Algernon Blackwood Review: The Prayer

“The Prayer” is frustrating but compelling. It offers a window to aspects of 1914 that few works touch.

The first thing to jump out is the Irish friend, O’Malley. He is not presented as a cop, a drunk, or a believer in leprechauns–I am sure Blackwood did not intend the depiction to be negative but it seems like he’s Irish for the sake of having a non-WASP in the mix (after I wrote this, it occurred to me that Lovecraft probably didn’t intend for the depiction of many of his minority characters to be negative either).

Years ago the cartoon Super Friends added several new heroes to diversify the all white team. This move sparked many claims of racism and cluelessness but I think it could have been much worse. O’Malley strikes me as a 1914 version of Black Vulcan or El Dorado–not good but not crossing the line either.

Awkward depictions of minorities isn’t too much of a surprise from a story written over a century ago. However, a presenting psychedelic recreational drugs in a good light wasn’t expected. O’Malley got his hands on a new drug, one allowing the user to see thoughts.

After taking the drug, O’Malley’s non-Irish friend begins to see thoughts, either bright or dark, leave a thinker’s head and fly into others. They meet a cop who is apparently okay with their drug use but is intent on catching a thief. Just before the thief is about to strike, a gold thought swoops into his head and he turns away from crime.

Puzzled, the two thought-junkies follow the trail of the gold thoughts and trace them back to the thief’s father who is spreading goodness through his prayers. (I would put up a spoiler alert but Blackwood gave away the ending in the title.)

The twist seemed more corny than what I expected out of Blackwood. That part felt more like something August Derleth would come up with (although I doubt if Derleth would be as permissive on drugs).

I don’t know if I’ve read enough of Blackwood to say what is typical in his writing or not. It makes me want to read more to find out but it also worries me to an extent.

Overall, although the ending seems corny to me, I would recommend “The Prayer” to casual Blackwood readers to get a better feel for his range.