Ratings90
Average rating3.9
Lovecraft's seminal work seemed to be the place to start with the “father of cosmic horror” but I found it mostly dull with a few dazzling descriptive passages. Much of the language served to distance me from the adequate plot. Often I found myself re-reading passages to try to interpret the meaning in long, meandering sentences (not helped by reading it on my breaks during busy, noisy nightshifts).
Mostly I could not see beyond the narrator's racial and intellectual superiority (reflecting Lovecraft's own) more horrifying and alienating than Cthulhu themself. While some may try to explain this as “of the time” I have read many American and British works from this era that reflect the “casual racism” but lack the nasty haughtiness that Lovecraft's encompasses. This novella is supposed to be classic of horror and the macabre but I found it disappointing and disturbing (for all the wrong reasons). If this is Lovecraft's best work I don't think I'll be bother with any of his others.