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Victor LaValle

ヴィクター・ラヴァル

Victor LaValle

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1972-02-03 （New York City）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Flushing, Queens; New York City → New York City (resident)

Career

Occupations
Author, Novelist, Associate Professor
Active Years
1999-2025
Affiliations
Columbia University School of the Arts (Associate Professor)
Influenced By
H. P. Lovecraft, Kenzaburō Ōe

Education

Cornell University
English
Degree: BA
Country: United States
Columbia University
Creative Writing
Degree: MFA
Country: United States

Awards

PEN/Open Book Award
2002
Work: Slapboxing with Jesus (stories)
Organization: PEN America
Result: 共同受賞
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
2003
Work: The Ecstatic
Organization: PEN/Faulkner Foundation
Result: ノミネート（最終候補）
Shirley Jackson Award
2009
Work: Big Machine
Category: 長編（小説）
Organization: Shirley Jackson Awards
Result: 受賞
Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
2010
Work: Big Machine
Organization: Ernest J. Gaines Award
Result: 受賞
American Book Award
2010
Work: Big Machine
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: 共同受賞
Shirley Jackson Award
2016
Work: The Ballad of Black Tom
Category: 中編（ノヴェラ）
Organization: Shirley Jackson Awards
Result: 受賞
British Fantasy Award
2017
Work: The Ballad of Black Tom
Category: 中編（ノヴェラ）
Organization: British Fantasy Society
Result: 受賞
Hugo Award
2017
Work: The Ballad of Black Tom
Category: ノヴェラ
Organization: World Science Fiction Society
Result: ノミネート（最終候補）
World Fantasy Award
2018
Work: The Changeling
Category: 長編（小説）
Organization: World Fantasy Convention
Result: 受賞（同点）
Locus Award
2018
Work: The Changeling
Category: ホラー小説
Organization: Locus Magazine
Result: 受賞（第1位）
Bram Stoker Award
2019
Work: Victor LaValle's Destroyer (graphic novel)
Category: グラフィックノベル
Organization: Horror Writers Association (HWA)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Slapboxing with Jesus (stories)

1999 Short stories, Social realism

A collection of eleven interconnected stories about young Black and Latino men in New York, exploring urban life, identity, and struggle.

Urban lifeRaceIdentityFamily

The Ecstatic

2002 Novel (literary fiction, psychological)

Follows Anthony James, a morbidly obese college dropout, and his family's attempts to help him; blends dark themes with gallows humor.

Mental illnessFamilyHuman frailty

Big Machine

2009 Novel (speculative fiction with horror elements)

Follows Ricky Rice, an ex-junkie and survivor of a suicide cult, summoned by a mysterious letter to a remote Vermont compound; mixes social themes and the uncanny.

RedemptionReligious fanaticismGuilt

The Devil in Silver

2012 Novel (horror, psychological)

Pepper, a sane man sent to a psychiatric hospital, encounters a creature known as the Devil roaming the halls at night; explores medication, institutional failure, and fear.

Mental health careFearInstitutional critique

The Ballad of Black Tom

2016 Novella, historical fantasy/horror

A retelling of H. P. Lovecraft's "The Horror at Red Hook" from the perspective of a young Black man in Harlem, addressing race and horror.

RaceReinterpretation of historyHorror

The Changeling

2017 Novel (horror with fantastical elements)

A novel centered on family, fatherhood, and contemporary fears; received wide critical acclaim and was listed among the best books of 2017.

FamilyParenthoodFear

Destroyer

2017 Graphic novel (modern retelling of Frankenstein)

A modern retelling of Frankenstein following an African-American descendant of Dr. Frankenstein, her dead son, and the aging monster.

Violence and justiceRaceRevenge and healing

Lone Women

2023 Novel (western with fantastical elements)

Set in 1915 Montana, follows Adelaide Henry, a single woman who leaves her California family farm to establish a homestead; a western with fantastical, gothic elements.

SettlementIsolationFemale independence
Adaptations
  • [Television (optioned)] Lone Women (TV adaptation option)

Bibliography

  • Slapboxing with Jesus (1999)
  • The Ecstatic (2002)
  • Big Machine (2009)
  • The Devil in Silver (2012)
  • Lucretia and the Kroons (2012, e-book)
  • The Ballad of Black Tom (2016)
  • The Changeling (2017)
  • Destroyer (2017, graphic novel)
  • Lone Women (2023)

Adaptations

  • Lone Women — TV adaptation optioned (LaValle attached to write script)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Genre-blending style (horror, speculative, and realism)Combination of humor and the uncannyDeep psychological characterization
Recurring Motifs
Family and fatherhoodMental illness and institutional failureUrban life and racial issuesRevenge and redemption

Legacy

Victor LaValle is acclaimed for using horror and speculative elements to address social themes. He has won multiple literary awards and is regarded as an important voice in contemporary American literature.

In Popular Culture

  • Mos Def (Yasiin Bey) used the title 'The Ecstatic' for an album, indicating LaValle's influence in popular culture.

Trivia

  • His mother emigrated from Uganda; LaValle was raised in Queens, New York.
  • Won the PEN/Open Book Award for 'Slapboxing with Jesus'.
  • 'The Ballad of Black Tom' reimagines a Lovecraft story from a Black Harlem perspective and received multiple awards and nominations.
  • Married to novelist Emily Raboteau; they have two children.