June 2017 - Group Read #1 - Let the Right One In

[Bryndís]

spoiler zondag 8 november (evening)'!
(view spoiler)[ I really like that something nightmarish happens when vampires in this book enter whitout permission. It is so much better than just not being able to enter. nice and creepy and so original! ^^ It's a little less scary than in the movie, though, becasue she makes this little uncomfertable creepy sound with it in the movie and that just adds to the whole experience
I like the book better than the movie in that it tells a little about Eli's past. It's a little cofusing though....<3 (hide spoiler)]

I'm really enjoying re-reading this book!

[Nancy]

Bryndís wrote: "Nancy wrote: "I enjoyed the book and I liked the relationship between Oskar and Eli. There were a few things though that need explaining. They just don't quite make sense."

like?"

I'll put in spoiler tags ....

(view spoiler)[ so why did Virginia turn into a vampire but not Håkan? I feel like whatever the reason is, is why Eli had his penis removed but Eli still turned into a vampire and not into whatever undead thing Håkan became. (hide spoiler)] I was reading this on a road trip and maybe I missed the explanation with kids or husband interruptions. It's just annoying when something isn't clear when everything else had an explanation.

[Bryndís]

Nancy wrote: "Bryndís wrote: "Nancy wrote: "I enjoyed the book and I liked the relationship between Oskar and Eli. There were a few things though that need explaining. They just don't quite make sense."

like?"
..."

(view spoiler)[ Virginia -and not hakan- became a vampire because she was infected but didn't die. She was still there, but the infection was too. Hakan was infected and then killed himself after, so there was just the infection raging in and empty body and not Hakan's mind (soul if you will) too = not vampire, just monster.
I don't know about the penis thing either. (hide spoiler)]

[Graeme]

I'm with Bryndis (view spoiler)[on Hakan. WRT the penis thing, I attribute that to the evil violence of Eli's maker. (hide spoiler)]

[Bryndís]

finished =(

the ending is a lot less obvious in the book compaired to the movie. I forgot about that. I like it ^^
really loved reading this one again!

[Nancy]

Graeme Rodaughan wrote: "I'm with Bryndis [spoilers removed]"

Except that Håkan had an almost (view spoiler)[perpetual hard on (hide spoiler)]. I thought it was an odd quirk for an undead monster.

[Graeme]

@Nancy. Than he was obsessed with Eli.

[Greg]

Bryndis is correct (view spoiler)[about the difference between Virginia's transformation and that of Håkan. If I remember this correctly, when Eli came to visit him at his hospital window he became aroused by the vampire's presence but he chose to kill himself rather than be turned. I think Eli tried to turn him so that his injuries would disappear and he could escape police custody. However, the process of transformation occurred as he committed suicide, leaving him disfigured (the self-inflicted acid burn, the broken neck from the fall) and with a permanent state of arousal. This has the effect of making him truly horrific in appearance and behaviour in an effort, I think, to make Eli seem more human and vulnerable. But, of course, Eli is an ancient vampire who is not afraid of killing people (or of getting someone to do his killing for him). (hide spoiler)]

[Nancy]

Eli didn't want to (view spoiler)[kill Håkan. He wanted her to do it. He said he wanted to be with her and not rotting in a jail cell. Eli asked "what do you want me to do?" Håkan replied by gesturing to his throat. Eli said "That would mean I'd have to kill you...after." SHe thought of turning him so his injuries would heal but not when she was actually at the hospital. She told Håkan she would have to kill him. He asked her to do it.

Don't forget Jocke. Eli broke his neck after so he couldn't turn. SO dying after being bit does not turn you into an undead monster. If you guys are saying that the fall from the window was just enough extra time for him to get the infection going, then I don't like it. She could have helped him die another way. That whole section and then with Tommy was not necessary to the story. For me it took something away from the story.

Now that I think of it, If she could just pay some one to slice open their arm and take a few liters of blood, then why isn't she doing that? They whole point was so he would have to come back and check on Tommy so Håkan would come and find him. Not necessary. They lived in the other building. Håkan would have gone back to their apartment. So once again, not necessary to the main story and just thrown in to have that whole part with Tommy bashing its head in over and over and over . (hide spoiler)]

I liked the book and the relationship between Eli and Oskar but those parts just made me roll my eyes and took the book down a notch.

[Maria Hill]

I am only 50 pages in but loving it!

[Bryndís]

Nancy wrote: Eli didn't want...

(view spoiler)[ Yes, I agree with you.
But in the given information, the whole die after infection theory is right. (Jocke didn't turn, because she snapped his neck, so the blood couldn't reach his brain (it's literally explained in the book when Hakan finds the body))

But to the story it was totally unnecessary, I think you're right (probably why they cut it out off the movie...) (hide spoiler)]

[Bryndís]

Maria wrote: "I am only 50 pages in but loving it!"

Great! Hope you love the rest of it too! Let us know what you think!

[Maxine]

I am absolutely loving this! Exceptionally good!

[Maria Hill]

Bryndís wrote: "Maria wrote: "I am only 50 pages in but loving it!"

Great! Hope you love the rest of it too! Let us know what you think!"

Reading several books at once so only starting part 3 of this but great so far. I describe it as a blend of Nordic suspense with early Stephen King. I have noticed both movies are on Netflix so I may watch them after I finish it.

[kay]

I'm enjoying it! Not sure why it's taking me so long, I'm about halfway through. At this point I really like reading from Lacke's perspective.

[Melissa]

Oh good, I read this one already.

[Maria Hill]

I think I am reading slower than normal as we have just hit Summer in Ireland and the nights are too hot to sleep. I am at the 57% point.

I am enjoying the location is Sweden and the feeling of the early 80's. It works really well for a horror - you are not going to simply phone someone on your mobile/cell phone etc.

It's nice to read about snow and ice - when it's hot out. I loved the description to the taxi man looking up and the snowflake falling in his eye. I am looking forward to finishing so I can see the film and see how it's been translated into a visual medium.

[Greg]

Maria wrote: "I think I am reading slower than normal as we have just hit Summer in Ireland and the nights are too hot to sleep. I am at the 57% point. ."

It'll be raining in Ireland next week!

[Myst]

Grr, I put a hold on this a week ago, and the book hasn't been taken off the shelf for transport yet.

I've seen both movies and I think I thought the swedish version was better, but they were both good. It's been years though since I saw them.

[Suki]

I found the book to be a quick, enjoyable read with an interesting twist on the vampire mythos. I was interested in reading the book because I had heard that the movie was excellent, so of course I want to read the book first.

There was one thing I was wondering about:

(view spoiler)[

When Tommy was locked in the shelter with the thing that used to be Håkan, there is a point where he has lost his lighter, the room is in pitch darkness, yet the room was "illuminated for a second with blue-white light, like from a flash...". I was wondering if that meant that he had been infected when Eli drank from his arm, and his ability to see in the dark for that brief flash was the infection starting to take hold.

I was glad that Oskar and Eli seem to be headed for a happy ending, or at least as happy as their style of existence will allow.

(hide spoiler)]

[Hoff]

Greg wrote: "Andrew wrote: "Greg wrote: "Andrew wrote: "I truly enjoyed the book and it's short story follow up - ."

I didn't know there was a short story follow-up. ..."

I had no idea there was a follow-up! This is a great reason to re-read the original, as I try and track this puppy down.

Thanks for the heads-up!

[Carrie (brightbeautifulthings)]

I slogged through this. Eli and Oskar are the most interesting characters on the page, and the perspective is constantly bouncing around to other people who will never show up again. I feel like the films exceed the novel at least in that respect, since they're able to cut out all the unnecessary subplots. I just couldn't get into it.

[Maria Hill]

I really enjoyed this and it is probably one of the goriest visceral vampire stories I have read of date. It beats Stephen King. Infact, I think only Salems lot and this one makes a good attempt at horror? Bram Stroker and Anne Rice are wrapped up in the romance of their Vampires. I don't think glittery Vampires count :) and Buffy vampires very handily turn to dust.

The ending though kind of petered out for me. MaybeI need to read Let the Old Dreams Die .

Onwards to the movies which I will watch on Netflix. More exciting is I have just found out that this is a play as well and it's coming to the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in time for Halloween - how on earth are they going to do this on stage??? I absolutely must get tickets.

[Melissa]

I'm about 1/2 way through this and....wow! This is definitely satisfying the horror fiction craving. It is TRULY scary and getting better by the page. I've put both the Swedish and American versions of the movie on my watchlist, but I won't watch until I've finished the book.

[Kasia]

I got sidetracked but I'm back at it, really good story, reads fast actually. I especially like the moments when you think something else happened to a certain person, really witty.

[Myst]

It had a slow start, but I'm somewhere past 50%. Hoping to finish it tonight/early tomorrow so I can do a library run tomorrow.

[Maria Hill]

Myst wrote: "It had a slow start, but I'm somewhere past 50%. Hoping to finish it tonight/early tomorrow so I can do a library run tomorrow."

Hope you enjoy it now you have gotten a good start.

[Lena]

This is a YouTube Video Spoiler I enjoyed for Let The Old Dreams Die because I was curious but not enough to read more Lindqvist. Not soon anyway...
https://youtu.be/Qzo99f-_5w4

[Kasia]

Finally finished yesterday, omg so good, the last 10 pages took me forever to read, I thought my heart was going to hammer out of my chest.