In Episode 111, Gen and Jette talk about their most recent book club book, The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle. It’s a retelling of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story, “The Horror at Red Hook” that subverts the xenophobic message of the original tale.
Show Notes
We fell down a Lovecraft rabbit hole that made us realize how little we know about him (and how many references we probably missed in the novel!)
As with so many books we read, we now want to get our hands on everything else Victor LaValle has written…and also up out Lovecraft knowledge so we’re better prepared to catch those references
Turns out we’ve inadvertently made Lovecraft the theme for January. For more Lovecraftian vibes, stay tuned for our next episode on Ed Brubaker’s graphic novel Fatale.
Read along with our current book club pick, Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion.
Other Books Mentioned
By Victor LaValle – Slapboxing with Jesus, The Ecstatic, Big Machine, The Devil in Silver, The Changeling, and Destroyer (graphic novel)
The Girls by Emma Cline
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
