The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

If I had to choose a book of the year so far, this would be it. Only vaguely aware of the work of author H P Lovecraft, I came upon the "Creation Oneiros" edition of "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" - by chance or design - in Worcester City Library under the "Occult" category. Do not be put off by the introduction, which, although interesting, for me did not really capture the essence of the book.

"The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" tells the story of a young antiquarian and genealogist, who's studies conjure up evil c18th ancestor Joseph Curwen in 1920s New England. The tale is told in little more than a novella, yet it demonstrates very much that narrative quality need not mean quantity : a lesson sadly lost on many contemporary authors. H P Lovecraft wrote in the first part of the 20th century.

Lovecraft's writing ranges from hauntingly beautiful lyrical descriptions of place (of which I have read few finer), to genuinely scary and suspenseful horror, puctuated by passages of quirky detail and sometimes absurd humour. For instance, when the local c18th worthies gather to run down Joseph Curwen (in his earlier incarnation), "President Manning (is) without the great periwig (the largest in the Colonies) for which he was noted..."

"The Case of Charles Dexeter Ward" is a totally engrossing read from beginning to end, and, its conclusion is suitably ambiguous and disturbing.