Lovecraft Country, by Matt Ruff

Matt Ruff's Lovecraft Country hit the market last year and had an immediate impact. It seemed like you couldn't find a 2016 top ten list that didn't have this book listed: GoodReads Choice awards finalist, Barnes and Noble Best of 2016 list, Locus Award finalist, etc.

So, Lovecraft Country found its way into my amazon list of "things I may want to read." It got bumped higher on my list when it was announced that it would be adapted into an HBO series by Jordan Peele (Get Out). Matt Ruff, it seems, is no longer an unknown. In any case, I loved Get Out so I decided to take the plunge.


It's a unique story. It deals with Jim Crow-era America racism and....HP Lovecraft? It's a mishmash of racial tension, pulp horror, and historical fiction, which sometimes worked for me and sometimes didn't. I appreciated the effort of making something NEW, which he did accomplish. The story is told in separate, but linked episodes. That turned me off a little, as I just don't enjoy that particular storytelling format. Story arcs are set aside in order to create new ones, which was just too jarring for me.


However, if you're a Lovecraft fan and want something that is completely different from the contemporary Lovecraft emulation out there, you will probably like this more than I did.


Grade: C

Review by Jason Cavallaro