Lovecraft Country

by Matt Ruff | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0062292072 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingghirwing of Honolulu, Hawaii USA on 1/1/2018
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This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!
3 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingghirwing from Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Monday, January 1, 2018
Trying to describe this will not do it justice. Set in segregated America, a man named Atticus and his family travel through perilous territory, sometimes while doing research for a guide steering black travelers to friendly resources for food and lodging. Their already adventurous lives become even more outrageous when they run into a secret society of magician/alchemists who want Atticus because he is descended from one of their members. X-Files/Robert Langdon meets Hap and Leonard.

Journal Entry 2 by wingghirwing at Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Thursday, April 19, 2018
Available or to be released. Reserved for perryfran (tag).
Media mail, 09/02/20.

Journal Entry 3 by wingperryfranwing at Elk Grove, California USA on Saturday, September 5, 2020
Received in the mail today. That was really fast delivery from Hawaii by media mail! Thanks for sending this. I will be reading it soon to see how it compares to the HBO version.

Journal Entry 4 by wingperryfranwing at Elk Grove, California USA on Wednesday, September 16, 2020
I have been watching the HBO series based on this novel. The series is about half way finished (episode 5 aired last Sunday 9/13/20) and I have been enjoying it for the most part. It does however deviate quite a bit from the novel. Although the gist of the novel is included in the TV show, it tends to embellish the story quite a bit and go in quite a few different directions. I'm curious to see how the series ends and whether or not HBO decides to do a second season.

As far as the novel, I really enjoyed it. The story takes place in 1954 and is focused on a family of African-Americans living in Chicago. Atticus Turner, a lover of science fiction and horror stories, has just been discharged from the Army after serving in Korea and when he gets home he finds out that his father, Montrose, is missing. Turns out he has been lured to a small town in New England called Ardham by a man whose ancestor had owned as a slave one of Atticus's ancestors. So Atticus, along with his Uncle George and his childhood friend, Letitia, take a road trip to try to find him. George is also the publisher of the "Safe Negro Travel Guide" which is used by Blacks to travel to destinations and accommodations within the U.S. that do not discriminate against Blacks. Turns out Montrose was lured to Ardham because the manor owner there, Samuel Braithwhite, a sorcerer and practitioner of the black arts, needed Atticus (a descendant of the original estate owner) as a sacrifice to perform a ritual for their secret cabal. There are monsters and malevolent spirits encountered along the way but the worst are the harsh actions taken by white townspeople and police against these black travelers. The novel continues on and is broken up into several succinct adventures involving the family while they fight the forces of evil and take journeys to strange places including the far reaches of space.

Overall, this was a great mixture of horror/science-fiction/fantasy set in the period of Jim Crow laws and the segregation of the 1950s. Although the family is being chased by various cultists and warlocks, the real danger to them is the prevalent racism. Included in the story was a chapter describing how George and Montrose survived the Tulsa race massacre that happened in the 1920s. Very harrowing stuff. The "Safe Negro Travel Guide" was based on the real "Negro Motorist Green Book" which was used by African-Americans to find hotels and restaurants that would serve them. The 2018 movie "Green Book" used this as a focus for the movie about "a working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver of an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South." I saw this movie recently and would highly recommend it. I would also highly recommend the novel LOVECRAFT COUNTRY but the juries still out on the TV series...

Journal Entry 5 by wingperryfranwing at Wishlist RABCK, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases on Friday, September 18, 2020

Released 3 yrs ago (9/18/2020 UTC) at Wishlist RABCK, A Bookcrossing member -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending as a wishlist RABCK. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 6 by AlterEgoZoe at Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania USA on Thursday, September 24, 2020
Hey! A surprise book. Thanks for granting a wishlist book perryfran. Look forward to reading

Journal Entry 7 by AlterEgoZoe at Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania USA on Monday, June 14, 2021
I liked it, but I thought some of it was tedious, the chapters with Ruby and Hippolyta mostly.

Glad I was able to read it however

When he looked up again Tas had gone. Rising to join the others, he caught sight of something small and abandoned on the floor. "Tas you forgot your pipe." He picked it up and then saw words carved into the wood he had not seen before. Find the music, find the magic.
"Did you carve this?"
Tas did not turn. "Yes," he said, reluctantly. "I have to leave it."
"But, Tas, why?"
Tas squared his shoulders as though firming some resolve. But still he did not turn. "Because the shepherd said that it could only be used once. Thats why I can't get the pipe to play that song-or any song. I've used the magic." He took a deep breath and went on. "And he said that once I found the magic I had the pass the pipe on." he paused and then he did turn, a scamp's humor in his long brown eyes. "It's going to be a long winter. I'm going to leave it here for someone else to find."
"Snowsong" by Nancy Varian Berberick

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