Ring Shout, Monsters, and History
I’ve just finished reading Ring Shout by P. Djéli Clark, and it made me feel so many things in so few words. It’s a novella that has the depth and breadth of a novel, a really meaty one at that, and it’s a testament to Mr. Clark’s skills that I felt so immersed in this world and these characters that he created. This post has mild plot spoilers.
Ring Shout is a horror tale set in 1920’s Georgia, told through the eyes of Maryse Boudreaux, a Prohibition-era bootlegger and monster-hunter. In particular, she and her crew hunt Ku Kluxes, the literal white monsters that racist Klan members transform into. One of the things that immediately struck me about this book is how real the monsters are—both human and otherwise. We’re shown in equal detail the gore and the viciousness of these horrifying creatures, as well as the human bodies that share their existence.
Courtesy of Tor.com. Cover art and design by Henry Sene Yee
That representation was also striking to me because Mr. Clark doesn’t attribute hate or racism to the many speculative elements in the book. Racism isn’t something caused by the aforementioned monsters or their overlord, nor from ghosts or other supernatural beings. I’ve definitely consumed enough stories that seek to represent the abstract with monsters, and I’m really glad that this story doesn’t do that. This story says hate and racism come from humans, and one doesn’t need to be possessed or controlled by monsters to have those things in them.
The book is especially relevant in these times we’re living in, but though the similarities to current events is depressing, the story has within it a really engaging journey of Black friendship, community and triumph. Non-Black people like me tend to consume media that deal with the suffering of Black people, and there is a lot of that in Ring Shout, but there is also a lot of hope.
Members of the Gullah community doing the ring shout, Georgia, ca. 1930s. Courtesy of Lorenzo Dow Turner Papers, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
There’s also a lot of history and culture, details that Mr. Clark uses to full effect. The Birth of a Nation is a critical plot element, and I learned much about the Gullah-Geechee people (including what a ring shout is) and their lives during that time.
Ring Shout is a lot of things in so few words, and all done so well in equal measure—it’s a Lovecraftian horror story, it’s a hero’s adventurous quest, it’s a tale about a community coming together, it’s an indictment of racism then and now, and also it’s a journey through Black history. My knowledge of it is limited and that inadequacy is mostly filled in by works like these: books by Black authors who have, time and time again, done the heavy lifting of producing works like Ring Shout so that people remember. Me reading about it is the bare minimum; it is still inadequate, and I’m trying to do better. Stories like these make me want to even more.