Lovecraft: Disturbing the Universe [Hardcover]

Donald R. Burleson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This approach to Lovecraft is particularly appropriate since themes like forbidden knowledge and the rejection of humanity's primacy characterize Lovecraft's work." -- Choice

"Burleson applies deconstructionism to the dark fantasy of H.P. Lovecraft" -- Choice

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: University Press of Kentucky (October 23, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813117283
• ISBN-13: 978-0813117287
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,610,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Donald R. Burleson has published over twenty books (some fiction and some nonfiction), hundreds of articles, and over a hundred short stories. In the fiction field he is a horror writer having produced both novels and collections of short stories, many of the latter appearing in numerous major anthologies. In the nonfiction field he has written articles and books on literary criticism (most of it on the subject of his doctoral dissertation: the American writer H. P. Lovecraft) and books in the field of UFO studies, having served for many years as State Director, for New Mexico (where he and his wife live), of MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network, for which he is an exam-certified field investigator. Dr. Burleson is a professional mathematician, having retired from full-time teaching in the mathematics department at Eastern New Mexico University at Roswell but continuing to teach there part-time; he does mathematical research in the area of matrix theory. He holds master's degrees in both mathematics and English, and a Ph.D. in English literature. His hobbies are chess, jazz drumming, solving Sudoku and diagramless crosswords, languages, and cooking. He and his wife Mollie met in 1979 at a horror convention in Rhode Island. Burleson has two sons and a stepson and daughter-in-law, and a cat named Schroedie, after Schrodinger's Cat in quantum theory.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A provoking look at Lovecraft, November 4, 2001

By 

D. De Gruijter (Leiden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lovecraft: Disturbing the Universe (Hardcover)

This is a book that you will either toss aside with a shrug, or that will keep you enthralled for a couple of reading evenings. There's no real middle way. Still, for Lovecraftians it is a must-have must-read.
Burleson applies deconstruction to the texts in a marvellous way, and yet at the same time it sometimes also becomes rather repetitive. But this is so because deconstruction is (in my opinion) also a methodology. At any rate, this book is an eye-opener to the province of the text and how it will never allow itself to be pigeon-holed, or to be fully understood, or to reach a definite interpretation. As Burleson points out texts are always self-subversive, and arrive at aporetic standstills, though simultaneously also lifting the tip on infinity within the text. And where could one do that better than 'in' Lovecraft?
From the opening introduction on deconstructianism, which is very lucid and should be understandable by readers that have not encountered it before, to the final concluding chapter, this book is like spit and mud in your eyes that should be washed in a stream after finishing it, and then to read the book again. You will not only regard Lovecraft 'texts' differently, but also every other text you encounter or re-read will never be the same again.
The stories selected for the deconstructive criticism ("The Call of Cthulhu", "The Shadow over Innsmouth", "The Cats of Ulthar", "The Nameless City", and more short ones) are representative for Lovecraft's recurring themes and motifs, and handled in clear understandable speech and intellectuality. My only complaint with this book is that it is a bit too short - I would have liked to see more attention to the stories, but this is a dilemma for which Burleson doubtlessly stood himself: it is a decision between fewer stories thoroughly (as far as that can be done with deconstructionism) explored, and more stories explored with provocative motivations for further personal investigation on the reader's part. Well, the enthousiasm Burleson leaves one with is more than enough for that.
If you like Lovecraft and literature, your library shouldn't be without this.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - but only for the hardcore, November 16, 2003

By 

Carlos Mcreynolds "Horror fan" (Santa Rosa, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Lovecraft: Disturbing the Universe (Hardcover)

A fascinating analysis of some of Lovecraft's central works through the tool of literary deconstruction. I enjoyed this book and found it an easy enough read, despite any formal study in literary criticism. (The author provides a helpful introduction to deconstruction.) Like the heading says, get it if you're a hardcore Lovecraftian, or if the idea of seeing the themes of a story analysed appeals to you; or preferably both.