1,001 Novels: A Library of America
The Ballad of Black Tom (2016)
by Victor LaValle
New York: 23/105
Harlem: 2/14
I believe this is the first genre horror-fantasy book that editor Susan Straight has selected for the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America. I don't believe there has been a single science fiction title. Perhaps that is because most horror/fantasy/science fiction books don't take place in a recognizable location on a current map of the United States, but there is still the connection of authors to place to consider. Nathaniel Hawthorne for Salem, Mass. I was mildly surprised that H.P. Lovecraft didn't make the cut in Rhode Island- he's an iconic literary figure for that state, whether you like his books or approve of his racism etc. I wasn't hugely surprised because my sense is that Editor Straight is concerned with representing the present populations of each state and is very much unconcerned with upholding the dead white guy canon of literary notoriety.
But here we are and the first book that could be called a fantasy-horror genre pick is a work plainly inspired by Lovecraft and which takes place in Harlem with an African-American protagonist. Like Lovecraft himself, the difficulty in writing a book/story about cosmic horror is complicated by the frequency with which characters find themselves seeing the unseeable or knowing the unknowable. LaValle makes clever use of Lovecraft's real life prejudices- if you've read Houellebecq's take on Lovecraft you know that his primary fear was of immigrants- and that is reflected in this plot line.
LaValle's magical New York is simply New York with magic in the background- no police trolls or magical citizens need apply. Again, that reflects the works of Lovecraft himself- one has to either confront the nameless horrors in private or go someplace obscure to find them. It was nice to finally read a fantasy/sci fi genre book after the parade of YA lit, but this story was just ok from my perspective.
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