Poll

Time to oust Lovecraft, right?

Katherine Anne Porter is always strong, I think, and for me this one is not much of a contest, as much as I love what Lovecraft started with "The Call of Cthulhu." As with the Nabokov, I prefer other Lovecraft stories to the one in the tournament, but unlike with Nabokov, I won't be voting for the lesser story.

7-1 for The Grave. Die Cthulhu and join your demon pulpkin Nightfall.

Lovecraft did well to survive this far.

Anyone else thought it was funny that Cthulhu was thwarted by a yacht?

A YACHT.

I know he regenerated and everything, but I'll take it for granted that he's headed back to dreamland for the time being.

I liked Cthulhu- it was my first time reading anything of Lovecraft - not my genre as a rule.

Ok, so I planned to read everything that made it to round 2, but I'm not quite going to make it. I have decided to skip over this pairing. I've never read Lovecraft and everything I know about him makes me ok with continuing to never have read him. The word "Cthulhu" in the title, in fact, makes me less inclined to want to read him. Porter looks like she is doing well in the voting, so I probably will catch up with her in the next round.

Although I can't say I've completely settled on the meaning of the story, after a second reading of "The Grave" I have come to appreciate it more. When I first read it a couple of weeks ago it left me indifferent; maybe I was just not in the mood and read it too quickly.

  As for Lovecraft, what can I say? Why so little love being shown for Cthulhu? I know, I know. I was excited to be rereading the story again after so long, but in the end it just fell flat.  I no longer felt that dread I once felt in his presence so long ago. I don't want to get on the wrong side of Great Old Ones, but my vote has to go to the more artful story, "The Grave." Though I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for Cthulhu.

Thomas wrote: "Anyone else thought it was funny that Cthulhu was thwarted by a yacht?
A YACHT.
I know he regenerated and everything, but I'll take it for granted that he's headed back to dreamland for the time ..."
No. Haven't you noticed he's been running amok for the past 90 years. Since 1988 he's been a candidate in every U.S. presidential election and though I never believed he was a viable candidate, after 2016 I'm not so sure.

Can't be Trump, he's got like 10 yachts at Mar a Lago alone.

Could be hoisted with his own petard.

I'm learning a lot of new phrases!