H.P. Lovecraft - Against the Jews Word from: Mordy

I just finished reading Michel Houellebercq's devout essay to H.P. Lovecraft. The book, H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life, in its best moments reads like a fan's mashbook (Stephen King's description, actually). Houellebercq is in love with Lovecraft, and he does little to disguise it in the book. At worse, the book reads like a love letter from an asp to his snakecharmer. Though there is little doubt that the snakecharmer conjured the asp (and perhaps Lovecraft would be more than a little amused to hear the comparison), the authenticity of such a love letter is thrown into question.

Particularly, the dischord arises when Houeleebercq discusses Lovecraft's racism. He does his best to describe it impartially, giving it only importance where it affects Houeleebercq's work, but sometimes the lack of moral judgement sounds more like a desire to overlook even the most disturbing of Lovecraft's traits.

"Lovecraft was forced to live in New York, where he came to know hatred, disgust and fear, otherwise stimulating sentiments."

And what were those hateful, disgusting and fearful things?

"Here wiles and brute force reigned supreme, here 'rat-faced Jews' and 'monstrous half-breeds skip about rolling on their heels absurdly.'"

I am not suggesting that Houeleebercq is an anti-semite, only that his love for Lovecraft sometimes imposes itself on his prose as he attempts to create sympathy for a character whose personal traits are undeserving of it. At his best moments though, Houeleebercq suggests insights into Lovecraft's writing that ring very true. He says that only the fearful can so effortlessly conjure fear, as Lovecraft did. As a biography, there are better (S.T. Joshi's is excellent). But when he uses racism as the peek into the twisted psyche of Lovecraft, Houeleebercq gets the job done.