H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life. by Michel Houellebecq

I always liked Lovecraft, but I couldn't really say why. French novelist Michel Houellebecq (a favorite of Iggy Pop, btw) gives you all the reasons why a closeted, racist hack-writer that failed professionally is actually brilliant. Plus the book has three classic stories by Lovecraft himself. Too expensive though.

I could have done without the comments of Stephen King who wouldn't recognize a tight story line if one fell on his head...and I would have chosen The Terrible Old Man and The Color Out of Space even though they are not "great texts"...but this is by far the best mini-biography on Lovecraft yet. It reminds me of Lovecraft Remembered, a series of vignettes by the people who knew him, and it avoids the Derleth whitewash that followed his death in 1937. Lovecraft is proto-horror, and my main regret with him has always been that he spent so much time writing letters to the detriment of his story output. If he hadn't, though, we might never have gotten Conan the Barbarian or Psycho, who knows?

Michel Houellebecq is the ultra-hip author of fashionably deconstructive modern French novels, so what interest would he have in a dead American writer consigned by many to the despised catgory of "pulp"? It turns out that Houellebecq is a big fan of American horror; among the writers he cites in this excellent short book are Richard Matheson and Robert Bloch, two disciples of Lovecraft. "H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life" is a very satisfying read. Houellebecq escapes the jargon and theory of most modern literary criticism and simply delivers the goods: a passionate explication of Lovecraft's life and work which makes sense and gives you a new appreciation for the Bard of Unnameable Terror. It's fitting that Stephen King provides the introduction, because this book is very much in the spirit of his own landmark book Stephen King's Danse Macabre. Houellebecq asserts that Lovecraft's kindly, reclusive, poverty-stricken life was "exemplary" because it was integral to the vision of his work. That is, he wrote as a protest against life as we live it, the old "human condition". Someone once said "the negative, by contrast, suggests the other" and Lovecraft's dark mythology is a satire of, and pessimistic comment on the mythologies we live by. Included in this volume are two of Lovecraft's more mind-blowing stories; "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Whisperer In Darkness." If the "cult of Cthulhu" was a twisted opposite of, and challenge to Christianity, then reading these stories makes you rethink exactly what it is you believe in and why. Lovecraft shouted "No!" to the seeming cruelty of the cosmos, and as King argues, gave space for attentive young readers to lick their wounds before engaging once again in the next battle of life. Houellebecq deals with Lovecraft's racism and Antisemitism, revealed in his letters published after his early death, by comparing him to Louis-Ferdinand Celine, the great French black comedy novelist who was also guilty of bigotry. Houellebecq demonstrates that fear was at the heart of their similar world views, not merely fascism, and that fear sharpened their work. "Those who love life don't read books or see movies" is a questionable statement by Houellebecq, but it contains a grain of truth. We read in part to take us out of this world and into alternative ones. Lovecraft is tremendously influential; the movie "Alien" is mostly an elaboration on his themes and method of attack. Houellebecq's little, readable book is a welcome addition to the small list of really enjoyable contemporary literary criticism.

I discovered this book while rummaging around on the net, trying to find an in-print edition of Marcel Schwob's translation of `Hamlet'. It was a happy accident, because I've wanted to read some Houellebecq for a while, and a serious literary analysis of Lovecraft is long overdue. H. P. Lovecraft (HPL) may well be the most easily and unjustly ignored major American literary figure. Lovecraft is the grandfather of modern horror and a major influence on all genres of speculative fiction. He not only showed the way through his writings, but also shared his skills with a large circle of correspondents, which included many authors. In addition, his creations were so rich and compelling that authors have continued to work within and add to his `Cthulu Mythos'. However, although Lovecraft gets kudos for dismissing the supernatural from horror and for rejecting the idea of the human-centered universe, he is also crowned with titles like "The Best Bad Writer Ever" (and this is from an admirer of sorts). At the other end of the spectrum are cultish fans who mindlessly worship him. Very few authors have been so unfortunate in their friends and defenders. Houellebecq is the first worthy champion I've seen ride into the lists to challenge us to consider Lovecraft as a real writer. Houellebecq focuses on the sources of inspiration for Lovecraft and their impact on his creations and his narrative style. He seeks to show that Lovecraft's distinct voice derives from his psychology and biography. Dreams, racism, a minimalist personality and a crippling bonanza of paranoias, delusions, and depression are the raw material for the analysis (Lovecraft is our answer to Artaud and Jarry). This is the first time I've seen someone really emphasize the importance of dreams as a source for Lovecraft's stories. Even so, I don't think Houellebecq goes far enough-Lovecraft is often mocked for piling up and overusing such meaningless adjectives as `unspeakable', a practice he discouraged when advising other writers. This contradictory practice (noted by Houellebecq and many others) is probably the result of trying to convey the actual experience of the dream without distorting it or adding to it. Houellebecq makes the point pretty thoroughly that images of racial pollution and degeneration power a lot of HPL's stories, but it's worth noting that while the horror writer talked a good racial game, he didn't really walk the walk. He married a Jewish Ukrainian and worked briefly on a propaganda book for the Italian government. These represent three races he claimed to despise. Lovecraft insisted on living as if he were a member of the landed aristocracy, in spite of his dire poverty. Thus, Houellebecq points out that Lovecraft insisted on writing almost entirely for his own pleasure, which may also explain why he didn't always adhere to generally accepted rules of good rhetoric in fiction. He knew what his audience wanted. This attitude also seems to have offe

Great fun for the thinking person in love with cosmic horror. The Houellebecq part was shorter than I had anticipated. The book comprises one 10 page Stephen King essay 'I have seen the history of horror, and his name is Lovecraft', one ten times longer Houellebecq manifesto (biographical/literary) on HPL and himself, two HPL stories (Call... and ...Whisperer...) which any HPL-loving person will already have read, and a fascinating translator's note in which Houellebecq's powers of imagination are further revealed.