Thomas Ligotti

Teatro Grottesco

Marcus Rosen

Just as Lovecraft could only have become Lovecraft in New England, Ligotti could only have become Ligotti in Detroit.

Thomas Ligotti is often cited as the most curious and remarkable figure in horror literature since H. P. Lovecraft. His work is noted by critics for its display of an exceptionally grotesque imagination and accomplished prose style. In his stories, Ligotti has followed a literary tradition that began with Edgar Allan Poe, portraying characters that are outside of anything that might be called normal life, depicting strange locales far off the beaten track, and rendering a grim vision of human existence as a perpetual nightmare. The horror stories collected in Teatro Grottesco feature tormented individuals who play out their doom in various odd little towns, as well as in dark sectors frequented by sinister and often blackly comical eccentrics. The cycle of narratives introduce readers to a freakish community of artists who encounter demonic perils that ultimately engulf their lives.

Maga P

Spent so long chipping away at this one that the constant repetition in the stories actually helped me remember what the hell was going on when I started reading again. 

The corporate horror stories were really good though.

Thomas Ligotti is often cited as the most curious and remarkable figure in horror since H P Lovecraft. His work is noted by critics for its display of an exceptionally grotesque imagination and accomplished prose style. In his stories, Ligotti has followed a tradition that began with Edgar Allan Poe, portraying characters that are outside of what might be called “normal life” and rendering a grim vision of human existence as a perpetual nightmare. The stories collected in Teatro Grottesco feature tormented individuals who play out their doom in various odd little towns as well as in dark sectors frequented by sinister and often blackly comical eccentrics.

Tilde C

Ligotti was recommended to me as the greatest contemporary writer of cosmic horror today, and from my dabbling I'm liable to agree. Ligotti offers a sort of formal, intellectual horror, characters who don't scream and gibber but who are just as overwhelmed by things beyond their understanding. Interestingly, Ligotti's prose is also very reminiscent of Lovecraft's -- for better or worse. There's a denseness to the prose, sentences that can keep adding twists and turns and fill half a page before it ends in a period. Sometimes that works, other times it makes for a fairly exhausting reading experience.

I do like how Ligotti can write characters who exist in a sort of placeless, timeless setting of oppression. Almost Soviet-like, but not quite. Almost DDR-esque, but not quite. No towns are named, no country stated, we only have the prospect of a border and strange, unknown areas "out there". Everyone's continually medicated, the doctors are part of some vague conspiracy, and the less we know, the better the horror and bizarre oppressive atmosphere comes across.

Sadly, the last half of the book becomes extremely introverted and intellectual, short stories obviously meant to tie up threads and give a deeper understanding to the book's universe as a whole, but pages upon pages of characters philosophizing with themselves, alluding to other events, all speaking in the same, dry, "intellectual" voice, made it a genuine chore to finish the book. Which is such a pity, because there were some stories in the first half I adored to the point I was bothering my friends with them.

My favourite stories were Our Temporary Supervisor (the horror of capitalism, the inhumanity of workplace efficiency); Purity (a young boy colluding with dangerous strangers and his even stranger family); The Town Manager (an almost fairy tale-like story of unearthly mayors and uneasy but perpetual compliance); and The Gas Station Carnival (which feels almost Stephen King-esque, and not for the creepy clown).

Really wish this was a more even, balanced, collection. As it is I think Ligotti probably works better in anthologies where his talents can put others to shame.

Teatro Grottesco

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