The DodologistSometing I once wrote about Lovecraft (and Gaiman) came to mind, because of a Cthulhu drawing by the genius Kim Holm, and his own thoughts on HPL:
Re: Gaiman. I love the writing of H.P. Lovecraft. Though there is no doubt that he was racist and antisemitic far beyond what can be explained by the times. I would go further though. Like my compatriot Hamsun, I would argue that his writing is not good despite his racism, but because of it.
Their anxieties and fears lay at the heart of the stories they tell. The fear of the unknown, the abominable, and the, in every meaning of the word, foreign, is at the heart of the horror that lies trembling at the core of Lovecraft’s stories.
Lovecraft’s stories are not stories about horror. They are stories steeped IN horror. The world and humanity truly scares and repulses him, and that fear and loathing is what makes what could have been whimsical and silly entertainment, good (though not great) art.
I have never been a great fan of Gaiman, though I haved read most of his novels. He is a stellar world builder, but his stories always came across as sloppily plotted, and somehow hollow at the core. He is great at describing the magical, but to me it seems like he does not feel it.
Perhaps, somewhere down the line, new generations will discover him, and marvel at how a monster could create such beauty. But to be honest I don’t think so. Because I always found cleverness in his writing. But never beauty.
Gaiman’s art is as much about the construction of his public persona, as it is about his writing. And I suspect his writing is not by far good enough to survive the fall of that public persona.
He was the nice and kind goth uncle, whose stories the kids loved listening to. And no matter how sweet his voice is, the same stories from the rapist uncle just don’t sound the same.
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