressionable age of 14 and for many years afterwards. Right about the time I discovered him, so did Marvel comics!

The Terrible Old Man by Barry Smith

Terribly young and talented, Barry also got some fascinat'n inks from John and Dan

capnscomics.blogspot.com

I loved that stuff!

 

[BAYLOR]

Well, perhaps if the threads on HPL's philosophy are revived I will take a look. It's easy to get beyond HPL when topic of philosophy and science come up. Does anyone know what he thought of Freud? As for me, when I think of Freud I think of Frederick Crews's Skeptical Engagements, published in the 1980s.

But anyway on the topic of this thread I've spoken my piece. I did reread HPL a great deal for many years. I certainly won't say I'll never read him again, but if I do I suspect it'll largely be for the sake of nostalgia, since he was a favorite from that impressionable age of 14 and for many years afterwards. Right about the time I discovered him, so did Marvel comics!

The Terrible Old Man by Barry Smith

Terribly young and talented, Barry also got some fascinat'n inks from John and Dan

capnscomics.blogspot.com

I loved that stuff!

Once in while I do reread him . Why ? Nostalgia and,, Yes I do still enjoy him and the other writers of his era.

Warren Magazine did an very good adaptation of his story Cool Air back in the early 1970's.

 

[Extollager]

I had been a devoted Marvel fan for about three years already & was tickled to see the company pick up HPL.

 

[LostCosmonaut]

Agree with everyone here about the weakness of his prose. I used to be a huge Lovecraft buff, back in seventh grade or so---At the Mountains of Madness inspired in me a heady mixture of awe and dread, and I was captivated by Lovecraft's visions of a vast universe hiding horrors beyond the reach of science. My writing suffered from this fascination, however; I took ATMOM at face value, and drew the conclusion that obscure verbiage automatically made a work better, which meant I was producing some really clunky prose for a while.

Looking back, I still like much of Lovecraft's corpus. Even if the prose is a livid purple and characterization is nowhere to be found, the ideas are interesting, and there is a genuinely creepy atmosphere. I continue to enjoy ATMOM, in particular, despite its open rebellion against the conventions of good writing.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

I like Lovecraft's style. It frames the message. I write sarcastic poetry that sounds much better audibly when read with a sarcastic voice. I've read other non science fiction authors from the 30's, some classics, some not, and while not all of the grammar is picture perfect according to today's styles, but for me, the ideas and content, are still coming through loud and clear. It's hard to guess what people will be doing next. Choice of words? I'm not greatly influenced by authors who pack profanity into characters mouth's, even if modern standards say go for it.

What got me most about Lovecraft and still does, is the idea that there are forces operating in the depths that are older and bigger than humanity, that have not been conquered, vanquished, or banished.

 

[Phyrebrat]

I've really enjoyed this thread, thanks all.

I came to Lovecraft very (very) late after I was a big weird fiction fan. Also -- as an adult -- I struggled with concentrating on the prose's density so hearing about you all reading it in your teens is a real feat as far as my own skills go.

The point about his writing and stories as being comforting because of their familiarity is well-observed (both in this case, and any things we revisit many times), and my take on him is slightly different. Mostly the same, but I don't get that HPL glow from his own literature as much as I love the more recent mythos stories (esp Michael Shea -- Copping Squid is very good). I think this is most likely down to the fact that coming to his writing as an adult, it's hard to be forgiving of prose that flows against current trends.

Having said that, I recently read Wuthering Heights for the first time, and found it far more accessible despite the odd parsings required as a reader. And rarely read HPL any more becuase it requires too much mental energy, and as a writer myself, I often find myself branching off into reveries about why he constucted certain clauses the way he did, or word choice. Thus it takes me quite a long time to read a Lovecraft short -- I even managed to read Hard Times quicker than The Call of Cthulhu -- and so these days I'm happier reading modern anthos for my weird fic.

ETA: (of course, having said that, I now realise my version of others' HPL is M R James. I frequently go back to his stories even though they are plagued by similar character failings etc.)

 

[JunkMonkey]

Ive read this several times, It never loses it power.

This story is the basis for the 1963 Japanese horror movie Mantango A .K .A Attack of the Mushroom People . <snip> It's a very creepy piece of film making and well with watching.

Agreed. But don't watched the dubbed version.

 

[magpie Asylum]

I went back recently and read Lovecraft and holy sacred cow. There are some problems.
1. Long winded. I write with a lot of prose but HPL takes a calendar month to get to the point.
2. Low key he had a problem with minorities.....like a lot.
3. did not give a crap about his readers. He didn't care if his readers could follow a plot or even remember the names of some of these creatures or gods.

All that being said his work created a whole genre of horror fiction that has endured long after his death, and had an influence well beyond his own writing.

Hell I run COC as a game and I love it.
The man's writing style leaves a lot to be desired but his world building is utterly phenomenal.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Going back to The Outsider, originally I loved the twist at the end - but re-reading it I was left wondering how on earth the narrator had lived so long reading and looking at books and not once noticed that he was, um, not like that? It's a serious and obvious flaw in the story, but I guess that just means it's pulpy which I figure is the market HPL was writing for.

There was a lot of convenience in The Rats in the Walls, too - no one will talk to the narrator, yet somehow he manages to pick up snatches of rumour enough from them to construct a detailed history of the building going back thousands of years!

 

[paeng]

I think he did that because he was writing for magazines and was paid by word.

One notable thing about his works, though, is the idea of cosmic horror. As you go beyond any fear or excitement generated from horro you realize that the stories lead to the belief that the universe is neutral and that everything in it is meaningless.

 

[Toby Frost]

It does make me wonder if some writers are best read at some times in life (other than age-specific children's or YA books). I read Lovecraft's stories at 13 or so and greatly enjoyed them - but I strongly suspect that I wouldn't get half as much out of them now.

 

[SporgyTheReader]

Going back to The Outsider, originally I loved the twist at the end - but re-reading it I was left wondering how on earth the narrator had lived so long reading and looking at books and not once noticed that he was, um, not like that? It's a serious and obvious flaw in the story, but I guess that just means it's pulpy which I figure is the market HPL was writing for.

There was a lot of convenience in The Rats in the Walls, too - no one will talk to the narrator, yet somehow he manages to pick up snatches of rumour enough from them to construct a detailed history of the building going back thousands of years!

I think it's mostly because the entire cosmic horror subgenre is not character driven and it mainly about the spectacle and the horror of it, but for The Outsider, I believe its an allegory for the horror of isolation and being alone. The Outsider character is described as being completely alone for most of his life and when he finally escapes his gothic prison, he gets shunned by everyone around him, making truly alone. I haven't read The Rats in the Walls yet as I'm currently reading The Whisperer In Darkness, but I would say in my opinion, that Lovecraft's early works are very hit or miss.

 

[BAYLOR]

I think it's mostly because the entire cosmic horror subgenre is not character driven and it mainly about the spectacle and the horror of it, but for The Outsider, I believe its an allegory for the horror of isolation and being alone. The Outsider character is described as being completely alone for most of his life and when he finally escapes his gothic prison, he gets shunned by everyone around him, making truly alone. I haven't read The Rats in the Walls yet as I'm currently reading The Whisperer In Darkness, but I would say in my opinion, that Lovecraft's early works are very hit or miss.

I do like his story Under The Pyramids