This is not the first time I’ve read these stories by
Lovecraft, but I will say I definitely got more out of them the second time
reading them. I want to love Lovecraft, but his writing style is just not
something which holds my attention. First person is also not one of my
preferences, but I do think it works very well in horror and suspense. I adore
the stories he creates, the monsters he makes, but I don’t like the process of
obtaining the information. I just have to fight my way through the story to get
the stuff I like out of it. I spent years reading Victorian and American Lit,
so I got this!
That being said, amidst the monstrous blocks of text, there
are some descriptions and phrases which catch my attention. These moments in his
writing I only saw in, of the three stories, “The Call of Cthulhu” and “The
Outsider.” They appear generally at the end of a section when the result or
conclusion of a part of the story is about to be revealed. In “The Outsider,”
it was when the switch in my brain flipped so I knew the narrator was the
monster. In “The Call of Cthulhu” it was pretty much any moment where the cultists
were being described, and I think this is partly because I knew so much about
Cthulhu before I read it the first time. It is such an influential piece; I
pretty much was gifted visuals from my video game which were then described to
me through the original text. I didn’t realize how closely they followed the
designs in the writing. That’s confusing, so I’ll just post some samples. My
favorite part would have to be the warped room with everything out of place.
“Pickman’s Model” was something I had forgotten I’d read
previously until it concluded. I don’t get any suspense from this story, I don’t
particularly enjoy reading it, and I find the ending unsatisfying as well as
predictable. The descriptions of paintings are weak at creating a sense of suspense,
probably because I don’t find pictures frightening even if they’re realistic,
and it was kind of odd to hear him nonchalantly talking about how he let out a
scream. I don’t have much else to say about it. A part of me thinks I may have
disliked this one because I read it last, and I was tired of reading giant globs
of text.
Overall, I can appreciate Lovecraft’s writing, his excellent
descriptions, and his creations. I find it hard not to be awed by what he has
done for science fiction and fantasy and the amount of influence “The Call of
Cthulhu” alone has on literature and entertainment. The writing style from his era is certainly
not one of my favorites, but he is one of the writers from that time which I
would prefer to read. It reminds me a lot of Tolkien, because many people adore
Middle Earth and the stories he created, but they dislike the process of
obtainment. (I did really enjoy reading “The Hobbit” though.) Tolkien is another
critical must read, I think, for anyone writing fantasy.
I'm so glad someone else agreed with me about Pickman's Model! It was actually the story I read first, and it made me a little worried that maybe my love of Lovecraft had blinded me to the quality of his writing. But then I got to The Outsider, and it did the descriptions and twist ending in a way I enjoyed, and did it better than in Pickman's Model. And Cthulhu upon another read didn't disappoint. But I'm glad someone else didn't adore Pickman's Model.
ReplyDeleteThere certainly is something to be said about when these stories were written. I think that gap was the biggest obstacle I had with the writing. Phrasing was different, some words were even different (i.e. "shewing"), and overall, a few too many words. I like your comparison to Tolkien. I too loved reading the Hobbit, but twice I attempted Lord of the Rings and couldn't make it through the first book either time. Perhaps the word I'd look for to describe some of that older writing would be "stuffy."
ReplyDeleteTolkien is a great comparison to make in terms of writing style, though I have to say I liked Lovecraft's style much more than Tolkien's. I think of reading Tolkien like reading the Bible—unbelievably dry. If you can make an orc attack boring, you're doing something wrong. I do think that was an intentional choice on Tolkien's part though, since I absolutely love The Hobbit. Regarding Lovecraft, I'd say his style reminds me more of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, another story I love but which definitely reads from a different century. I do love literary fiction as well as genre fiction, too—so maybe that's why I have a soft spot for Lovecraft's style of writing.
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