![]() ![]() ![]() We discussed the book’s origins - it began as a pitch for a TV series - and the idea of Lovecraft Country as a secret history of science fiction’s racist roots. On Tuesday of this week, I interviewed Ruff as part of his book release party at Elliott Bay Book Company. ![]() The resulting narrative is fascinating, illuminating, and surprisingly fun. By centering the book on the family of an African-American man named Atticus Turner, Ruff is handing Lovecraft’s legacy off to a new protagonist, one who Lovecraft, by all accounts, would have loathed. Lovecraft Country holds Lovecraft accountable for his beliefs. The pivot-point for the novel is arguably the most famous racist in American literary history: HP Lovecraft, the cult horror writer who was an unabashed white supremacist. While the former is well-documented, sci-fi’s racist past is much less overt. ![]() Specifically, it’s a story that juxtaposes America’s shameful history of systemic racism with the racist history of American science fiction. Seattle author Matt Ruff’s new novel Lovecraft Country is a thoughtful, rewarding examination of the connection between genre and American racism. ![]()
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