H.P. Lovecraft Sundays #5

I am back with H.P. Lovecraft. Last Sunday I decided to rest instead of read and going on my blog (I've been too busy that my health is not too well). Well, here's the next short story that I read in The Complete Fiction:


Dr. Samuel Johnson

 

"A Reminiscence of Dr. Samuel Johnson"

2 stars

"The Privilege of Reminiscence, however rambling or tiresome, is one generally allow’d to the very aged; indeed, ’tis frequently by means of such Recollections that the obscure occurrences of History, and the lesser Anecdotes of the Great, are transmitted to Posterity."

This is how this "memoir" begins. H.P. Lovecraft describes how he knew Dr. Samuel Johnson, an English author who was famous for his poetry and contributions to literature. Dr. Samuel Johnson was born in the 20th of August, 1690-- 200 years before Lovecraft's birthday, which makes Lovecraft 228 years old as he writes this memoir.

Here, Lovecraft embodies himself as a very old man and makes fun of himself. He describes how he knew many famous people and recounts his meeting with the famous Johnson. He describes Johnson as "a full, pursy Man, very ill drest, and of slovenly Aspect." Johnson also wore a powdered wig that was too small for his head.  Lovecraft then goes on to explain how he would meet Johnson in Literary Clubs and discuss important works of literature.

In all, this was one of the shortest stories I've read and my least favorite. Lovecraft is known for being the master of suspense and horror, but non of those qualities were evident in this piece of work. I was not too sure what this work was suppose to be about. I had to read it two times and listen to the audio to comprehend what he was talking about (even then I am not too sure what it's about). All I know is that Lovecraft is over 200 years old and he makes fun of himself and he is suppose to know a famous person from history.

*Sigh* I did not like this one.

If you are interested in reading this short story, you can visit The H.P. Lovecraft Archive or listen to the audio below (ignore the first couple of minutes of the audio):