What do you think?
Rate this book
Жизнь Лавкрафта
The basic facts of H.P. Lovecraft's life have long been known, but before this book the only account of his life worth having was L. Sprague de Camp's 1975 biography, which was lively but sketchy, giving a fragmented view of Lovecraft's life and work. S.T. Joshi has delivered the goods. This is not only the finest and most definitive biography of Lovecraft, it is likely to remain so for many decades into the future. While at nearly 700 pages, it's not necessarily a book every Lovecraft fan will sit down and read cover to cover, it's almost as compulsively readable as it is compulsively detailed. Joshi is sympathetic toward his subject but doesn't pull any punches: he includes Lovecraft's less flattering qualities, such as his "contemptible" racism and his "shabby" treatment of his wife. Best of all, perhaps, for fans of Lovecraft's fiction, are the accounts of how the stories came to be written, concise plot summaries, and well-chosen historical-critical remarks
1280 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1996
19 people are currently reading
848 people want to read
About the author
S.T. Joshi
795 books455 followersSunand Tryambak Joshi is an Indian American literary scholar, and a leading figure in the study of Howard Phillips Lovecraft and other authors. Besides what some critics consider to be the definitive biography of Lovecraft (H. P. Lovecraft: A Life, 1996), Joshi has written about Ambrose Bierce, H. L. Mencken, Lord Dunsany, and M.R. James, and has edited collections of their works.
His literary criticism is notable for its emphases upon readability and the dominant worldviews of the authors in question; his The Weird Tale looks at six acknowledged masters of horror and fantasy (namely Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Dunsany, M. R. James, Bierce and Lovecraft), and discusses their respective worldviews in depth and with authority. A follow-up volume, The Modern Weird Tale, examines the work of modern writers, including Shirley Jackson, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen King, Robert Aickman, Thomas Ligotti, T. E. D. Klein and others, from a similar philosophically oriented viewpoint. The Evolution of the Weird Tale (2004) includes essays on Dennis Etchison, L. P. Hartley, Les Daniels, E. F. Benson, Rudyard Kipling, David J. Schow, Robert Bloch, L. P. Davies, Edward Lucas White, Rod Serling, Poppy Z. Brite and others.
Joshi is the editor of the small-press literary journals Lovecraft Studies and Studies in Weird Fiction, published by Necronomicon Press. He is also the editor of Lovecraft Annual and co-editor of Dead Reckonings, both small-press journals published by Hippocampus Press.
In addition to literary criticism, Joshi has also edited books on atheism and social relations, including Documents of American Prejudice (1999), an annotated collection of American racist writings; In Her Place (2006), which collects written examples of prejudice against women; and Atheism: A Reader (2000), which collects atheistic writings by such people as Antony Flew, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, Gore Vidal and Carl Sagan, among others. An Agnostic Reader, collecting pieces by such writers as Isaac Asimov, John William Draper, Albert Einstein, Frederic Harrison, Thomas Henry Huxley, Robert Ingersoll, Corliss Lamont, Arthur Schopenhauer and Edward Westermarck, was published in 2007.
Joshi is also the author of God's Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong (2003), an anti-religious polemic against various writers including C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, T. S. Eliot, William F. Buckley, Jr., William James, Stephen L. Carter, Annie Dillard, Reynolds Price, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Guenter Lewy, Neale Donald Walsch and Jerry Falwell, which is dedicated to theologian and fellow Lovecraft critic Robert M. Price.
In 2006 he published The Angry Right: Why Conservatives Keep Getting It Wrong, which criticised the political writings of such commentators as William F. Buckley, Jr., Russell Kirk, David and Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Phyllis Schlafly, William Bennett, Gertrude Himmelfarb and Irving and William Kristol, arguing that, despite the efforts of right-wing polemicists, the values of the American people have become steadily more liberal over time.
Joshi, who lives with his wife in Moravia, New York, has stated on his website that his most noteworthy achievements thus far have been his biography of Lovecraft, H. P. Lovecraft: A Life and The Weird Tale.
His literary criticism is notable for its emphases upon readability and the dominant worldviews of the authors in question; his The Weird Tale looks at six acknowledged masters of horror and fantasy (namely Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, Dunsany, M. R. James, Bierce and Lovecraft), and discusses their respective worldviews in depth and with authority. A follow-up volume, The Modern Weird Tale, examines the work of modern writers, including Shirley Jackson, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen King, Robert Aickman, Thomas Ligotti, T. E. D. Klein and others, from a similar philosophically oriented viewpoint. The Evolution of the Weird Tale (2004) includes essays on Dennis Etchison, L. P. Hartley, Les Daniels, E. F. Benson, Rudyard Kipling, David J. Schow, Robert Bloch, L. P. Davies, Edward Lucas White, Rod Serling, Poppy Z. Brite and others.
Joshi is the editor of the small-press literary journals Lovecraft Studies and Studies in Weird Fiction, published by Necronomicon Press. He is also the editor of Lovecraft Annual and co-editor of Dead Reckonings, both small-press journals published by Hippocampus Press.
In addition to literary criticism, Joshi has also edited books on atheism and social relations, including Documents of American Prejudice (1999), an annotated collection of American racist writings; In Her Place (2006), which collects written examples of prejudice against women; and Atheism: A Reader (2000), which collects atheistic writings by such people as Antony Flew, George Eliot, Bertrand Russell, Emma Goldman, Gore Vidal and Carl Sagan, among others. An Agnostic Reader, collecting pieces by such writers as Isaac Asimov, John William Draper, Albert Einstein, Frederic Harrison, Thomas Henry Huxley, Robert Ingersoll, Corliss Lamont, Arthur Schopenhauer and Edward Westermarck, was published in 2007.
Joshi is also the author of God's Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong (2003), an anti-religious polemic against various writers including C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, T. S. Eliot, William F. Buckley, Jr., William James, Stephen L. Carter, Annie Dillard, Reynolds Price, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Guenter Lewy, Neale Donald Walsch and Jerry Falwell, which is dedicated to theologian and fellow Lovecraft critic Robert M. Price.
In 2006 he published The Angry Right: Why Conservatives Keep Getting It Wrong, which criticised the political writings of such commentators as William F. Buckley, Jr., Russell Kirk, David and Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Phyllis Schlafly, William Bennett, Gertrude Himmelfarb and Irving and William Kristol, arguing that, despite the efforts of right-wing polemicists, the values of the American people have become steadily more liberal over time.
Joshi, who lives with his wife in Moravia, New York, has stated on his website that his most noteworthy achievements thus far have been his biography of Lovecraft, H. P. Lovecraft: A Life and The Weird Tale.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
Read
March 8, 2009I was lucky enough to have a kind friend who sold me his signed hardcover copy of this book. I have read my original softcover edition three or four times, and then when the book was re-issued I read it another two times. I am constantly returning to it, as I study Lovecraft's Life and Fiction in an effort to write weird fiction that is authentically Lovecraftian (and for me that authenticity comes when a story is rooted in Lovecraft's works, rather than merely being "inspired" by one particular facet of Lovecraft's tales; it is still a question not clearly answer'd in my wither'd brain, what is it that "makes" a story "Lovecraftian". Happily, I was able to be in Providence at the same time that S. T. Joshi was there doing work on Clark Ashton Smith papers at the John Hay Library, and he took me on a walking tour of Lovecraftian sites. It was wonderful for many reasons, but especially because I was able to see "in the flesh" S. T.'s continuing love and excitement for Lovecraft. He became extremely animated and JOYFUL as he led our tiny group around ye Ancient Hill. This book is a fulfillment of that love, that joy, and that tireless work that S. T. Joshi has given to this great writer of weird fiction.
October 24, 2018
I can't imagine any bio of Lovecraft ever superceding this hefty tome. Exhaustive doesn't even begin to describe the details included, but as old H. P. was such a strange and fascinating creature no detail is too much.
The book even comes with an appropriately tacky portrait of the man on the cover. Just take a look at it, it's such a bad painting, but it does take one back to the gauche old covers of Weird Tales magazine.
One thing I found particularly interesting in this book was the coverage of Lovecraft's involvement in the amateur publishing of his day (early 20th century). I had no idea there was such an organized (actually beaurocratic) and lively alternative to mainstream publishing.
The book even comes with an appropriately tacky portrait of the man on the cover. Just take a look at it, it's such a bad painting, but it does take one back to the gauche old covers of Weird Tales magazine.
One thing I found particularly interesting in this book was the coverage of Lovecraft's involvement in the amateur publishing of his day (early 20th century). I had no idea there was such an organized (actually beaurocratic) and lively alternative to mainstream publishing.
September 1, 2009
An exhaustive (yet somehow not at all exhausting--I would say instead exhilarating) account of the life, fiction, and philosophy of the gentleman from Providence. Now I'm really looking forward to going back and rereading some of his stories with new insight. I always find S.T. Joshi an entertaining critic to read, even when I wholly disagree with him. There are lots of surprises in this book--one for me was the discovery of how far and how often Lovecraft traveled to visit his huge circle of friends. I knew that he was known as a prodigious correspondent but always imagined him as far more reclusive; I couldn't have been more wrong.
August 7, 2011
Pretty much one of the best literary biographies ever written. A wonderfully warm and sympathetic portrait of a fascinating man. Easily one of my favourite books. I've read it three times so far, and no doubt I will read it again.
January 23, 2012
The biography of Lovecraft by S.T. Joshi is not a book for the meek or semi-committed. It is a hefty tome whose density of text is truly astounding; don't be fooled by it's length of 700+ pages, it feels much much longer.
It is not often that I find a book that is both incredibly interesting and a challenge to work through. There is just so much information compiled by Joshi on Lovecraft's life, combined with astute analysis of his works, philosophy and even a brief examination of the field of analysis of his work and events in publication following his death; evens that led to his being misrepresented and misunderstood for more than thirty years.
It is not a happy read. Lovecraft's philosophy is sobering and his lifestyle is, quite frankly, heart-breaking. From his disastrous marriage and residence in New York to his impoverished last years in Providence, where he subsisted on 30c for food a day - worrying even during the great depression.
Joshi provides a sympathetic view of this complex and misunderstood giant of 20th century literature whilst pulling no punches whatsoever. In particular his racism, which has been well documented in the past, is examined many times throughout the biography without apology, but also without the overblown hysteria common to much of the earlier commentary.
This biography supersedes and perhaps makes irrelevant the earlier work by L. Sprague de Camp, but it is difficult to conceive of any biography replacing this one, at least without some major new evidence being unearthed. Any fan of Lovecraft who wishes to understand the work and life of the man can do no better; the analysis of his work alone with change the way you forever read the stories of Lovecraft.
It is not often that I find a book that is both incredibly interesting and a challenge to work through. There is just so much information compiled by Joshi on Lovecraft's life, combined with astute analysis of his works, philosophy and even a brief examination of the field of analysis of his work and events in publication following his death; evens that led to his being misrepresented and misunderstood for more than thirty years.
It is not a happy read. Lovecraft's philosophy is sobering and his lifestyle is, quite frankly, heart-breaking. From his disastrous marriage and residence in New York to his impoverished last years in Providence, where he subsisted on 30c for food a day - worrying even during the great depression.
Joshi provides a sympathetic view of this complex and misunderstood giant of 20th century literature whilst pulling no punches whatsoever. In particular his racism, which has been well documented in the past, is examined many times throughout the biography without apology, but also without the overblown hysteria common to much of the earlier commentary.
This biography supersedes and perhaps makes irrelevant the earlier work by L. Sprague de Camp, but it is difficult to conceive of any biography replacing this one, at least without some major new evidence being unearthed. Any fan of Lovecraft who wishes to understand the work and life of the man can do no better; the analysis of his work alone with change the way you forever read the stories of Lovecraft.
July 1, 2024
No hoje longínquo ano de 1982, perambulando por uma feira de livros que costumava ser armada no quarteirão fechado da rua Rio de Janeiro no centro de Belo Horizonte, chamou a minha atenção um livro chamado “Um sussurro nas trevas” editado pela antiga (e falecida) editora Francisco Alves. Não conhecia o autor – o estadunidense H.P. Lovecraft (1890/1937). Folheei o volume e os títulos dos contos me fisgaram pela sugestão de “horror insólito” que sugeriam (“A cor que caiu do céu”, “Um sussurro nas trevas”, “A estampa da casa maldita”, “Vento frio”, “O chamado de Cthulhu”, “Sombras perdidas no tempo”). Logo adquiri o livro e o li e reli várias vezes.
Fascinado/horrorizado pelos tenebrosos contos de Lovecraft passei a frequentar assiduamente as livrarias em busca de novos lançamentos do autor estadunidense. Eis que, em 1983, foi lançado, pela mesma e finada editora acima citada um outro volume de contos intitulado “A casa das bruxas”. O destaque desse livro é a novela “Nas montanhas da loucura” que se tornou uma das minhas narrativas favoritas de Lovecraft e que, desde então, já reli várias vezes em várias traduções e compilações.
Além de ler (e reler é claro) a obra de Lovecraft passei também a pesquisar acerca de sua vida sendo que essa pesquisa me levou a esse livro: “A vida de H.P. Lovecraft” de autoria de S.T. Joshi.
O autor dessa biografia S. T. (Sunand Tryambak) Joshi, nascido na Índia em 1958, radicado nos USA, é crítico literário especializado em ficção fantástica e especialmente na vida e na obra de Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Joshi é considerado, com razão um dos maiores especialistas em Lovecraft e esse livro, lançado originalmente em 2014, apenas reforça essa afirmação.
“A vida de H.P. Lovecraft é uma experiência imersiva na vida e na obra de um dos escritores mais polêmicos de todos os tempos, amado e odiado em proporções igualmente fervorosas.
Joshi é um biógrafo interessante: ele não consegue esconder a sua admiração por Lovecraft mas, por outro lado, ele não deixa de analisar minuciosamente o lado polêmico do escritor; a saber o racismo renitente e estranhamente insistente de Lovecraft que o fez, inclusive, renegar um dos aspectos mais fortes de sua personalidade que foi o apego aos avanços científicos. Esses avanços ainda com Lovecraft vivo renegaram o racismo mas para o escritor eles não bastaram e sua insistência no racismo e no eurocentrismo acabaram lhe custando, nos dias de hoje, um “cancelamento” lamentável que termina por renegar, além de sua pessoa, os seus inegáveis talentos como escritor. Além da questão racial outros aspectos polêmicos de sua vida – a sua relação dúbia e algo doentia com sua mãe, o seu conturbado casamento, a sua incapacidade de criar para si uma situação financeira estável que o levou, inclusive a flertar seriamente com a miséria, a sua aristocrática e algo patética rejeição à democracia conforme uma de suas mais polêmicas afirmações deixa bem clara: “A democracia é um falso ídolo – uma palavra vazia – uma ilusão de classes inferiores, utopias e civilizações moribundas. Caracterizo a democracia moderna como a forma decadente do Estado”.
– são abordados pelo biógrafo com muita precisão e sinceridade.
No mais “A vida de H.P. Lovecraft” é uma oportunidade para conhecer a pessoa Lovecraft além do escritor embora as duas “personas” não possam ser separadas a partir do momento em que constatamos o quão excêntrico ele era e quão distante da “normalidade” ele se encontrava conforme a declaração destacada por Joshi que está a seguir muito bem explicita:
“Não posso escrever sobre “pessoas comuns”, pois não estou minimamente interessado nelas. Sem interesse não pode haver arte. As relações interpessoais não cativam a minha imaginação. São apenas as relações do homem com o cosmo – com o desconhecido – que despertam em mim a centelha da imaginação criativa. A postura humanocêntrica é impossível para mim, pois não consigo atingir a miopia primitiva que engrandece a terra e ignora o fundo”.
Para os fãs de Lovecraft (estou entre eles é importante ressaltar) é muito excitante tomar contato com o momento em que ele produz seus clássicos entre eles a “superclássica” novela “The call of Cthulhu” que é um de divisor de águas na sua trajetória enquanto escritor conforme muito bem descreve o biógrafo Joshi:
“A verdadeira importância de “The call of Cthulhu”, contudo, reside não na incorporação de detalhes autobiográficos, nem mesmo na excelência intrínseca, mas em ser a primeira contribuição significante ao que viria a ser chamado de “Mito de Cthulhu”. Esse conto traz praticamente todos os elementos que seriam subsequentemente utilizados na ficção do “Mito de Cthulhu” por Lovecraft e outros. Há, é certo, algo que acontece nos contos de Lovecraft escritos em sua última década de produção: eles são frequentemente inter-relacionados por uma série complexa de referências cruzadas mediante um corpo constantemente trabalhado de mitologia imaginada, e muitas vezes baseados em marcas – produzidas em contos anteriores”.
“The call of Cthulhu” é emblemático, também, por consolidar a visão de Lovecraft acerca do fantástico que permeia a sua obra. Ele, de certa forma, antecipou o suíço Erich von Daniken, autor do clássico “Eram os deuses astronautas?”. Para Lovecraft sim, os deuses eram astronautas, seres do espaço, de regiões remotas que chegaram à terra em tempos primevos e deixaram impressões que às vezes se manifestam em sonhos e inspiraram cultos e devoções entre os incautos humanos. A mitologia “lovecraftiana”, nos seus melhores momentos, baseia-se nessa premissa.
Interessante e algo melancólico diga-se de passagem é tomar conhecimento acerca do fato de que alguns de seus melhores trabalhos – as novelas “Nas montanhas da loucura”, “um sussurro nas trevas”, “Sombras perdidas no tempo” e “A sombra sobre Innsmouth – foram recusados pelas editoras o que frustrou e deprimiu o escritor que não viu sequer uma de suas obras ser publicada o que, para muitos, contribuiu para a sua morte precoce com apenas 37 anos de idade.
A conclusão do biógrafo acerca do homem e do escritor Lovecraft merece ser destacada:
“Lovecraft está morto a mais de 70 anos, e seu trabalho congrega um público mais amplo e diverso do que seu autor jamais conheceu em vida. Seus contos foram traduzidos para mais de uma dezena de idiomas e suscitaram uma imensa fortuna crítica; suas cartas, ensaios e poemas foram publicados, sua vida se tornou matéria de lenda, e ele próprio emergiu como um ícone da cultura de massas, a um só tempo sombrio e atraente. Lovecraft é um dos poucos autores cujo trabalho atrai professores universitários e adolescentes, hippies e homens de negócio, romancistas de alta cultura e produtores de filmes B.
No que se refere à vida de Lovecraft, talvez baste dizer que, em grande parte ele viveu como quis. Todos gostaríamos que ele tivesse conquistado um pouco mais de sucesso comercial em vida; contudo, seu sacrifício do conforto pessoal para preservar a pureza de sua arte e a popularidade duradoura e sempre crescente de seu trabalho mostram que ele tomou a decisão certa. Assim, talvez seja hora de fazer as honras a um homem cuja devoção ao trabalho, generosidade em relação aos amigos e sensibilidade imaginativa não conheceram limites. Ele se foi embora, mas sua obra permanece”.
Apenas um “entretanto”: o biógrafo Joshi, em minha avaliação, descreve de forma excessivamente minuciosa aspectos que poucos me interessaram como as viagens do escritor, a sua atuação na imprensa amadora estadunidense e a sua vasta correspondência. São aspectos interessantes mas a excessiva minúcia do autor ao abordá-los prejudicou um pouco a análise da obra de Lovecraft que é o que mais interessa – creio eu – aos fãs do escritor.
Mesmo com esse “entretanto” trata-se de uma ótima pedida.
Fascinado/horrorizado pelos tenebrosos contos de Lovecraft passei a frequentar assiduamente as livrarias em busca de novos lançamentos do autor estadunidense. Eis que, em 1983, foi lançado, pela mesma e finada editora acima citada um outro volume de contos intitulado “A casa das bruxas”. O destaque desse livro é a novela “Nas montanhas da loucura” que se tornou uma das minhas narrativas favoritas de Lovecraft e que, desde então, já reli várias vezes em várias traduções e compilações.
Além de ler (e reler é claro) a obra de Lovecraft passei também a pesquisar acerca de sua vida sendo que essa pesquisa me levou a esse livro: “A vida de H.P. Lovecraft” de autoria de S.T. Joshi.
O autor dessa biografia S. T. (Sunand Tryambak) Joshi, nascido na Índia em 1958, radicado nos USA, é crítico literário especializado em ficção fantástica e especialmente na vida e na obra de Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Joshi é considerado, com razão um dos maiores especialistas em Lovecraft e esse livro, lançado originalmente em 2014, apenas reforça essa afirmação.
“A vida de H.P. Lovecraft é uma experiência imersiva na vida e na obra de um dos escritores mais polêmicos de todos os tempos, amado e odiado em proporções igualmente fervorosas.
Joshi é um biógrafo interessante: ele não consegue esconder a sua admiração por Lovecraft mas, por outro lado, ele não deixa de analisar minuciosamente o lado polêmico do escritor; a saber o racismo renitente e estranhamente insistente de Lovecraft que o fez, inclusive, renegar um dos aspectos mais fortes de sua personalidade que foi o apego aos avanços científicos. Esses avanços ainda com Lovecraft vivo renegaram o racismo mas para o escritor eles não bastaram e sua insistência no racismo e no eurocentrismo acabaram lhe custando, nos dias de hoje, um “cancelamento” lamentável que termina por renegar, além de sua pessoa, os seus inegáveis talentos como escritor. Além da questão racial outros aspectos polêmicos de sua vida – a sua relação dúbia e algo doentia com sua mãe, o seu conturbado casamento, a sua incapacidade de criar para si uma situação financeira estável que o levou, inclusive a flertar seriamente com a miséria, a sua aristocrática e algo patética rejeição à democracia conforme uma de suas mais polêmicas afirmações deixa bem clara: “A democracia é um falso ídolo – uma palavra vazia – uma ilusão de classes inferiores, utopias e civilizações moribundas. Caracterizo a democracia moderna como a forma decadente do Estado”.
– são abordados pelo biógrafo com muita precisão e sinceridade.
No mais “A vida de H.P. Lovecraft” é uma oportunidade para conhecer a pessoa Lovecraft além do escritor embora as duas “personas” não possam ser separadas a partir do momento em que constatamos o quão excêntrico ele era e quão distante da “normalidade” ele se encontrava conforme a declaração destacada por Joshi que está a seguir muito bem explicita:
“Não posso escrever sobre “pessoas comuns”, pois não estou minimamente interessado nelas. Sem interesse não pode haver arte. As relações interpessoais não cativam a minha imaginação. São apenas as relações do homem com o cosmo – com o desconhecido – que despertam em mim a centelha da imaginação criativa. A postura humanocêntrica é impossível para mim, pois não consigo atingir a miopia primitiva que engrandece a terra e ignora o fundo”.
Para os fãs de Lovecraft (estou entre eles é importante ressaltar) é muito excitante tomar contato com o momento em que ele produz seus clássicos entre eles a “superclássica” novela “The call of Cthulhu” que é um de divisor de águas na sua trajetória enquanto escritor conforme muito bem descreve o biógrafo Joshi:
“A verdadeira importância de “The call of Cthulhu”, contudo, reside não na incorporação de detalhes autobiográficos, nem mesmo na excelência intrínseca, mas em ser a primeira contribuição significante ao que viria a ser chamado de “Mito de Cthulhu”. Esse conto traz praticamente todos os elementos que seriam subsequentemente utilizados na ficção do “Mito de Cthulhu” por Lovecraft e outros. Há, é certo, algo que acontece nos contos de Lovecraft escritos em sua última década de produção: eles são frequentemente inter-relacionados por uma série complexa de referências cruzadas mediante um corpo constantemente trabalhado de mitologia imaginada, e muitas vezes baseados em marcas – produzidas em contos anteriores”.
“The call of Cthulhu” é emblemático, também, por consolidar a visão de Lovecraft acerca do fantástico que permeia a sua obra. Ele, de certa forma, antecipou o suíço Erich von Daniken, autor do clássico “Eram os deuses astronautas?”. Para Lovecraft sim, os deuses eram astronautas, seres do espaço, de regiões remotas que chegaram à terra em tempos primevos e deixaram impressões que às vezes se manifestam em sonhos e inspiraram cultos e devoções entre os incautos humanos. A mitologia “lovecraftiana”, nos seus melhores momentos, baseia-se nessa premissa.
Interessante e algo melancólico diga-se de passagem é tomar conhecimento acerca do fato de que alguns de seus melhores trabalhos – as novelas “Nas montanhas da loucura”, “um sussurro nas trevas”, “Sombras perdidas no tempo” e “A sombra sobre Innsmouth – foram recusados pelas editoras o que frustrou e deprimiu o escritor que não viu sequer uma de suas obras ser publicada o que, para muitos, contribuiu para a sua morte precoce com apenas 37 anos de idade.
A conclusão do biógrafo acerca do homem e do escritor Lovecraft merece ser destacada:
“Lovecraft está morto a mais de 70 anos, e seu trabalho congrega um público mais amplo e diverso do que seu autor jamais conheceu em vida. Seus contos foram traduzidos para mais de uma dezena de idiomas e suscitaram uma imensa fortuna crítica; suas cartas, ensaios e poemas foram publicados, sua vida se tornou matéria de lenda, e ele próprio emergiu como um ícone da cultura de massas, a um só tempo sombrio e atraente. Lovecraft é um dos poucos autores cujo trabalho atrai professores universitários e adolescentes, hippies e homens de negócio, romancistas de alta cultura e produtores de filmes B.
No que se refere à vida de Lovecraft, talvez baste dizer que, em grande parte ele viveu como quis. Todos gostaríamos que ele tivesse conquistado um pouco mais de sucesso comercial em vida; contudo, seu sacrifício do conforto pessoal para preservar a pureza de sua arte e a popularidade duradoura e sempre crescente de seu trabalho mostram que ele tomou a decisão certa. Assim, talvez seja hora de fazer as honras a um homem cuja devoção ao trabalho, generosidade em relação aos amigos e sensibilidade imaginativa não conheceram limites. Ele se foi embora, mas sua obra permanece”.
Apenas um “entretanto”: o biógrafo Joshi, em minha avaliação, descreve de forma excessivamente minuciosa aspectos que poucos me interessaram como as viagens do escritor, a sua atuação na imprensa amadora estadunidense e a sua vasta correspondência. São aspectos interessantes mas a excessiva minúcia do autor ao abordá-los prejudicou um pouco a análise da obra de Lovecraft que é o que mais interessa – creio eu – aos fãs do escritor.
Mesmo com esse “entretanto” trata-se de uma ótima pedida.
October 21, 2021
To liczące 1162 strony monumentalne dzieło jest bogatą biografią, najbardziej kompletnym źródłem wiedzy o Lovecrafcie.
To nie jest pozycja dla każdego, jest raczej dla zagorzałych fanów. Przystępnie napisana, omawia dokładnie, momentami zbyt szczegółowo jego życie, znajomości, podróże i poglądy, które z czasem się zmieniały.
Autor analizuje tu jego utwory, skąd czerpał do nich inspirację oraz jakie miewał trudności z ich publikacją, gdyż w jego czasach nie były do końca akceptowane. Lovecraft był wnikliwym obserwatorem i komentatorem tamtych lat pod względem politycznym, ekonomicznym, społecznym czy kulturalnym. Był bardzo skromny gdy chodzi o jego własne osiągnięcia na polu literackim. Jego poczucie estetyki nie pozwalało dopasowywać się do potrzeb rynku ani nie zgadzał się na poprawki jakich życzyli sobie wydawcy, przez co nie mamy jego spuścizny literackiej tyle ile byśmy chcieli, ale za to jest na wysokim poziomie.
Autor badaniem Lovecrafta zajmował się 25 lat i widać ogrom pracy włożonej w to dzieło, analiza wszystkich zachowanych listów, próby dotarcia do jego krewnych czy znajomych. Dokładność tej pracy pozwala nam w pełni zobaczyć obraz człowieka jakim był Lovecraft.
Gdy ją skończyłam poczułam smutek, za życia nie został należycie doceniony, był człowiekiem o genialnym umyśle, nieporadny życiowo, żyjący zgodnie ze swoimi zasadami, uchodzący nieraz za dziwaka. Taka mnie naszła refleksja, że gdyby wiedział jaki będzie miał wpływ, że będzie natchnieniem dla wielu to miałby o wiele lepsze poczucie własnej wartości. Był przede wszystkim człowiekiem, z krwi i kości, z wadami i zaletami. Odczuwał kruchość człowieka w tym całym kosmosie.
Brakowało mi tu zdjęć, ale wtedy ta księga miałaby z 2 tys. stron, wiec pomijając to zupełnie nie dziwi mnie to, że książka ta otrzymała Bram Stoker Award.
To nie jest pozycja dla każdego, jest raczej dla zagorzałych fanów. Przystępnie napisana, omawia dokładnie, momentami zbyt szczegółowo jego życie, znajomości, podróże i poglądy, które z czasem się zmieniały.
Autor analizuje tu jego utwory, skąd czerpał do nich inspirację oraz jakie miewał trudności z ich publikacją, gdyż w jego czasach nie były do końca akceptowane. Lovecraft był wnikliwym obserwatorem i komentatorem tamtych lat pod względem politycznym, ekonomicznym, społecznym czy kulturalnym. Był bardzo skromny gdy chodzi o jego własne osiągnięcia na polu literackim. Jego poczucie estetyki nie pozwalało dopasowywać się do potrzeb rynku ani nie zgadzał się na poprawki jakich życzyli sobie wydawcy, przez co nie mamy jego spuścizny literackiej tyle ile byśmy chcieli, ale za to jest na wysokim poziomie.
Autor badaniem Lovecrafta zajmował się 25 lat i widać ogrom pracy włożonej w to dzieło, analiza wszystkich zachowanych listów, próby dotarcia do jego krewnych czy znajomych. Dokładność tej pracy pozwala nam w pełni zobaczyć obraz człowieka jakim był Lovecraft.
Gdy ją skończyłam poczułam smutek, za życia nie został należycie doceniony, był człowiekiem o genialnym umyśle, nieporadny życiowo, żyjący zgodnie ze swoimi zasadami, uchodzący nieraz za dziwaka. Taka mnie naszła refleksja, że gdyby wiedział jaki będzie miał wpływ, że będzie natchnieniem dla wielu to miałby o wiele lepsze poczucie własnej wartości. Był przede wszystkim człowiekiem, z krwi i kości, z wadami i zaletami. Odczuwał kruchość człowieka w tym całym kosmosie.
Brakowało mi tu zdjęć, ale wtedy ta księga miałaby z 2 tys. stron, wiec pomijając to zupełnie nie dziwi mnie to, że książka ta otrzymała Bram Stoker Award.
April 21, 2010
Exhaustive, but exhausting. On the plus side, it does contain everything you could ever want to know about Lovecraft. On the other hand, I don't need to know what Lovecraft had for lunch. Does include insightful analysis of the influence of HPL's life on his work, but Joshi is a bit too much of an apologist for HPL's unsavory qualities.
Read
January 8, 2012A heavily detailed depiction of the creator of the cosmic horror tale.
February 19, 2016
The bible for HPL's life!
November 8, 2020
Forte. Bonito. Triste. Marcante.
January 25, 2020
I’m sorry. I just can’t any more with this. This is not my first Lovecraft rodeo, either; I’ve read all of his prose and quite a bit of analysis about it. I’m a fan of much of his Dream Cycle, and have favorite quotes from much of his work.
But unfiltered HPL is... honestly, he’s just an insufferable twat, even discounting the virulent racism. (How he treated his peers in the amateur press is a good example of his “generally an asshole ASIDE from race, too”).
It doesn’t help that Joshi is the Very Opinionated Biographer who has clearly staked his entire career on being HPL’s apologist.
So, I apologize, but I just can’t spend more of my life reading this miserable book.
But unfiltered HPL is... honestly, he’s just an insufferable twat, even discounting the virulent racism. (How he treated his peers in the amateur press is a good example of his “generally an asshole ASIDE from race, too”).
It doesn’t help that Joshi is the Very Opinionated Biographer who has clearly staked his entire career on being HPL’s apologist.
So, I apologize, but I just can’t spend more of my life reading this miserable book.
October 20, 2021
Good read if you're interested in the minutiae of Lovecraft's life. Far too long for those with a more casual interest in him. I did learn a lot, but Joshi brings some of his own preconceptions in, for all his knocks on those of others mentioned in the book.
May 22, 2023
First reading of the year !
This book appear to me unexpectedly and it was a great read ! It was amazing to learn more about one of my favorite horror authors and his sad and interesting life. It also make me want to read his entire work, what i intend to do this year.
This book appear to me unexpectedly and it was a great read ! It was amazing to learn more about one of my favorite horror authors and his sad and interesting life. It also make me want to read his entire work, what i intend to do this year.
April 11, 2022
O kurde ale cegła
October 23, 2023
First biography of Lovecraft I read this was back in high school early 2000s only surpassed by I am providence
January 4, 2024
Muito bom, a perspectiva de uma sociedade de cem anos atrás nos mostra quanto é inútil nos atermos a uma ideologia como se fosse verdade pois todas morrem com o tempo.
October 26, 2012
I could not decided whether to give this book three or four stars. The author obviously wanted to write a book of literary criticism about Lovecraft and included it in this rich and dense biography. I would have given the book four stars had I followed the author's advice in the preface and skipped the interminable scrying of the stories. So follow the author's advice and skip these unless you are a true diehard Lovecraft fan. The biography proper is extaordinarily detailed. Lovecraft managed to live his entire life without holding a proper job, in penury of course, and seems to have lived a richer and fuller life than most with money. He was not a reluse, travelled extensively and wrote stories that have become more fully appreciated as the years have past. If you are from Rhode Island or interested in supernatural literature, or interested in marginal writers or colonial America or early twentieth attitudes toward all these things read this book.
January 7, 2014
I really enjoyed this book, it informed me of things in H.P. Lovecraft's life that I didn't even know. I learned that one of his stories was based on a town he lived in when he and his wife had to move to a town called Red Hook. This Story is mainly about the life of Howard Phillip Lovecraft and his slow downward spiral from sanity. It shows his influences as well as how his nightmares have caused many problems in his life.
I rated it 5 stars because I really enjoyed learning about Lovecraft and his life of insanity. He has helped me to find my love for horror as well as my love for the old one's. It also helped me to learn how he created the infamous old one's as well as Cthulhu.
I rated it 5 stars because I really enjoyed learning about Lovecraft and his life of insanity. He has helped me to find my love for horror as well as my love for the old one's. It also helped me to learn how he created the infamous old one's as well as Cthulhu.
June 28, 2012
I am very impressed with this biography of Lovecraft, which is by far the best I have read so far. It is very detailed, and full of eyewitness accounts. It presents a balanced view of the man, being neither too positive or too negative. This is a warts and all portrayal of the Old Gentleman of Providence, which attempts to redress some of the errors made by previous biographers.
It also contains an analysis of Lovecraft's major stories, as well as insight into his political and philosophical beliefs.
It also contains an analysis of Lovecraft's major stories, as well as insight into his political and philosophical beliefs.
August 10, 2015
A very interesting book, with a nice "progressive" feel to it, like biographies are supposed to provide. It is not the most unbiased of biographies, as at times Joshi's views and opinions are made clear, specially when at trying to excuse or explain certain not so flattering of Lovecraft's behaviors and ideas.
A must read for Lovecraft fans.
A must read for Lovecraft fans.
July 14, 2013
This is a great book...but...it's an abridged version of "I am Providence" so I can only give it 4 stars. Spend the exra cash for Joshi's full text if you can find one of the limited editions of 'Providence', it's worth it!
November 20, 2015
5 stars for thoroughness and attention to detail, 5 stars for sympathetic but objective pictures of the subject, 2 stars for writing ability, 2 stars for soapboxing in promotion of atheism. Best part is the list of weird fiction works by other authors I now have to go find!
August 29, 2009
A magnificently well-researched, interesting and at times deeply moving account of the life of one of the most significant practitioners and theoreticians of the weird tale during the 20th century.
January 9, 2014
finished
May 17, 2013
Used to be the biography on lovecraft-since replaced by ST's new book I am providence (much better title I've yet to read it)
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews