Let the Right One In: A Novel

Paul Genesse

INCREDIBLE AND GRIPPING NOVEL

"Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (English translator: Ebba Segerberg 2008) Incredible and gripping vampire novel, one of the best books I've ever read in the genre, Let the Right One In, the international bestseller by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindquvist. Five out of five stars. Before I read the novel, I watched both the Swedish and American versions of the movie, and then had to read the book to learn more about the fascinating characters. I was captivated and obsessed after watching the movies, both in the same night. I rented them from Blockbuster Video on Blu-ray, and they are available for purchase on Amazon as DVDs, On-Demand or Blu-ray. The translator (Ebba Segerberg) did a fantastic job and I highly recommend this to Stephen King fans and vampire fans. Overall, the book is in the same vein as the Anne Rice vampire novels, but with a great new spin that I shall not spoil here. Lindqvist has a fresh take on the vampire mythos, but gives many nods to the traditions of the modern genre. It's a horror novel, and it is quite gory and scary at times, but in reality. There is also a fair amount about pedophilia, and murder. Few of the characters are at all likable, but they are fascinating. Lindqvist is a master at characterization, and this book truly about finding great love. Yes, it's romantic. I swear! About Let The Right One In (Swedish movie 2008): The story is set in Sweden in 1981, and is about a 12 year old boy, Oskar, who is bullied and has some serious psychological issues. Oskar has a tough life and often fantasizes about killing his tormentors. He's going down a dark life path when a strange girl moves in next door. Her name is Eli. She does not go to school and appears to live with her father, and has absolutely no problem wearing a t-shirt and no shoes in the bitterly cold winter night. Makes you wonder what sort of person is immune to cold. Is she a little girl at all, or something more sinister? Eli and Oskar become friends and the story goes from there. The novel has a lot more than the movies, as it has several other story threads from many different characters. It's really a milieu story, showing a lot about the world and the people who live in the Stockholm suburb of Blackberg. There are some really dark and depressing characters, especially Hakan, who appears to be Eli's father. He's a very sick man. I blasted through the novel and read it in only a few days. It scared the crap out of me a couple of times and Let the Right One in is an instant classic. It's easy to understand why they made two films (Swedish and an English version) from this novel. The ending of the book was good, but the movies did it even better. I'm glad I had seen the movies first and I think seeing the movies first is the better idea, as the book is always better, so you won't be disappointed in the movies, as they do leave out a bunch. The ending was not my favorite, because I think Lindqvist wasn't sure what to do. The fantastic news is that he wrote an epilogue to the epilogue! He put out a short story collection with the epilogue to Let the Right One In, called Let the Old Dreams Die. That is the title of the story about what happens to the characters in the novel. It's a brilliant short story and fills in the gaps and explains what happened. I loved it. The short story gave me chills and I've been thinking about it for days. If you do read the book and enjoy it, you must, must, MUST, read the short story: Let the Old Dreams Die. It was a little slow, but masterfully done and you will love the ending. The most important questions are answered. The American movie is also great, though I liked the Swedish one better, Both were awesome, don't get me wrong. Both should be viewed. The Swedish one is slower, more contemplative, and the characters more likable, I think, especially Oskar. Consider watching the Swedish one first, as it's more pure and closer to the source material. The screenplay for the American version is terrific, though, and the actors top notch. The American version is faster, scarier, has more Hollywood effects, and you can tell you're watching a Hollywood horror movie. Check out these books and movies. Paul Genesse ["

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January 17, 2013 Verified Purchase

BFF

Excellent horror story, but a few bugs keeps it from 5/5

"Warning: This review may contain minor spoilers that I personally already knew before reading the book but didn't affect my enjoyment of the story. I picked up the novel because I just loved the movie so damn much and the book turned out to be pretty excellent as well. Some parts the book pulled things off better while other scenes I appreciated how the movie handled it, but each scene was better suited for its medium. The big reason most of the altered material was changed or removed was because it would have either bumped the movie's rating up to NC-17, would have required too much Hollywood CG, or the focus of the scene or subplot was just all over the place. Many redundant scenes (such as Oskar's fascination with murder news stories or Eli's inability to eat human food) were also combined together in the movie. Also while it was good to see the dead-end submarine subplot abandoned in the movie, its presence in the book does ground it into reality by letting you know that, "Yeah, there's murderers and vampires running around town trying slit your throat and suck your blood but we also have a Cold War to deal with." Another Amazon reviewer stated that Eli was a little more heartless in the book than in the movie which is true and I think the decision to humanize her in the film could have come from the fact that Alfredson and Lindqvist realized they hit a goldmine when they cast Lina Leandersson for the role and saw the raw emotion she could bring to the table. The real big selling point for the book is how the reader will appreciate how it will answer many of the issues and questions left unresolved by the movie such as why Eli spares one of the bullies at the poolside in the end or why Virginia went to visit Gosta after she was bit. Not knowing these facts won't affect your enjoyment of the movie, but going through the book after seeing the movie it was based on is like reading the script for an extended cut of the film (wise words from an art teacher I had). As much as I enjoyed this book, there were just enough bugs with it that I just can't justify giving it a 5/5 as much as I would want to. First, I was surprised to see how many blatant spelling and grammar errors (I counted around 6) which I've never spotted that many in a published book before. This is obviously not Lindqvist's fault since he didn't translate it and it didn't interrupt from the story (it actually provided a cheap laugh or two) but I'm surprised the story wasn't given another once-over before the new edition was printed to coincide with the movie's release. Another problem I had was that there were inconsistencies with the laws of the universe. Lindqvist couldn't decide whether or not post-mortem Hakan was a vampire or a zombie after he was bit since he lacked many vampire weaknesses such as being required to be let into a building and being able to live without a heart. Some explanation would have been nice on why he performed differently than other vampires. Another inconsistency was that there was no hard fast rule as to what buildings a vampire had to be invited into. Eli could walk into a hospital atrium or an apartment hallway without invitation but is required to be invited into any occupied apartments or hospital rooms which made perfect sense but this was thrown out the window when Eli was required to be invited into a public pool to save Oskar. These hindrances aside, you'll love how many of the traditional vampire rules are present in this story along with a few new interesting ones like what happens if a vampire enters a dwelling uninvited or what animals don't take kindly to vampires. I feel that what truly makes a horror story horrifying is the addition of real life terrors that could affect us and Lindqvist nails this aspect on the head many times. Vampires ripping your head off can be almost comical since we all know they are not real and therefore cannot do those things. However, when you have despicable human taking care of a monster who is represented by a 12 year old girl for the sole reason that in hopes that he can one day molest her, that really grounds the story in a surreality because something like child molestation or kids picking on you at school can really happen and it's those things that really make us scared or feel sorry for someone. If that's your definition of good horror, throw this book into your shopping cart immediately. There are no 2D cardboard characters in this story. ["

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January 9, 2009 Verified Purchase

Whitt Patrick Pond

A masterpiece of unsettling but deeply absorbing originality

"John Ajvide Lindqvist's Let Me In (aka Let The Right One In, depending on the edition) is absolutely one of the best novels of its kind that I've read in years. To attempt to categorize it as simply a horror novel or a vampire novel is not to give it its full due. The most apt comparison I can make is that it's something of a cross between Stephen King at his very best and, oddly enough, Henry Thoreau in that its characters all seem driven by "lives of quiet desperation". For those of you who are wanting to read the novel after having seen the film version, there are a few differences from the film. It won't hurt to tell you that in the novel, Eli's guardian does not die at the hospital, and that there is another plotline involving other characters that was left out of the film entirely (it became irrelevant after the guardian's plotline was changed). But that said, you will not be disappointed. Everything that made the film what it was is in the novel and then some, with edges far sharper than in the film. The novel takes you in much deeper into the lives of the characters, where things are rarely black and white and even the most seemingly unsympathetic of them become at least somewhat sympathetic when seen from the inside. While there are many characters and a number of plotlines going on, at the heart of the story are Oskar and Eli. Oskar is twelve, bullied, a lonely passive victim who fantasizes about revenge. You can see the seeds growing in him, see a future scenario of the sort you read about in the papers where the victim becomes the victimizer in a bloody act of unfocused rage. Eli is also twelve... sort of. And not a victim. Eli is a survivor, no matter what it takes. Above all things, this is a story about loneliness and the need to "let the right one in". There is a lot of originality in this novel. While it's not much of a revelation to say that Eli is a vampire, it must be said that Lindqvist brings some new things to the vampire genre, things that I will not reveal. And the world of his novel is firmly grounded in its own reality, the world of Swedish suburbia, specifically Blackeberg, in 1982. Lindqvist shows us that even if you don't live in London or New Orleans or even Transylvania, there can still be things unknown moving about in the night. In addition, Lindqvist imbues his world of Swedish suburbia with an atmosphere that matches, or perhaps shapes, the quiet desperation of its inhabitants. There is a mounting dread always in the background. The fear that something will happen. Or the fear that something won't happen. Dreams and hopes can be as gut-wrenching and torturous as fear. I liked this passage in particular simply for the way it suggests the threat of things unknown: "The squirrel darts down the trunk of the oak tree, stops, listns. A siren, in the distance. The squirrel judges the sound to be not dangerous, irrelevant. It continues down the tree trunk. All day there have been people in the forest, dogs. Not a moment of calm and only now, when it is dark, does the squirrel dare come down out of the oak tree it has been forced to hole up in all day. ..The squirrel reaches the foot of the tree, runs along a thick root. It does not like to make its way over the ground in the dark, but hunger forces it on. It makes its way with alertness, stopping to listen, looking around every ten meters. Makes sure to steer clear of a badger den that has been inhabited as recently as this summer. He hasn't seen the family for a long time but you can never be too careful. ..Finally the squirrel reaches its goal: the nearest of the many winter stores it has laid up in the fall. ..Just as it picks up a nut between its paws it hears a sound. ..Danger. ..It takes the nut in its teeth and runs straight up into a pine tree without having time to cover over the store. Once in the safety of a branch it takes the nut into its paws again, tries to locate the sound. Its hunger is great and the food only some centimeters from its mouth but the danger must first be located, identified, before it is time to eat. ..The squirrel's head jerks from side to side, his nose trembles as he looks down over the moon-shadowed landscape below and traces the sound to its source. Yes. Taking the long way around was worth it. The scratching, wet sound comes from the badger den. ..Badgers can't climb trees. The squirrel relaxes a little and takes a bite of the nut while it continues to study the ground, but now more as a member of a theater audience, third balcony. Wants to see what will happen, how many badgers there are. ..But what emerges from the badger's den is no badger. The squirrel removes the nut from its mouth, looks down. Tries to understand. Put what it sees together with known facts. Doesn't manage it. ..Therefore takes the nut into its mouth again, dashes further up the trunk, all the way up into the very top. ..Maybe one of those can climb trees. ..You can never be too careful." I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the kind of fiction that unsettles you, that makes you look and keep on looking even when part of you wants very much to look away. ["

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April 2, 2009 Verified Purchase

AmazonAddict

Gorgeously Grotesque

"John Ajvide Lindqvist's "Let the Right One In" is...stunning. It's now one of my favorite books and I know I'll be rereading it in the near future. In fact, I enjoyed the book so much, I've already started Lindqvist's second novel. It's likely there isn't anyone left who doesn't know what this book is about thanks to its two film adaptations, but for those not in the know, it's a vampire tale. In truth, it's so much more than that. Set in the "almost" slums of Stockholm's suburbs, "Let the Right One In" largely chronicles a few weeks in the life of 12 year-old outcast Oskar. His parents are divorced, his early childhood friends have abandoned him and a group of brutal young boys administer an astounding amount of torture and misery to him on a daily basis. Constantly under stress and hopelessly depressed, Oskar's response to this abuse is to fantasize and even pretend he is a serial killer. When a mysterious young girl, Eli, moves into his building and reluctantly befriends him, Oskar's sorry existence brightens fractionally and over the course of the novel, he undergoes change. To complicate matters, Eli's apparent father figure, whose character is much more developed than in either film, goes out of pocket early in the book and events begin to spiral out of control. In the aftermath of each event, Oskar and Eli are forced to reveal their inner secrets to one another as their bond is tested and subsequently strengthened. By the end of the book, readers will have experienced horror, shock, surprise and burgeoning feelings of love. Themes: The vampire element, while consistent and crucial to the story, was almost secondary to the other dark and all too human themes of pedophilia, dependency, adult alcoholism, love vs. addiction (addiction to a person or to love itself), violence and overall hopelessness. The adults are almost more child-like than the children while Oskar and Eli share a maturity that no child should have to experience. This is understandable with Eli, but with Oskar it's just heart breaking. Craft: Lindqvist's writing style is almost as bleak as some of the scenes he sets. His stark descriptions and word economy serve to enhance the ambiance while not taking anything away from the story. The cast is large and Lindqvist chose to chop the story into sections devoted to specific players, which is a little confusing at first, but as soon as you find the rhythm, it's an easy, well-paced read. I'm not sure I've ever read anything else that so perfectly captures the heart and soul of what it's like to be a peer-abused misfit 12 year-old who has no one with whom to share his pain. I'm 47 now, but this book made me remember those painful young years when I myself was a social outcast. As a vampire story, it's refreshing and unique; as a story about people, it's packed with ugly truths that are hard to face but somehow...important. ["

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March 18, 2011 Verified Purchase

fra7299

Dark, edgy, disturbing

"It's refreshing to read a vampire novel not laced with teen melodrama or vampires with great hair. About as far from teenage vampire fiction as you can get--sinister and dark, violent and grotesque, yet very human and compassionate--Let Me In is disturbing, bleak and depressing at points, with a rawness that makes it an uncomfortable read. Still, it has moments where we can connect with its message and the lives of its characters, most notably the ones who experience loneliness or disillusion with the world. While Let Me In is well written, and certainly a page turner, certain things really put me off about the reading this book. One was the level of graphicness with regard to Hakan's pedophilic interests; the author, while presenting a dark, uncomfortable world to us, seems to overreach his point, and the over-the-top descriptions were a bit unnecessary. It is as if he was trying to score some "shock value" points or something. Let Me in does have a creepy vibe to it, but at intervals, it is the wrong kind of creepy, one that sickens you to a point of revulsion. Also, I found most of the characters--except Eli-- to be fairly bland, annoying, or unnecessary. Oskar has to be one of the more annoying characters around--he plays the part of helpless geek to perfection. Just when you are about to feel sorry for him, you realize that he is a wannabe serial killer in the making. Oskar's bullies were pretty much the typical bully stereotypes, the ones you might find in some teenage films. Their dialogue was predictable, especially in many of Oskar's episodes at school, where we know something bad is about to happen. Other than Virginia, several of the minor characters and their episodes were somewhat unnecessary, only filling in space to the novel. I see that the author wanted to add to the element of bleakness within the scope of the plot, which he succeeds in doing, but still, there are some characters are not that relevant, and we have pages upon pages devoted to them. The edgy, episodic narrative style was a mixed bag, rewarding and distracting--rewarding because the author is able to tie many plots into the main one, distracting because often the main plot loses focus and momentum. Just as Oskar begins to figure out who Eli really is, the narrative jumps somewhere else. There are many moments when you just want the story to focus more on Eli and Oskar's friendship, or even who Eli is, but the novel really just skims the surface of this. Still, what is most rewarding about Let Me In is simply the exploration of the importance of acceptance, one's need to find it regardless of who--or what--you are. The author handles this aspect so well that it makes several of the book's faults forgivable. ["

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November 12, 2012 Verified Purchase