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Rating: "For fifty years, the analysis of racism in literature has focused on Céline; but the case of Lovecraft is far more interesting and significant."
This controversial 1999 essay by Michel Houellebecq on H.P. Lovecraft absolutely deserves a reprint but is inexplicably out of print for some time now. It can only be found in the volume Works. Volume 1 (1991-2000) published by Bompiani in 2016. It is a sparse little book that has also generated sharp criticism but, in retrospect, should be reevaluated. The main accusation is that, in this essay, it is ultimately "Houellebecq’s own view of life" that emerges, rather than that of the Loner of Providence. Which is, if we will, partly true, even though the French writer has taken, in his narrative, a direction totally opposite to that of HPL. The essay, not coincidentally, is titled H.P. Lovecraft Against the World, Against Life. And its undeniable charm, in my view, starts right from its title. The "Lovecraftian" deities are the symbol of the death of Western civilization and, not surprisingly, Lovecraft knew and appreciated The Decline of the West by Oswald Spengler, and his own exegete S.T. Joshi has published an essay on the subject titled H.P. Lovecraft: The Decline of the West. But Houellebecq, as Giuseppe Lippi accurately points out in the introduction of the volume All the Stories published by Mondadori, goes even further and reveals how Lovecraft was experiencing a "discomfort in being in the world and in his own flesh". It is an aspect that perhaps does not immediately emerge when reading only his texts and letters. Yet, beneath the surface, there is a sense of discomfort for an existence he found unbearable. Probably only in writing did he manage to have brief moments of happiness. According to Lovecraft "Adulthood is hell". Houellebecq writes that "considering the values on which the adult world is based, it is hard to blame him. Reality principle, pleasure principle, competitiveness, constant challenge, sex and capital investments... there is little to enjoy". And here lies perhaps the modernity and charm of Lovecraft, which, even today, makes him feel alive in the hearts of many enthusiasts seeking an antidote to the ugliness of daily existence. According to Houellebecq, "Nowadays, the value of a human being is measured by his economic utility and his erotic potential: that is precisely the two things that Lovecraft detested more than anything else". But this does not mean having to necessarily take ideological stances. Here in Italy, unfortunately, there have already been too many controversies in this regard, and honestly, I do not think it is the case to rekindle them. The essay has also been criticized because the French writer indulges in highlighting Lovecraft’s racism as a not-so-secondary aspect. But he just tells the truth. And it is precisely his racism that makes him unpalatable to many (including some writers) even today. But I do not think there is much sense in conducting a witch hunt and burning him at the altar of political correctness. In the end, Lovecraft was a writer, and what remains, as S.T. Joshi rightly wrote, is his work.
Michel Houellebecq "H. P. Lovecraft: Against the World, Against Life". - 153 pages - 1999 - Bompiani
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