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Let the Right One In

by John Ajvide Lindqvist

4.00 · rating details · 13,332 ratings · 2,248 reviews

Let the Right One In Takes Top Honors at Tribeca Film Festival!

It is autumn 1981 when the inconceivable comes to Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenage boy is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. Twelve-year-old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last---revenge for the bullying he endures at school...more

Paperback, 472 pages

Published October 28th 2008 by St. Martin's Griffin (first published January 1st 2004)

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Community Reviews

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Dec 06, 2010

Paul rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: novels, spooky-ookums

I finally got my revenge on Sweden. For most of my life I’ve been bombarded with newspapers and radio telling me how Sweden is so much much very much absolutely completely better than Britain at practically everything. Here’s some random quotes from the BBC news archive :

“Sweden has probably the strongest freedom of information law anywhere in the world.”

“Sweden has one of the best staffed health services in the world. But as a parent, Sweden seems the perfect place to ha...more

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Mar 23, 2010

Manny rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: swedish-and-norwegian, mentions-twilight, too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts, transcendent-experiences

You know that bit at the beginning of Amadeus, where Salieri has composed this very uninspired little march, which he and the Emperor play for Mozart? Then Mozart sits down at the keyboard and says, hm, that's not quite right, is it? And he messes around with it for a couple of minutes, until he's suddenly transformed it into "Here's farewell to the games with the girls" from The Marriage of Figaro.

Well, it's like that Låt den rätte komma in and Twilight. John Ajvide Lindq...more

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Nov 20, 2011

Kat Kennedy rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: kat-s-book-reviews, i-learned-something-new, leaves-awesomeness-behind, books-i-want-for-christmas, favorites

Imagine for a moment that you were at an event, like the 1995 Rugby World cup where South Africa both hosted and won. Imagine being there in the heat of that moment - the cheer and ebulation. That light, almost unreal sense that the world has faded away and there is only that moment. Nothing else is important and you want to quietly capture the complete bliss you are experiencing and put it in a bottle somewhere. Hopefully at some future date you can take it out and rekindle those emotions a...moreImagine for a moment that you were at an event, like the 1995 Rugby World cup where South Africa both hosted and won. Imagine being there in the heat of that moment - the cheer and ebulation. That light, almost unreal sense that the world has faded away and there is only that moment. Nothing else is important and you want to quietly capture the complete bliss you are experiencing and put it in a bottle somewhere. Hopefully at some future date you can take it out and rekindle those emotions and bask in that one, perfect moment again.

Then imagine that you are standing outside of a train station. A train has just crashed in front of you. Pleople are screaming, and the stench of smoking meat is tickling your nose as your eyes sting and water. There's that same feeling. That feeling of, "Is this really happening?" Light. Dizzy. Disbelief. Overwhelming to the point of nausea. You can't forget that moment. It will haunt you. Every time you catch a wiff of smoke those memories will come flooding back, whether you want them to or not.

Same feelings, at their most basic level, but entirely different in their mode. In the first situation you jump and holler. You'll hug those around you, even if you don't know them, and celebrate together. Knitted into temporary friendship because you're experiencing the same, awesome event. For weeks later you'll tell anybody who listens that you were there. You'll tell them about how incredible it was and try to impart on them some semblance of what you felt.

Cut back to the second scenario where you'll stand quietly in solidarity with those around you. Once again, knitted together. Brothers and sisters formed from tragedy. You may hold each other and gather around silently. When other people ask you about it, you'll get that look in your eyes that tells them you've seen things.

You're just as altered as the first scene, but where there was ebulation then, there is horror now.

This is what happens when I read certain books. Books like Stolen fit in the first category. They touch me and move me, so I run around telling everyone that I read it. It was amazing. Share in this experience with me. I want to help you feel what I felt.

Then there are books like this. Now I quietly tell you that I read it. That it touched me. Changed me. I look you in the eye and I don't want to elaborate. I quitely turn away and think a little bit more on what I've seen and read, and how it made me feel.

And maybe if you've read a book like this too, you might be able to understand why there's really nothing more for me to say.

(less)

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Oct 08, 2011

Stephen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: horror, ebooks, audiobook, dark-and-gritty, 2000-2005, fang-bangers, children-behaving-badly, the-creeps

Soiled…soiled and a bit emotionally off-kilter.

That’s the best I can do to describe how this book made me feel. It’s dark, morose and...really…really...REALLY…creepy. Not strange sounds and creaking doors creepy. Creepy like that "overly affectionate" uncle who stares at you too often and always wants a hug that lasts for an inappropriate length of time. That kind of creepy.

This book oozes it.

The working class Swedish suburb where the story takes pl...more

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Apr 30, 2009

Tatiana rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, favorites, mysteries-thrillers-horror, b

As seen on The Readventurer

I can't even find the words to describe how much I LOVED this novel. But let me start by warning Twilight lovers that this book is not about sexy sparkly vampires and teenage love. If you are not ready to read about ugly realities of human life, do not open this book.

It is not an easy book to read. The story is complex and involves many characters, whose presence sometimes is just momentary. The action moves from one character to another very quick...more

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Jul 18, 2010

Esteban del Mal rated it

Recommends it for: People who wonder what a baby made by Bram Stoker and William Golding would look like

Shelves: fantasy-horror-scifi, fiction, novel

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
I think I saw you in the shadows
I move in closer beneath your windows
Who would suspect me of this rapture?

And who but my black hearted love
And who but my black hearted love

-- PJ Harvey, "Black Hearted Love"

*****

It's been a rough week.

Our fish died, giving my young, beautiful, precocious, cherished and oh-so vulnerable daughter her first glimpse at Death. It was my first r...more

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Feb 02, 2011

Kristen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: nerdypursuits-scififantasy

Terrifying, engrossing and a book that encompasses many different topics. Not just a story about vampires; this book takes on such issues as bullying, revenge, pedophilia, prostitution, drug use, alcoholism and the sheer desperation of loneliness. Beautifully written and terribly disturbing. This book sets the bar for the genre.

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Oct 27, 2010

Kemper rated it

Shelves: scandinavian-mayhem, horror, vampires

After watching the Swedish movie this book is based on, I thought it was an intensely creepy film and promptly got the book to check out the full story. I figured that the planned American film version would be a pale shadow of the original because there’s no way that a Hollywood movie studio is going to show that messed up tale in it’s original form to audiences in the U.S. Little did I know that even the Swedish producers didn’t have the collective nutsack to give us the full story on how go...moreAfter watching the Swedish movie this book is based on, I thought it was an intensely creepy film and promptly got the book to check out the full story. I figured that the planned American film version would be a pale shadow of the original because there’s no way that a Hollywood movie studio is going to show that messed up tale in it’s original form to audiences in the U.S. Little did I know that even the Swedish producers didn’t have the collective nutsack to give us the full story on how goddamn twisted the book is.

Set in the early ‘80s, it features a 12 year old boy named Oskar whose alcoholic father and overprotective mother are divorced. Oskar is an outcast and is badly bullied by other kids in his class, and he’s developing a pretty good case of homicidal rage because of it. In fact, he’s well on his way to becoming the kind of guy who dances around his basement while screaming at his latest victim to put the lotion on it’s skin or else it gets the hose again.

Before Oskar completely turns into Buffalo Bill, he meets Eli, a deadly vampire who appears to be a 12 year old girl. Oskar and Eli strike up an unlikely friendship that’s almost a pre-adolescent romance, but things are going off the rails around them. Eli’s version of Renfield is a creepy pedophile who is jealous of their relationship and can’t be counted on to keep Eli supplied with fresh blood. When Eli’s need for food makes her sloppy, the results are victims and traces that threaten to reveal her. Juvenile delinquents, Swedish alcoholics, a strict cop, a jar of acid and a herd of cats all collide in a variety of terrible ways.

This is a gloriously gruesome and disturbing horror novel that would probably cause Stephanie Meyer to have a stroke if she ever even dared to hold a copy of it in her hackish little hands. Like the best horror novels, the gore and monsters aren’t the scary parts, it’s the way that the ’normal’ people treat each other that will really haunt you. (less)

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Oct 02, 2009

Kasia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: scared-shitless, vampires, horror, scandinavian, lovely-covers

It's bumming me out. 50 pages in and I'm giving up. I don't think I can take this much gore any longer. It's disturbing. I need at least one likable character - someone to root for, only then I can take in gore, serial murderers, pedophilia and such. Without somebody to identify with, suffering through one violent description after another is no fun. This was no fun.

And now I'm fighting this urge: I want to crawl in under the table, wrap myself up in a blanket, stuck a thumb into my...more

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view all 20 comments

Chrissy I know it may come as a shock, but you can learn things from more than one book.... and I'm not just talking about hackneyed grand morals either. It's...more
Aug 26, 2011 07:58pm

Doug I did not say, nor imply, that Crime and Punishment was the ONLY book that could give some insight into human nature, nor that it negates other books'...more
Aug 27, 2011 10:54am

Jan 01, 2009

Jeff rated it

· review of another edition

Having seen the film before reading the novel, I'm less impressed than I might have been had the experiences been reversed. I was engaged throughout, but compared to Lindqvist's screenplay, the novel felt bloated and overtly prurient (while Tomas Alfredson's film was more atmospheric, nuanced, erotic, morally ambiguous, and mesmerizing). Every episode cut from the novel during the adaptation process was absolutely necessary; and a character central to the novel (Haken) was whittled down to just ...more

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Feb 11, 2009

Nicole rated it

· review of another edition

I discovered this story when I discovered the movie. I enjoyed the film so much I wanted to know more. "Let the Right One In" is in some ways unrelentingly grim. There a lot of horrifying things in it that have absolutely nothing to do with the supernatural, especially if you stop to really thing about them. The horror itself is good too. I've read tons of vampire fiction and find this to be a truly refreshing take on the genre. In terms of the characters, I thought both Oskar and Eli ...more

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Jan 14, 2009

Belinda rated it

Shelves: spooky, contempopop, meh

Call this one "The Anti-Twilight." They had me at "the Swedish Stephen King." Um, not so much.

Easily the most *interesting* read in a long time. 4 stars instead of 5, or 3, because the story--just the pure story? Meh. In itself, only just compelling enough to keep me reading. But the characters--OH, the characters. I ached for every one of them. For a classic co-dependent like me, looking into the lonely, heartache-ridden lives in this book is pure agony......moreCall this one "The Anti-Twilight." They had me at "the Swedish Stephen King." Um, not so much.

Easily the most *interesting* read in a long time. 4 stars instead of 5, or 3, because the story--just the pure story? Meh. In itself, only just compelling enough to keep me reading. But the characters--OH, the characters. I ached for every one of them. For a classic co-dependent like me, looking into the lonely, heartache-ridden lives in this book is pure agony...although most of the characters are hopelessly doomed, no matter what intervention may come.

Sounds cheery, right? Don't read this looking for a pick-me-up. There is not one happy character in this novel. There's no neat and tidy ending, happy or otherwise. Vampires are not romanticized, and they DEFINITELY don't "sparkle." There are many unanswered questions and unresolved conflicts--just like real life. The thing is beautifully crafted, and worth reading just to experience the art of the novel.

It's a real testament to the author's skill that he can create a cast of characters who are at once almost wholly irredeemable and still, somehow, sympathetic. It's a world where all are monsters, to some degree, but have been shaped that way through circumstances beyond their control.

***SPOILER ALERT***

As far as the vampire angle goes, there are far more questions than answers, and no background mythology to speak of. Something that really bothered me was the lack of backstory for Eli. I understood and appreciated the slow feed of mysterious elements from Eli's history as a suspense-building tool (goodness knows this story needed SOMETHING to create suspense, and it relied on the characters instead of the plot for that, almost completely), but what WAS Eli? Why was he castrated? He was only around 200 years old, so it's not like he came from some ancient time with unwritten rituals. Who "made" him? And if he'd "never been dead," then...well, what's up with that? The vampires he created were dead/undead, and all the other "laws" of vampire mythology seemed to apply to Eli, though he seems, despite his age, to be guessing at what's going on a lot of the time (like when he thought that Hakan couldn't come into the flat without being invited, and was wrong).

Anyway, you can tell by how much I want to discuss this book that I found it compelling. Let's just say it's all about the characters. If you're interested in artful writing, you could do a whole lot worse. If you're looking for a pounding, suspenseful, scary, plot-driven STORY, then you might want to just stick to the American Stephen King.(less)

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Apr 28, 2009

Meghan rated it

· review of another edition

*This book is now in paperback under the title Let the Right One In*

The story of Oskar, a 12 year-old boy living in a suburb of Stockholm, who is bullied mercilessly at school, has divorced parents, an alcoholic dad, suffers bouts of incontinence, shoplifts for fun, and keeps a scrapbook of newspaper clippings dealing with murder. Needless to say, for one so young, Oskar has plenty of problems, but no one to talk to.

Life becomes a bit more exciting when a strange murder o...more

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Mar 07, 2010

smetchie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fucked-up-in-a-good-way, book-club, also-saw-the-movie-or-tv-show, scared-pants-off

I can't stop thinking about the characters. Most of them weren't likable but I ended up caring for them anyway. In the way you care about your family even if they're screwed up and do really bad things. This book is gruesome, horrifying, sweet and tender. how strange.

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Nov 16, 2009

Terence rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of intelligent vampire stories

Shelves: horror-gothic

I wasn't quite sure I wanted to write an actual review/reflection about this novel. I didn't "learn" anything from this book (except maybe how not to troll for victims of my or my master's vampiric lusts?), and other reviewers here (and elsewhere) have adequately summarized the story for the interested. But in light of the flood of vampire-themed schlock we've been enduring the last few years...

For those who care - Read this novel. It's very good. It's an example of what a ...more

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Jun 04, 2008

Rebecca Wahlstedt rated it

· review of another edition

I had expectations on this book, since I got it as a homework and my teacher was all excited over it. I didn't really expect it to be so unusual though, and with unusual I mean diffrent from it's genre. It's stamped as a vampire/terror book and when you hear that you often think about dark alleys, poles, vampire hunters and so on but this is totally different. First of all it takes place in a swedish suburb in the 80's and the main character (Oscar) is a normal swedish boy who gets bullied. Then...more

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Feb 12, 2009

christa rated it

· review of another edition

I read an interview with Stephenie Meyer, writer of the "Twilight" series, where she said something about how she had taken liberties with the classic vampire story because she was writing fiction and there are no hard-fast rules about what vampires can or cannot do. So she did things like make their skin glimmer in the sunlight.

This is a laughable about of liberty -- not to mention creativity -- considering what John Ajvide Lindqvist has done with the vampire of his novel...moreI read an interview with Stephenie Meyer, writer of the "Twilight" series, where she said something about how she had taken liberties with the classic vampire story because she was writing fiction and there are no hard-fast rules about what vampires can or cannot do. So she did things like make their skin glimmer in the sunlight.

This is a laughable about of liberty -- not to mention creativity -- considering what John Ajvide Lindqvist has done with the vampire of his novel "Let The Right One In."

Oskar is a loner, whose relationship with his classmates has him on the creepy serial killer fast track. Then he meets Eli, a waify, smelly girl who is seemingly his age who lives in his apartment complex, and they forge a tentative friendship. Typing Morse code messages on the shared wall of their bedrooms, naked spooning and solving Rubik's Cubes. Eli's fatherish sort of person is a pedophile, who kills people and drains their blood so Eli can eat lunch. Although sometimes she just goes out on her own, drops from a tree and mauls a victim herself. In a sort of nod to Melrose Place, the apartment complex also houses a drunk posse of friends -- one of whom Eli treats like a Snackable -- who are trying to make sense of the deaths while negotiating a deep fog of the drink.

In some ways this book was a lot like the Tammy Hoag novel you buy spontaneously while waiting for some blue hair in front of you to organize her cat food coupons at the grocery store. Other times, particularly the parts involving Eli and Oskar, or even just Eli in kill-kill-kill mode, are really amazing in the way they show the hunger for simple needs like love and food. And then there are a handful of side plots that add to the bulk and maybe are necessary in order to give everyone a face and back story, but unnecessary because of the added bulk: Tommy, who lives in the complex, is struggling with accepting his mother's new boyfriend; One of Oskar's bullies wants to learn more about his father.

A small section of the book is written from the perspective of a squirrel.
There are battles against the undead that read like something out of a Batman script.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read, more of a "huh" than a "meh" on my personal Richter Scale, but hardly anything that deserves an exclamation point. I liked these flawed and messy characters, who don't have an ounce of cliche. Although, I'm not sure how it got so long: my soft cover version has 471 pages.

(less)

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Oct 19, 2009

Hannah rated it

Shelves: horror

Let me preface my 3-star rating by saying that if this were the type of book I generally read, this would no doubt be 5 stars. As it is not, consider my 3-stars as the highest rating I can give this novel. By any account, this is a masterpiece of it's genre.

Let the Right One In is not for the squeamish. Not for the easily despressed. Definitely not for the teen looking for the next "Twilight". This is not your mother's "Dracula".

This novel is rele...more

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May 25, 2011

Krys rated it

Shelves: medium-length-book, horror-thriller, vampires, third-person-narrative, book-group-read, read-in-2011

I'm trying to figure out how best to talk about this one. I started reading Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist for a book group with my girlfriends. I did not choose this one, however, I have been looking forward to it for a while. It's supposed to be the scariest, best Vampire tale. Ever. Period. End of story.

For the record, it's terrifying. So much so that I couldn't read it at night. It freaked me out too much. That said, it's not the vampire parts of the book that I fo...moreI'm trying to figure out how best to talk about this one. I started reading Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist for a book group with my girlfriends. I did not choose this one, however, I have been looking forward to it for a while. It's supposed to be the scariest, best Vampire tale. Ever. Period. End of story.

For the record, it's terrifying. So much so that I couldn't read it at night. It freaked me out too much. That said, it's not the vampire parts of the book that I found disturbing.

Wow. Trying to figure out how to talk about this... it's really tough. The book is about a small suburb in Sweden called Blackeberg. A boy named Oskar lives with his mother in an apartment complex. He goes to school and is frequently bullied by a group of boys there. He befriends the neighbour girl, Eli, whose strange quirks keep him fascinated. She only comes out at night, she insists on being invited over thresholds, and she continues to look like shes wasting away one night only to appear lush and healthy the next. Oskar is concerned... he's falling in love with her... but he doesn't know how to handle it.

Sounds simple right? I'm afraid it's a lot more complex than that. There are tons of side plots, side characters, and side intrigues that make up this whole book. It's like watching the ending of Requiem for a Dream... it's frenetic and daunting in places and very, very haunting. One of the side lines comes from a man named Hakan, who lives with Eli. Hakan. Is. Grotesque. I do not like him. I did not like reading him. In fact, every time he came onto the page I was knocked out of the book. Viscerally knocked out. If I tell you why it would ruin a major plot in the book... so I won't. Just, trust me. He's a creepy, bloody, character. I did not enjoy reading him. I wanted him to be out of this book. He ruined a good chunk of the story for me.

That said, the relationship between Oskar and Eli saves the book. It's sweet and tender while in tandem remains frightening. You never know what is going to happen. If it was just concentrated on them (as I am told the Swedish film is) I would have loved it... 5 star book. But, the constancy of Hakan's presence in the book drags it down to a 2. I hated him. So much. Considering that, I'll give the book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. It's nothing I would ever pick up again (I don't really need to, the images are burned in my brain). However, I will be seeing the movie, at least the Swedish one. The American version looks wah-wah... even with the inclusion of Chloe Moretz.

yeah. 3.5 out of 5 stars. Sounds right. If you want something really effing creepy... this would probably do it.

- review courtesy of www.bibliopunkk.net (less)

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Dec 12, 2009

rachel rated it

Shelves: do-not-own, sweden-what-is-going-on-there, 2009, read-for-one-of-four-book-clubs

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Massive and scattered, so my thoughts are all scattered too. It doesn't make for happy review writing.

Um. I liked the vampire? I wouldn't mind spending more time with her/him. And I liked Lindqvist's vampire technicalities: the cluster of cells in the chest, the 5 BPM heart rate, mentally growing and losing the fangs when it's time to hunt.

The drunks were sympathetic characters. I liked them, too.

OK, complaints.

1.) Is it hypocritical for m...moreMassive and scattered, so my thoughts are all scattered too. It doesn't make for happy review writing.

Um. I liked the vampire? I wouldn't mind spending more time with her/him. And I liked Lindqvist's vampire technicalities: the cluster of cells in the chest, the 5 BPM heart rate, mentally growing and losing the fangs when it's time to hunt.

The drunks were sympathetic characters. I liked them, too.

OK, complaints.

1.) Is it hypocritical for me, as a fan of exploitation and horror films, to hate on this book for its graphic pedophilia? Probably. And I even feel like the graphic descriptions were justified, although I didn't understand why undead Håkan suddenly lost control of the rationality that stopped him from trying to molest Eli as a human. (Clearly the undead/vampires are capable of being rational. Eli could restrain herself from killing every human she came in contact with, no?) I truly hope the logic behind it was not that Håkan-vampire's erection was "unfinished business" that he was just trying to relieve. Because really. REALLY.

2.) Oskar as a character was unpleasant and flat. I only cared about him in relation to Eli, so I definitely did not care about his backstory or the backstory of any of the boys he knew -- the latter of which was a big part of the book, for no apparent reason. I skimmed a lot of that and thought that in a nearly 500 page book, it could easily have been edited out and the book would not have suffered.

I mean, I guess the extraneous backstory is all there for us to understand the desolation of this Swedish neighborhood and the lives of the people in it. But I already got that from Oskar's bullying and the drunks and the cold, snowy landscape, and the fact that there's a PEDOPHILE ROAMING THE STREETS TRYING TO SEX CHILDREN AND ALSO, KILLING THEM AND DRAINING THEIR BLOOD.

3.) The change in tense in the Virginia scene was pretty messy. Don't know whether that's the fault of the writer, the translator, or the editor.

Overall, I didn't hate this book. I just didn't like it. There are definitely compelling moments, but 90% of them involve Eli, Lacke, and Virginia. And there's a whole lot of this book that isn't about those three. (less)

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Jan 03, 2009

Tara rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of literary horror

Recommended to Tara by: The film trailer

There's been a lot of international buzz about this film. The trailer was intriguing, so I went out on a limb to pick up the book, which was a bestseller in Sweden. Believe me, it takes a lot anymore to get me to even consider reading a vampire novel, but this is simply unlike any other work in the genre. I'd even hesitate to call this a "genre novel," although it is certainly horrifying. Indeed, it's possibly the creepiest, most unusual horror novel I've ever read. The most basic plot...more

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Jan 24, 2009

Leah rated it

· review of another edition

I first saw the movie with my brother...it drew me in and took me away...was beautifully shot with rich color and the characters were perfect. My heart went out to them...innocence and first loves along with heartache and growing pains. I fell in love with it all.

For Christmas my brother truly suprised me with this book and I couldn't wait to tear into it. Basically it reaffirmed my thinking on some parts of the movie that I was not completely sure on-filled in the blank spots an...more

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Feb 03, 2009

Elke rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: vampires, novels, german, favorites, review

Besonders beeindruckt an dem Buch hat mich der Schreibstil und die dadurch geschaffene Atmosphaere. Alles wirkt grau, trist und einsam. Die anonyme Wohnsiedlung und das kalte Winterwetter spiegeln perfekt die beklemmende Trostlosigkeit wieder, die im Leben der Charaktere, vor allem von Oskar, herrscht. Das alles aendert sich mit der Ankunft von Eli.

Obwohl - oder gerade weil - der Autor absolut nuechtern und sachlich schreibt und jegliche Ausschmueckung seiner Saetze vermeidet, hat da...more

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Dec 31, 2008

Mike rated it

· review of another edition

I decided this was the perfect holiday rejoinder, grey Swedish tones and a dash of horror. I also wanted to finish it up before managing to get out to the highly-touted adaptation...

... but the book was even better than hoped, and all-around fantastic: grim and horrifying, then slyly funny and revealing, about the viciousness and loneliness of adolescence (and of a certain strand of alcoholism, and of the constraints of class); then a whole other horrible using the tropes of vampire...more

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Jan 19, 2012

Brandon James rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 10, 2008

Jenny rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

The book is easily as great as the film. I am no fan of the horror genre-- not a sworn enemy, just not a big fan. But I can hardly tear myself away from LtROi. The worst thing about it, really, is that I'm reading it a little too fast. Well, yes, it's also absolutely extremely grotesque, no amount of hyperbole could match the original effect, and that's hard to take. I don't normally read gross stuff, as I said, so I'm not sure how it rates in the genre, but judging from the other reviews on thi...more

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Mar 17, 2009

Shanon rated it

Shelves: 2009, horror, stand-alone, vampires-dark

Let me start off by saying that my favorite scene was the one told from the point-of-view of the squirrel. One of the few scenes I actually was able to giggle.

I am completely impressed with this author and his ability to weave a tale so descriptive, real, disturbing and yet enjoyable. I did not find any of the characters likable but was, never the less, pulled into each of their stories. Despite not being overly fond of the main characters I found myself cheering for Oskar and El...more

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Feb 13, 2009

Matt rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Matt by: Mike Reynolds

Shelves: horror, previously-abandoned

I've been striking out a lot lately when trying new books.

I don't consume much horror fiction. I can sink my teeth in Edgar Allen Poe and thrill to the chill of H.P.Lovecraft, but for the most part I find I don't have a taste for modern horror. But I've been trying to broaden my reading interests if only because I sometimes feel I've tapped out Sci-Fi and that I need some new blood.

I read this novel under the American title of 'Let me in'. I only got about 150 page...moreI've been striking out a lot lately when trying new books.

I don't consume much horror fiction. I can sink my teeth in Edgar Allen Poe and thrill to the chill of H.P.Lovecraft, but for the most part I find I don't have a taste for modern horror. But I've been trying to broaden my reading interests if only because I sometimes feel I've tapped out Sci-Fi and that I need some new blood.

I read this novel under the American title of 'Let me in'. I only got about 150 pages in before giving up on it, so keep that qualifier in mind when considering the review.

'Let me in' is set in the dark Sweden of what I sincerely hope is someone's over the top nightmare and not a reflection of actual life there. In this Sweden, everything everyone owns is stolen, drugs are ordinary, violence is commonplace, serial killers are on the loose, virtually every male is an alcoholic, and catamite slaves with their teeth busted out of there jaws are to be had at the public library. To additionally inflict upon the characters of this dark vision a supernatural horror seemed to me to be cruel and unnecessary, but I suppose such a setting is necessary if you set out to justify the monster's existence.

Frankly, I think the over the top 'edginess' detracted from the numinous horror that makes for a good 'ghost story'. Sure, Stephen King makes Maine seem like the ninth circle of Hell, but he buries this horror under the veneer of the ordinary and even pastoral so that when he finally does put the monster on stage it seems extraordinarily monsterous. In a world where people are bashing the teeth out of children to make them better sexual objects, vampires and anything else less than real are simply lame distractions.

The protagonist Oskar is a truly pathetic victim that goes over the top in helpless nerd convention. Oskar has a burgeoning taste for the occult, has come to identify with monsters, and is already in the first stage of acting out the transference of his vengeance of the wrongs done to him onto innocent things. Oskar is stuck in early childhood, abandoned by his abusive father, abandoned by his friends about the time he enters adolescence and is unable to make the emotional progress to adulthood given the trauma he daily suffers. Next door to our young would be serial killer lives a young girl; it will be spoiling nothing to reveal she is a vampire.

The vampire girl is the most potentially interesting character of the story, but I found her characterization to be somewhat flat. After some initial mutual rejection rituals are dispensed with, the boy becomes romantically attracted to the young girl, who tolerates his presence for some combination of reasons of her own which I suspect will be impossible to tease away from her monstrous nature.

The vampire girl Eli seemed to me to be a study in pedophilia, only reversing the usual problems. In pedophilia, it is normally the child in the relationship who is 'loved' solely because of a transient attribute of there nature - their youth. But in the case of Eli, it is the pedophile himself who’s 'loved' solely because of his passing youth, and it is the 'child' who dominates the relationship physically and emotionally and who is using the adult. We are made to understand that Eli has relied on manipulating a succession of serial killers into taking care of her. When the story begins, her current ghoulish minion is wearing out and becoming too old. He's increasingly a threat to her, and Eli begins transferring her attentions to Oskar. Whether this is entirely duplicitous on her part or whether she feels some true feelings for Oskar, I couldn't say because I didn't finish the book, but I suspect that the answer is pretty much as irrelevant as asking whether a pedophile feels some true tenderness toward the children he abuses.

What happens from there, I don't know, but I suspect I can envision most of it based on the conflicts the first portion of the story has set up and the tone the author has set. There will be more bloody murders. There will be a violent conflict between the new suitor Oskar, and the old flame which will almost certainly result in the old flames grisly but deserved death. There will be violence visited on Oskar by his tormentors, and all out retribution visited on them by his vampire patron. The cop with the bag of heroin introduced in scene one will play some role, and most of the other characters introduced thus far (if not all of them) will have with painful untimely deaths. Finally, the story will end in one of two ways, either Romantically with Oskar killing Eli despite the fact that he loves her, or Nihilistically with Oskar serving Eli despite the fact that he doesn't love her. Personally, I would vote for Romantic, but I'm probably in the minority in that so I'm guessing the other.

Either way, I couldn't keep interested enough in the story or the characters to plow through all the gory posturing to find out.
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Jan 26, 2009

Megan rated it

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and creepy. I was able to sympathize with the characters, even if they did wicked things. I would have given it five stars if the ending was better. I'm looking forward to watching the movie when it comes out on DVD.

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Feb 05, 2009

Sramosobriant o rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: vampire-lit

Hakan is to Eli as Renfield was to Dracula, only with a sick twist. He worships Eli, but it’s his sexual compulsion which drives the truly horrific, and the sickly comic, aspects of this story. He supplies her with blood . . . at a price, but his ineptitude leads to his capture. Even here, Eli takes pity on him, but her sympathy leads to a further twist in the story and Hakan becomes a zombie with an erection. This is new in vampire lit. It is also social commentary. Hakan is a pedophile who wil...more

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About John Ajvide Lindqvist

John Ajvide Lindqvist (Johan Ajvide Lindqvist) is a Swedish author who grew up in Blackeberg, the setting for Let the Right One In. Wanting to become something awful and fantastic, he first became a conjurer, and then was a stand-up comedian for twelve years. He has also written for Swedish television.

Let the Right One In was a bestseller in Sweden and was named Best Novel in Translati...more

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Quotes from Let the Right One In

“Are you OLD?"
"No. I'm only twelve. But I've been that for a long time.” — 34 people liked it

“No respect for beauty - that was characteristic of today's society. The work of the great masters were at most employed as ironic references or in advertising. Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam " where you see a pair of jeans in place of the spark.

The whole point of the picture at least as he saw it was that these two monumental bodies each came to an end in two index fingers that almost but not quite touched. There was a space between them a millimeter or so wide. And in this space: life. The sculptural enormity and richness of detail of this picture was simply a frame a backdrop to emphasize the crucial void in the center. The point of emptiness that contained everything.

And in its place someone had superimposed a pair of jeans.” — 6 people liked it

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