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Let the Right One In was a little difficult to pin down. To be honest, I don't really like it and I won't be reading it again, but it doesn't deserve less than 3 stars. Yet, there are technical issues regarding the pacing of the story and the rushed, almost haphazard ending that don't allow me to give it 4 stars. I read Let the Right One In after seeing the original Swedish film, which I loved. I saw the film after hearing a review that recommended it as the cure to the disappointment that is Twilight. Something along the lines of, if you want to see a vampire romance done right ... And I agree. This is a vampire romance done really, really right. But it's also really, really off-putting. Everything about the narrative is off. It's creepy, psychologically unnerving, and at the end of it all I feel the need to bleach the inside of my brain and to give the space under my skin a really vigorous scrub.
It took me better than three years to finish reading Let the Right One In. It is really *that* disturbing. The book is morose and tragic, sad, uncomfortable, and incredibly unnerving. I don't think that there is a better word to describe it. Everything about this book is unnerving. From its depressed suburban landscape to the depressed characters searching for hope and meaning in the barren winter. People existing on the fringes of society, pushed to social and geographical perimeters. There is nothing good or happy about anyone here. Oskar, the 12-year old protagonist, is bullied by his peers, neglected by his parents, and isolated. A victim in almost every possible way, he meets Eli, a new girl in his complex and finds an odd friend in her. Eli is a vampire unlike the popularly suave, good-looking creatures that populate genre fiction at the moment. Eli is as isolated and fringe-worthy as any of the other characters, more so. Because of what she is, Eli is dependent and vulnerable. Her desire for life is the only thing that outweighs her ambivalence about what she must do in order to survive. Eli is a bit of a cipher and I wish that we could have gotten to know more about her, but this was not a book about Eli. Not really. It's not even really a book about vampires. similarly, as with The Walking Dead, Let the Right One In is a book about people. A bleak, post-modern horror story full of characters in varying degrees of existential crises. It just happens to have vampires in it.
The desperation, loneliness, savagery of people, and the compelling need to dominate and survive are overarching themes intertwined with the bleakness of the human condition when love and hope are absent. Oskar, by the novel's close has found meaning with Eli, but the saddest thing is that the nature of their relationship is inherently destructive and how desperate and alone must Oskar be to find solace with a creature such as Eli. But Eli and her needs are not anywhere near the most tragic parts of the narrative. Oskar's bullying at the hands of his peers and Hakan (Eli's initial protector) are the things that made me put this book down repeatedly. The books events were disturbing to say the least and I could only take it in small doses. The creepiness of the book is located in its disenfranchised citizenry who fight for meaning in their existence: alcoholics, pedophiles, and vampires alike. It's an unsavory read, but a compelling and well-written one. I don't normally go back to books that I put down, but this one kept me returning. Even though I had seen the film, I just wanted to see it all through to the end. The book is obviously richer in detail and backstory than the film and it nuances the film in ways that I never would have imagined. Definitely recommend reading this if you have the stomach for it, but beware, this is not an easy book and these are not easy characters.
It took me better than three years to finish reading Let the Right One In. It is really *that* disturbing. The book is morose and tragic, sad, uncomfortable, and incredibly unnerving. I don't think that there is a better word to describe it. Everything about this book is unnerving. From its depressed suburban landscape to the depressed characters searching for hope and meaning in the barren winter. People existing on the fringes of society, pushed to social and geographical perimeters. There is nothing good or happy about anyone here. Oskar, the 12-year old protagonist, is bullied by his peers, neglected by his parents, and isolated. A victim in almost every possible way, he meets Eli, a new girl in his complex and finds an odd friend in her. Eli is a vampire unlike the popularly suave, good-looking creatures that populate genre fiction at the moment. Eli is as isolated and fringe-worthy as any of the other characters, more so. Because of what she is, Eli is dependent and vulnerable. Her desire for life is the only thing that outweighs her ambivalence about what she must do in order to survive. Eli is a bit of a cipher and I wish that we could have gotten to know more about her, but this was not a book about Eli. Not really. It's not even really a book about vampires. similarly, as with The Walking Dead, Let the Right One In is a book about people. A bleak, post-modern horror story full of characters in varying degrees of existential crises. It just happens to have vampires in it.
The desperation, loneliness, savagery of people, and the compelling need to dominate and survive are overarching themes intertwined with the bleakness of the human condition when love and hope are absent. Oskar, by the novel's close has found meaning with Eli, but the saddest thing is that the nature of their relationship is inherently destructive and how desperate and alone must Oskar be to find solace with a creature such as Eli. But Eli and her needs are not anywhere near the most tragic parts of the narrative. Oskar's bullying at the hands of his peers and Hakan (Eli's initial protector) are the things that made me put this book down repeatedly. The books events were disturbing to say the least and I could only take it in small doses. The creepiness of the book is located in its disenfranchised citizenry who fight for meaning in their existence: alcoholics, pedophiles, and vampires alike. It's an unsavory read, but a compelling and well-written one. I don't normally go back to books that I put down, but this one kept me returning. Even though I had seen the film, I just wanted to see it all through to the end. The book is obviously richer in detail and backstory than the film and it nuances the film in ways that I never would have imagined. Definitely recommend reading this if you have the stomach for it, but beware, this is not an easy book and these are not easy characters.
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no subject
Date: 2014-02-25 02:38 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2014-02-25 03:02 am (UTC)From:It has me wondering if this is a hallmark of Swedish fiction, like I want to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and I wonder if it will be as bleak. Gave me the shudders. A fine piece of writing, whatever you think of it.
Ha! I can't even say enjoy it because, yeah, given the subject matter it's hard to say that.
no subject
Date: 2014-02-25 03:18 am (UTC)From: