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H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life

H.P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life

by Michel Houellebecq (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2006

    $12.00
Synopsis

Those who love life do not read. Nor do they go to the movies, actually. No matter what might be said, access to the artistic universe is more or less entirely the preserve of those who are a little fed up with the world. In this prescient work-now with an introduction by Stephen King-Michel Houellebecq, the author of the novels Platform and Atomised , focuses his considerable analytical skills on H.P. Lovecraft, the seminal, enigmatic horror writer of the early 20th century. Houellebecq's insights into the craft of writing illuminate both Lovecraft and Houellebecq's own work. The two are kindred spirits, sharing a uniquely dark world view. But even as he outlines Lovecraft's rejection of this loathsome world, it is Houellebecq's adulation for the author that drives this work and makes it a love song, infusing the writing with an energy and passion that characterises Houellebecq's new novel. Indispensable reading for anyone interested in Lovecraft, Houellebecq, or the past and future of horror.

$12.00

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More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 256
 Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Published: 13 Jul 2006
ISBN 10: 0297851381
ISBN 13: 9780297851387
Book Overview: Published to coincide with the paperback of 'The Possibility of an Island' The introduction by Stephen King should open this up beyond just the H P Lovecraft fans. This is more than a critical essay it is a remarkable blending of insight, partisanship and sympathetic biography - in a way it's Houellebecq's manifesto for writing.

Media Reviews
'Houellebecq's superb discussion of Lovecraft offers deep insights into what drives his own writing' -- Phil Baker THE OBSERVER 'His [HP Lovecraft's] consuming interior force was fear - an absolute fear of life that is analysed in Houellebecq's serious and empathic critical essay.' -- Iain Finlayson THE TIMES 'Who would have thought that Houellebecq owed such a debt to an American horror writer? Perhaps it is not so surprising. Both have turned their hostility to the world into an art form.' LITERARY REVIEW 'Houellebecq's essay is... a strikingly precise equivalent for our day of Baudelaire's notorious adulation of an earlier American writer of weird fiction, Edgar Poe.' -- Kevin Jackson SUNDAY TIMES 'his essay is both a formidable literary performance in itself, a work of real imaginative sympathy, and a consistently engrossing intellectural workout.' -- Sam Leith THE DAILY TELEGRAPH 'fascinating polemic.' -- Richard Godwin THE EVENING STANDARD
Author Bio
Michel Houellebecq lives in County Cork, Ireland. He is the bestselling author of the Atomised, Platform, Lanzarote and Whatever. He is also a poet, essayist and rap artist.