Reviews

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

Only show reviews with written explanations

porkchopstogo's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark medium-paced

3.0

hazelmerevandran's review

Go to review page

4.0

3.5 rounded up

kpombiere's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

This is so much better than the recommendations led me to believe it would be.

riggad's review

Go to review page

5.0

This was dope as hell. Wonderfully paced and creative. Short stories collected into one. Interesting characters and overarching story. It sorta reads like a book of fables and I really enjoyed it. "highly recommend, HIGHLY recommend"

ratcowe's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

A sci-fi story set during Jim Crow. The characters and plot drew me in, and I had no idea what was going to happen next. The setting and horror elements sprinkled throughout the book made it an interesting read.

starryeved's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

But stories are like people, Atticus. Loving them doesn’t make them perfect. You try to cherish their virtues and overlook their flaws. The flaws are still there, though.

Boy, oh boy. Usually I am not a fan of short, interconnected stories, but Lovecraft Country is an exception. Matt Ruff does an excellent job of kickstarting the niche ― but very apt in its lampoonery ― that now includes the likes of Mexican Gothic, Knives Out, Get Out, and more modern staples of contemporary culture. I don't think I need to put a name to it for anyone to get the drift.

For starters, Lovecraft Country's premise is startlingly creative and ever socially relevant, a visceral meld of historical fiction and Lovecraftian horror. It is commendable that Ruff offers such complex, pressing social commentary into what on the surface seems like a wild goose chase of a book, layered beneath terrifying cabals, spirits, and other creatures of the deep. I found his writing style simple and digestible, an easy read with characters and plotlines definitely worth rooting for. Even now, I still want to know more about the worldbuilding. I'd say I want to immerse myself in it, but on second thought... Never mind.

From Jekyll-Hyde allegories to other insidious terrors, Ruff writes a compelling tale of the terrors of Jim Crow America, in which the true evils on the road manifest themselves in the form of the mundane, the people. That, ultimately, it is the racism and abhorrent prejudice so rampant in society, even today, that dwarfs all other unsightly evils. And we must confront it, and fight it head on. Definitely worth a read.