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Anne's Reviews > The Ballad of Black Tom
The Ballad of Black Tom
by
by
Anne's review
bookshelves: audio, horror, libby-app, paranormal-schmaranormal, read-in-2024, spooktober-reads, retelling
Oct 11, 2024
bookshelves: audio, horror, libby-app, paranormal-schmaranormal, read-in-2024, spooktober-reads, retelling
Cthulhu be praised.
Let me suggest you read Lovecraft's The Horror at Red Hook before reading this.
Why?
Well, Victor LaValle basically took a story with racist undertones and rewrote it from the view of a young black man from Harlem. Quite a fresh spin, indeed. And I will say that having the events from the original fresh in my mind added an extra layer of Easter eggy goodness to this one. I'm not at all sure if this would have seemed half as clever if I hadn't known what the source material was like, so your mileage may vary.
As to whether or not this was an incredible horror story...?
I don't know. It was a very interesting retelling. But it was also a short story about another short story. So, you're not really getting anything super-meaty.
People are fucking around with ancient books and mystic portals that open doors to places that will bend your mind and body in ways you can't describe. So. It isn't really described.
Use your imagination, sir.
A lot of your enjoyment may just depend on whether or not Lovecraftian horror is your jam.
I can say with some certainty that if you like audiobooks, you will enjoy this one. It's narrated by Kevin R Free, who was (as always) excellent.
Recommended for elder gods.
Let me suggest you read Lovecraft's The Horror at Red Hook before reading this.
Why?
Well, Victor LaValle basically took a story with racist undertones and rewrote it from the view of a young black man from Harlem. Quite a fresh spin, indeed. And I will say that having the events from the original fresh in my mind added an extra layer of Easter eggy goodness to this one. I'm not at all sure if this would have seemed half as clever if I hadn't known what the source material was like, so your mileage may vary.
As to whether or not this was an incredible horror story...?
I don't know. It was a very interesting retelling. But it was also a short story about another short story. So, you're not really getting anything super-meaty.
People are fucking around with ancient books and mystic portals that open doors to places that will bend your mind and body in ways you can't describe. So. It isn't really described.
Use your imagination, sir.
A lot of your enjoyment may just depend on whether or not Lovecraftian horror is your jam.
I can say with some certainty that if you like audiobooks, you will enjoy this one. It's narrated by Kevin R Free, who was (as always) excellent.
Recommended for elder gods.
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Reading Progress
September 20, 2024
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Started Reading
September 20, 2024
– Shelved
October 11, 2024
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Yeah, I can see how that would be a turn-off. I had no idea what this book was when I first saw it, and it was only through a review on here that I saw it was a straight retelling of Red Hook. <--which I'd also never read.
I didn't even realize why it was a retelling until after I read The Horror at Red Hook or that LaValle was a black author.
Then hearing the voice of The Murderbot Diaries read this to me? Haha! The whole thing was a fun experience, even if neither book would have wowed me on their own.
The Horror at Red Hook was just interesting because it's odd to think that Lovecraft casually AND sweepingly described non-white people in such unflattering terms. It's an interesting window to peer through.
LaValle's answer to it was also interesting and (I thought) quite clever, even if it wasn't the best horror story I've ever read. <-- and that's mostly due to not really being a big fan of Lovecraftian horror to start with.
![[Name Redacted]](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images.gr-assets.com/users/1347082397p1/287915.jpg)
Oh, it's not just non-white people his character describes like that... It's all non-WASPs.Also, your clips make "Lovecraft Country" look a lot cooler and more interesting than the book was.
[Name Redacted] wrote: "Oh, it's not just non-white people his character describes like that... It's all non-WASPs.Also, your clips make "Lovecraft Country" look a lot cooler and more interesting than the book was."
I agree, anyone who wasn't what HP considered good stock was painted with a swarthy brush. The peasant masses who ran through the streets naked and gibbering.
I think this might make a better movie than it did a book, tbh. I wish it had been as deep and exciting as the clips from Lovecraft Country, too.
I always say, Lovecraft is overt with his antipathy to "foreigners" -- but the problems are usually the fault of the "good stock" refusing to leave well enough alone. The man hated EVERYONE.
This guy had to be so unhappy in real life.
Everyone has some redeeming quality, and his was cats. Mine, too, if I'm being completely honest.
See? It's lacking something
mwana wrote: "See? It's lacking something"Agreed. It was good, but only as a retelling.
Anne wrote: "Everyone has some redeeming quality, and his was cats. Mine, too, if I'm being completely honest."Do you know what he called his cat
Noooooo. Do I want to know?*googles furiously*
Our black cat is named Pickles, and I was hoping Lovecraft just had an orange cat named Donald or something.
Anne wrote: "Noooooo. Do I want to know?*googles furiously*"
You probably should. Then you'll see how racist he was. He wasn't just some misanthropic recluse. He was virulently racist.
Yeah. I looked it up. At first, I thought he just named his cat Old Man, and I was like...well, that's not at ALLLL where I thought this was headed. Then I read a bit more.And yes, that was exactly where this was headed.
Forfuck'ssake.
Anne wrote: "Yeah. I looked it up. At first, I thought he just named his cat Old Man, and I was like...well, that's not at ALLLL where I thought this was headed. Then I read a bit more.And yes, that was exactl..."
I hope he's miserable seeing all the Black and Indigenous authors who are writing better Eldritch horror books.
Hah! I feel that way about most classics that create iconic characters. But here's hoping you're right.
Also, people no have a tendency to romanticize Harlem and its people -- especially if they don't have to live there.