The Ballad of Black Tom Book Review

by Catalina Bonati

4/5 stars

The Ballad of Black Tom (2016) by Victor LaValle is a short horror novel based on “The Horror at Red Hook” (1925) by H.P. Lovecraft. It narrates the story of Tommy Tester, a street musician, who is hired to perform at a rich man’s event in his home. The man is Robert Suydam, and he believes that “the Sleeping King” will soon arise and rule over the chosen. Tommy is sucked into Suydam’s world and he soon becomes Black Tom, someone who will stop at nothing to get revenge over the white oppressors who rule our modern world.

Tommy Tester is a black man, which already turns Lovecraft’s original story on its head. Lovecraft’s monsters were often representative of his fear of immigration and assimilation, and in this story Tester faces the monsters of society which rule over the majority and use their power for discrimination and violence. This story is saturated with police brutality and despicable cop characters. The generalized violence and antipathy of the police pave the way for Tommy’s ultimate faith in the Sleeping King. The Sleeping King is a synonym for social change; for power unto those who believe that they are chosen. Robert Suydam, who is white and rich, believes that he is one of the chosen few; Tommy Tester, who is black and poor, also begins to believe that he might be a follower as well. For both, the Sleeping King represents a subversion of class through potential mass murder.

Tommy’s leap of faith in the Sleeping King is not a satisfying end to his troubles. Tommy Tester is a victim of society and police brutality, yet his conversion into Black Tom turns him into a servant. In neither case is he free or completely powerful. Tommy as Black Tom is intimidating, unafraid, and wields otherworldly powers, yet he remains in subservient position to Suydam and to the Sleeping King. Even through unnatural powers, Black Tom is unable to overcome the position of servitude. He finds that his only breakthrough is when he decides to take his life into his own hands near the ending of the book.

Although this book turns Lovecraft upside down in a few respects, it maintains much of the same symbolisms and representations, such as the monster or King as representative of the pressures and fears of a quickly changing society. Its discussions on race elevate the original story; however, it does nothing for women, whom Lovecraft regarded with utmost misogyny and is also part of the problematics of his fictional universe. In this story, there is only one female character who is secondary and who turns out to be a literal monster. If the purpose of this story was to subvert Lovecraft’s racist, classist, and sexist narrative tropes, Lovecraft’s view on women remain untouched and the story fails on this account. It nevertheless is an interesting and short read which adds dimension to Lovecraft’s universe, and this book is recommended for those who love weird horror, racial fiction, and Lovecraft retellings.