Instead, the bulk of the book features a collection of mostly standalone stories, loosely connected to the central plot. However, this narrative plays out primarily in the background, with only a few of the novel’s eight stories directly furthering that plot. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his-and the whole Turner clan’s-destruction.Ī chimerical blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of two black families, Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism-the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today.īoiled down to its simplest elements, Lovecraft Country is about Atticus Turner and his family and friends who, through a series of unfortunate and supernatural events, find themselves in the middle of a brewing turf war between various lodges of an ancient order of “natural philosophers” (aka magicians). Braithwhite-heir to the estate that owned one of Atticus’s ancestors-they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours.Īt the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn-led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb-which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus.

When his father Montrose goes missing, 22-year-old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his Uncle George-publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide-and his childhood friend Letitia. (NOTE: There may be mild spoilers for Lovecraft Country. There is an overarching narrative at play, but each story stands alone while being wholly entertaining, quite frightening, and extremely poignant. Reading Lovecraft Country is like watching a season of a great show contains elements of serialized and episodic storytelling. In light of the imminent premiere of HBO’s adaptation of the book, it seemed exactly the right time to finally read it. But I just never got around to reading the book. In Lovecraft Country’s case, that was prioritizing the stories of Black Americans by placing Black characters as the leads in various genres that have often underserved them. I love revisionist takes on old genres, especially ones that bring something new to the table.

Lovecraft Country was one of those books I always meant to read but never got around to doing so.

Lovecraft matt ruff