Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Rimbo : Fischer & Co, 2005
Description
Best-selling French novelist Michel Houellebecq pays tribute to the master of horror, H. P. LovecraftPart biographical sketch, part pronouncement on existence and literature, the best-selling French novelist Michel Houellebecq's H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life, was published in France in 1991 and is the first non-fiction text ever published by the author. Here, France's most famous contemporary author praises his prewar American alter ego's style, which couldn't be less like his own. With a foreword by Lovecraft admirer Stephen King, this eloquently translated edition is an insightful introduction to both Lovecraft's dark mythology and Houellebecq's deadpan prose.
User reviews
LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
This treatment of the life and work of Grandpa Cthulhu was Michel Houellebecq's first book, and in his preface he characterizes it retrospectively as his "first novel" (23). His summary of H.P. Lovecraft's literary program can be assembled from the chapter headings in Part Two: “Attack the story
The emphases in this book are ultimately on Lovecraft's anti-modernism and his racism as expressions of fundamental fear and hatred of life itself, and the fear and hatred as the preconditions for Lovecraft's genuine artistic success. Houellebecq is not writing about success among critics or academics, which was even in 1988 only beginning to glimmer with respect to Lovecraft's work, and HPL never saw anything like personal financial success or fame in his lifetime. The success at issue is among readers and writers of fiction, where Lovecraft's "great texts," the archetypal novellas of yog-sothothery of his final decade, loom as "ritual literature."
Houellebecq clearly shares HPL's pessimism, misanthropy, and hostility to realism. Those who in any way doubt Lovecraft's enduring racism or its integral role in his fiction should read this assessment from a sympathetic writer. I think Houellebecq also makes a persuasive case as to how the person of "the old gentleman" fitted itself for cultic veneration. While the recent remodeling of the World Fantasy Award trophy (formerly a bust of HPL) was ideologically sound and pragmatic, Lovecraft's own opposition to soundness and pragmatism was what made him a fantasist of the highest and most influential order.
In addition to Houellebecq's entertaining and insightful essay, the book contains two of Lovecraft's "great texts": "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Whisperer in Darkness." These are well chosen as essential nuclei of the "founding mythology" offered by the dreamer of Providence. The English edition of the book also sports "Lovecraft's Pillow," an introduction by Stephen King, whose personal debt to Lovecraft goes almost unremarked, while he defends escapist literature as such and praises Houellebecq's handling of HPL. I recommend all parts of the book.
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like a radiant suicide; utter the great NO to life without weakness; then you will see a magnificent cathedral, and your senses, vectors of unutterable derangement, will map out an integral delirium that will be lost in the unnameable architecture of time.”The emphases in this book are ultimately on Lovecraft's anti-modernism and his racism as expressions of fundamental fear and hatred of life itself, and the fear and hatred as the preconditions for Lovecraft's genuine artistic success. Houellebecq is not writing about success among critics or academics, which was even in 1988 only beginning to glimmer with respect to Lovecraft's work, and HPL never saw anything like personal financial success or fame in his lifetime. The success at issue is among readers and writers of fiction, where Lovecraft's "great texts," the archetypal novellas of yog-sothothery of his final decade, loom as "ritual literature."
Houellebecq clearly shares HPL's pessimism, misanthropy, and hostility to realism. Those who in any way doubt Lovecraft's enduring racism or its integral role in his fiction should read this assessment from a sympathetic writer. I think Houellebecq also makes a persuasive case as to how the person of "the old gentleman" fitted itself for cultic veneration. While the recent remodeling of the World Fantasy Award trophy (formerly a bust of HPL) was ideologically sound and pragmatic, Lovecraft's own opposition to soundness and pragmatism was what made him a fantasist of the highest and most influential order.
In addition to Houellebecq's entertaining and insightful essay, the book contains two of Lovecraft's "great texts": "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Whisperer in Darkness." These are well chosen as essential nuclei of the "founding mythology" offered by the dreamer of Providence. The English edition of the book also sports "Lovecraft's Pillow," an introduction by Stephen King, whose personal debt to Lovecraft goes almost unremarked, while he defends escapist literature as such and praises Houellebecq's handling of HPL. I recommend all parts of the book.
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LibraryThing member clothingoptional
Originally published in French back in 1991, this book provides deep insight into the mind of Lovecraft. It's also the perfect setup for much of Houellebecq's own fiction, though perhaps most directly related to his latest: The Possibility of an Island...
In real life, Michel Houellebecq is
Frankly, I enjoyed the book because both Lovecraft and Houellebecq are the perfect archetypes for misanthropy. This reminds me not to take life so seriously lest I fall into the trap of solipsism.
In real life, Michel Houellebecq is
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semi-involved with the Raelians. This tidbit may give further insight into his profound interest in Lovecraft. And then again, maybe not.Frankly, I enjoyed the book because both Lovecraft and Houellebecq are the perfect archetypes for misanthropy. This reminds me not to take life so seriously lest I fall into the trap of solipsism.
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LibraryThing member storyjunkie
I have an emotional repulsion to the conclusion of this essay, though found portions of the middle quite moving. Construction (some possibly the original French, some translation related) is odd and jumpy.
LibraryThing member EmreSevinc
I don't generally read what authors have to say on other authors, so this book was an exception for me. It turned out to be a very nice exception: Houellebecq expanded my perspective on Lovecraft with his witty analyses that were delivered without much fanfare. His exposition of Lovecraft's unique
I must also congratulate the translator Dorna Khazeni for the end result that flows so smoothly, becoming a part of the English literature, too. Translator's notes at the end of the book made clear how challenging some had been.
After King's introduction, Houellebecq's unique exposition, reading the famous stories from the master of his craft made me a happy reader. For a while, I really was against the world I live in, because the fictional one was such a grandiose achievement. In short, I'm all for more Lovecraft, and Houellebecq for that matter. Well done!
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style, coupled with the context of Lovecraft's life helped me realize the layers of this beloved author of weird and horror fiction. To make things more meta, the book has introduction by Stephen King, and it added more layers to the literary pleasure, that is, King's writing Houellebecq's writing on Lovecraft.I must also congratulate the translator Dorna Khazeni for the end result that flows so smoothly, becoming a part of the English literature, too. Translator's notes at the end of the book made clear how challenging some had been.
After King's introduction, Houellebecq's unique exposition, reading the famous stories from the master of his craft made me a happy reader. For a while, I really was against the world I live in, because the fictional one was such a grandiose achievement. In short, I'm all for more Lovecraft, and Houellebecq for that matter. Well done!
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LibraryThing member roblong
A love-letter to Lovecraft that deserves a love-letter to it. Arch and impassioned, zealously gloomy and decidely not for everyone - much like the writer it discusses.
LibraryThing member jonfaith
The value of a human being today is measured in terms of his economic efficiency and his erotic potential--that is to say, in terms of the two things that Lovecraft most despised.
My chief surprise in this exploration was the effectiveness of the Introduction by Stephen King, equally erudite and
HPL's use of one-dimensional characters and the employment of scientific language is explored, though not at length. Houellebecq finds a resounding NO (or NON) in HPL, his attitude towards life. My response, remains that one must simply move on. We shouldn't worry about the Old Ones and instead about our own agency.
Apparently HPL faced a difficult, isolated life. He found fleeting happiness and likewise a multiculturalism which sickened him. He was poor, proud and died, as we all will, alone and misunderstood.
My chief surprise in this exploration was the effectiveness of the Introduction by Stephen King, equally erudite and
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folksy -- just as we'd expect him. Moving on to Houellebecq's love letter, I was disappointed that there simply isn't much there in terms of girth or ideas. The cataloguing of Lovecraft's extreme bigotry also appeared as an affectation on Houellebecq's behalf: see, I'm not alone in my vitriol and condemnation.HPL's use of one-dimensional characters and the employment of scientific language is explored, though not at length. Houellebecq finds a resounding NO (or NON) in HPL, his attitude towards life. My response, remains that one must simply move on. We shouldn't worry about the Old Ones and instead about our own agency.
Apparently HPL faced a difficult, isolated life. He found fleeting happiness and likewise a multiculturalism which sickened him. He was poor, proud and died, as we all will, alone and misunderstood.
Show Less
Language
Original language
French
Original publication date
1991
Physical description
124 p.; 22 cm
ISBN
9789170549717
Other editions
H. P. Lovecraft : emot världen, emot livet by Michel Houellebecq (Paper Book)