The King in Yellow
Ratings92
Average rating3.2
Many wonderful story elements which stick with and linger in your mind. I think there's a bit of tendency to only read the first set of stories and skip the back half of the book, since they don't directly relate to the titular fiction. But they weave thematic threads and vague connections which work very well together.
Many wonderful story elements which stick with and linger in your mind. I think there's a bit of tendency to only read the first set of stories and skip the back half of the book, since they don't directly relate to the titular fiction. But they weave thematic threads and vague connections which work very well together.
Read this because of Lovecraft praises and trying to find a novel I remember only fragments, I was a bit surprised by the story as it slowly descends into madness but I can see the appeal and relationship with Lovecraft's work.
Read this because of Lovecraft praises and trying to find a novel I remember only fragments, I was a bit surprised by the story as it slowly descends into madness but I can see the appeal and relationship with Lovecraft's work.
Read this because of Lovecraft praises and trying to find a novel I remember only fragments, I was a bit surprised by the story as it slowly descends into madness but I can see the appeal and relationship with Lovecraft's work.
Read this because of Lovecraft praises and trying to find a novel I remember only fragments, I was a bit surprised by the story as it slowly descends into madness but I can see the appeal and relationship with Lovecraft's work.
the first 4 stories: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
the stories after those just weren't for me
the first 4 stories: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
the stories after those just weren't for me
Added to listClassicswith 15 books.
Added to listTW Book Clubwith 1 book.
I guess I was expecting something different when my friends and I picked this one up. It's supposedly what inspired Lovecraft to create his entire mythos, so I was expecting something more...I don't know...existential horror? Unsettling? I didn't really get much of that. It was a fine read, just not what I was expecting, I guess.
It's a series of four short stories about a mysterious book, 'The King In Yellow', where anyone who picks it up to read goes mad. Each of the four stories features a different person in a different setting, but beyond the common thread of the book, there isn't a lot to really explain what this book is, where it came from, or why it is the way it is. As the reader, you're just along for the 'how is this person going to manifest their madness' ride, with no real backstory or explanation.
There's a lot of unreliable narrator business going on, obviously, which I thought was fun. You're never quite sure if things actually happen the way things are written, and there's some room to draw conclusions of your own at the end of each story. There's also some unexpected humor written in by the author in the form of descriptions of places and people, which I enjoyed but also felt tonally different than what I was expecting out of the story.
So, not bad, but also don't go into this expecting Lovecraft. It's a neat read featuring unreliable narrators, but I really didn't feel existentially horrified or even mildly concerned at all while reading it.
I guess I was expecting something different when my friends and I picked this one up. It's supposedly what inspired Lovecraft to create his entire mythos, so I was expecting something more...I don't know...existential horror? Unsettling? I didn't really get much of that. It was a fine read, just not what I was expecting, I guess.
It's a series of four short stories about a mysterious book, 'The King In Yellow', where anyone who picks it up to read goes mad. Each of the four stories features a different person in a different setting, but beyond the common thread of the book, there isn't a lot to really explain what this book is, where it came from, or why it is the way it is. As the reader, you're just along for the 'how is this person going to manifest their madness' ride, with no real backstory or explanation.
There's a lot of unreliable narrator business going on, obviously, which I thought was fun. You're never quite sure if things actually happen the way things are written, and there's some room to draw conclusions of your own at the end of each story. There's also some unexpected humor written in by the author in the form of descriptions of places and people, which I enjoyed but also felt tonally different than what I was expecting out of the story.
So, not bad, but also don't go into this expecting Lovecraft. It's a neat read featuring unreliable narrators, but I really didn't feel existentially horrified or even mildly concerned at all while reading it.
Added to list2025 Readwith 10 books.
