Récits

by H.P. Lovecraft, Laurent Folliot (Traduction, Introduction), Philippe Jaworski (Traduction)

H. P. Lovecraft est un créateur de mondes, doublé – on ne mesure pas toujours à quel point – d'un grand écrivain. Son œuvre a irrigué de larges pans de la culture, inspirant dessinateurs, philosophes, et surtout écrivains qui, de Borges à Michel Houellebecq, furent nombreux à lui rendre hommage. À la fois célébré pour la théogonie qu'il a mise en place et décrié pour son racisme, lié par un attachement viscéral à sa Nouvelle-Angleterre natale, il est un écrivain inclassable. Il s'abreuve, dans un premier temps, aux sources de Poe, de Lord Dunsany, ou encore du mouvement décadent, mais il fait rapidement éclater le cadre du récit fantastique en y introduisant les concepts et le vocabulaire des sciences. Mieux encore, il renouvelle le genre en lui donnant une dimension cosmique qui témoigne de l'insignifiance de l'homme dans un univers qui le dépasse. Des divinités énigmatiques et terrifiantes, Cthulhu, prêtre des Grands Anciens, Nyarlathotep, le Chaos rampant, Azathoth, le Néant primordial, Yog-Sothoth, « Tout en Un et Un en Tout », forment son panthéon. Confronté à cette altérité absolue, le héros de Lovecraft a un seul but : la connaissance, un seul chemin : la découverte de la présence universelle du Mal, une seule issue : la démence ou la mort.

Vingt-neuf récits composent ce volume, depuis les premiers contes horrifiques jusqu'aux grands récits qui, écrits à partir de 1926, feront la renommée de leur auteur. Tous bénéficient de nouvelles traductions.

1408 pages, Leather Bound

First published October 17, 2024

About the author

Howard Phillips Lovecraft, of Providence, Rhode Island, was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction.

Lovecraft's major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: life is incomprehensible to human minds and the universe is fundamentally alien. Those who genuinely reason, like his protagonists, gamble with sanity. Lovecraft has developed a cult following for his Cthulhu Mythos, a series of loosely interconnected fictions featuring a pantheon of human-nullifying entities, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works were deeply pessimistic and cynical, challenging the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Christianity. Lovecraft's protagonists usually achieve the mirror-opposite of traditional gnosis and mysticism by momentarily glimpsing the horror of ultimate reality.

Although Lovecraft's readership was limited during his life, his reputation has grown over the decades. He is now commonly regarded as one of the most influential horror writers of the 20th Century, exerting widespread and indirect influence, and frequently compared to Edgar Allan Poe.
See also Howard Phillips Lovecraft.

— Wikipedia

Reviews

[Marineris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard Phillips Lovecraft needs no introduction. A legendary author from a century ago, he left behind a legacy so vast and enigmatic that we're still only beginning to grasp its depths.

Now, Lovecraft enters the pantheon of literary immortals with his induction into the prestigious and highly selective French collection, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. This honor places him alongside the greatest writers of all time, immortalizing his work for future generations.

The Pléiade edition features 29 of Lovecraft's tales, presented chronologically, with fresh translations and comprehensive critical analysis, as per the collection's esteemed tradition. French readers have cherished Lovecraft for decades, and some may find themselves puzzled by the new titles for certain stories—myself included. Perhaps it's because Lovecraft simply sounds so right in French, or perhaps it's the weight of familiarity.

One thing, however, is beyond doubt: the scholars and translators who worked on this edition did so with the utmost respect for Lovecraft's original texts, ensuring his cosmic horror continues to resonate in a new light.