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A review by otterno11
The Broken Hours by Jacqueline Baker
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Broken Hours is a claustrophobic, atmospheric ghost story whose stifling atmosphere and ominous style on the haunted figure of H.P. Lovecraft in the last year of his life. I really appreciated Baker approaching her tale of Lovecraftian horror in a refreshingly different way, exploring the classic ghost story rather than shoehorning in yet another “Lovecraft was right'' Cthulhu mythos romp. Narrator Arthur Crandle, destitute and separated from his wife, finds himself in a dreary Providence, RI circa the spring of 1936, employed as a secretary for the reclusive horror author. He soon finds that his employers’ oppressive but mostly unseen presence and his fraught family history echo Crandle's own relationship regrets.
Even as Crandle befriends Flossie, a vibrant young woman and another tenant of the mysterious apartment, as the spectral form of a child haunts his dreams and his waking hours alike he begins to lose track of reality. However, this ambiguity in many of the scenes began to make the novel feel a little vague and I never felt like I really understood who Crandle even was, as narrative threads appeared only to be dropped without any resolution. With dialogue indicated only by italics, much of the Crandle’s conversations with Lovecraft and other characters feel surreal and dreamlike, in particular. Lovecraft’s presence highlights broken relationships and hereditary madness, with Crandle and Flossie serving as pawns in this fraught personal history. The ghosts that float through the novel reckon with the vision of Lovecraft as a ghost himself, a man tormented by his family's demons, mental illness, and personal tragedy. All in all, a creepy but enigmatic work that leaves much to the readers’ own interpretations.
I write about other works that use Lovecraft as a fictional character in my article Lovecraft Reanimated at Fandom Fanatics.
Even as Crandle befriends Flossie, a vibrant young woman and another tenant of the mysterious apartment, as the spectral form of a child haunts his dreams and his waking hours alike he begins to lose track of reality. However, this ambiguity in many of the scenes began to make the novel feel a little vague and I never felt like I really understood who Crandle even was, as narrative threads appeared only to be dropped without any resolution. With dialogue indicated only by italics, much of the Crandle’s conversations with Lovecraft and other characters feel surreal and dreamlike, in particular. Lovecraft’s presence highlights broken relationships and hereditary madness, with Crandle and Flossie serving as pawns in this fraught personal history. The ghosts that float through the novel reckon with the vision of Lovecraft as a ghost himself, a man tormented by his family's demons, mental illness, and personal tragedy. All in all, a creepy but enigmatic work that leaves much to the readers’ own interpretations.
I write about other works that use Lovecraft as a fictional character in my article Lovecraft Reanimated at Fandom Fanatics.