I really like a lot of Lovecraft books, in the same way I like Le Carré’s spy novels: they mix the mundane in with the action to build suspense and pacing.
If it was all crazy all the time it would be boring. Compare Reanimator the schlocky b movie to the story its based on: the original story has much more poignant commentary about death in war and missing fallen soldiers when back home. The b movie is just sensationalism.
However, I also recognize that a lot of it was inspired by his racism. The cult of cthulu is likely a metaphor for interracial marriage, and the squid-human hybrids are a warning against (quelle horreur!) mixed race babies.
I really like a lot of Lovecraft books, in the same way I like Le Carré’s spy novels: they mix the mundane in with the action to build suspense and pacing.
If it was all crazy all the time it would be boring. Compare Reanimator the schlocky b movie to the story its based on: the original story has much more poignant commentary about death in war and missing fallen soldiers when back home. The b movie is just sensationalism.
However, I also recognize that a lot of it was inspired by his racism. The cult of cthulu is likely a metaphor for interracial marriage, and the squid-human hybrids are a warning against (quelle horreur!) mixed race babies.
The Shadow over Innsmouth was inspired by Lovecraft discovering he was part Welsh.