Caleb’s Reviews > Tales of Horror > Status Update

Lovecraft was a racist and his thinking was clearly formed by the popular ethnology of his day. I find it interesting seeing how these ideas along with his own poor mental health, and his philosophy is reflected in the pages of his writing. He contrasts Germanic descent against South European and other ethnicities, rationality and superstition, intellect and artistry. He will idealize one side and find folly in both.

So far, these stories are far more captivating than I had imagined they would be. Lovecraft's own fractured mental health is compellingly reflected in the first person, through the characters he has written. By the end of each story, the reader is left to ponder the uncanny, the eerie, and the mysterious.

This book is not for those who want fairy tales with clear and happy resolutions.