Name: Let the Right One In
Rating: 3.795454545454545 (110 reviews)
ISBN: 9781250902962

John Ajvide Lindqvist

Ebba Segerberg

A Novel

Let the Right One In

Oskar and Eli. In very different ways, they were both victims. Which is why, against the odds, they became friends. And how they came to depend on one another, for life itself. Oskar is a 12 year old boy living with his mother on a dreary housing estate at the city's edge. He dreams about his absentee father, gets bullied at school, and wets himself when he's frightened. Eli is the young girl who moves in next door. She doesn't go to school and never leaves the flat by day. She is a 200 year old vampire, forever frozen in childhood, and condemned to live on a diet of fresh blood. John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel, a huge bestseller in his native Sweden, is a unique and brilliant fusion of social novel and vampire legend. And a deeply moving fable about rejection, friendship and loyalty

Let the Right One in

ikkychan

One strange French man, Albert Camus, often discusses how human life and existence are inherently an absurd, meaningless and isolated reality, and that we are cast into this nonsensical state of being all alone and without purpose, adrift amid things outside our periscope and understanding. I often find that his <s>philosophical ideas</s> curious mumblings are closely related to the horror genre, as the tales of terror and the unknown often draw allegories of the fundamental aspects of human existence and reflect the darker and more unsettling aspects of life, oftentimes the frightening and gloomy reality that people are reluctant to acknowledge and openly discuss. These conjectures are apparent in “Let the Right One In” by John Ajvide Lindqvist. The people of Blackeberg, Stockholm, are thrown into a state of panic and alarm when the body of a teenage boy was found hanging upside down in the forest with no blood left in his corpse. This is a particularly shocking case, as no one would suspect that anything could happen in this small, drab suburb where the only shenanigans are a group of drunks talking too loudly in a local Chinese restaurant. While the general public has taken the murder with apprehension, this is not the case with a 12-year-old Oskar Eriksson, whose peace has already shattered a long time ago as he is forced to face the threat of violence every day at school. In his isolated life, he finds solace in a new friend he made, the daughter of his neighbor, a strange girl named Eli who smells of carcasses and death and wanders around in the playground outside their building with nothing but a thin sweater and no shoes which contrasts the chilling winter night air and snowy ground they walk on together. While Oskar wonders who or what Eli actually is, the reality around him takes a turn for the worse as bodies pile up, and monsters lurk closer. What ultimately becomes the fear factor in the narrative is not the vampire itself, but the real evil behind the things that common people do: domestic violence, child prostitution, bullying, and alcoholism. Oskar’s dad might greet him with cheerful small talk but turns into a completely violent person once he drinks. Yvonne, Tommy’s mother, realizes Staffan’s assaultive and temperamental tendency underneath his pious and calm facades, but did little to restrain him from ‘disciplining’ Tommy. Jimmy and Jonny might be the victim of child neglect, but that doesn’t excuse their bullying behavior that is borderline murderous. Lacke might be generally harmless to the environment, but he lets his insecurities lash out and hurt Virginia. Hakan is a pedophile and child molester, before or after death. For me, the portrayal of a misshapen blob-zombie with an erect member might be repulsive, but a 12-year-old with no front teeth in the City’s Library bathroom stall is the true stuff of nightmare. The book reveals the nature of terror, often shedding light on the ugly truth that the monsters are not underneath the bed anymore; we are the monsters. One of the book's most intriguing characters is Oskar's mother. She hovers, she arranges a nice little mommy-son fun after-school schedule, she is overprotective in the ways that essentially have no use — like telling Oskar to always put on his hat when he goes outside — but ironically remains unaware of the true challenges that her son is facing. She places Oskar on a pedestal, to the extent that even he recognizes it: 'Mom looks at him and sees her Little Darling whom she doesn't want anything bad to happen to.' This creates a gap between him and his mom, eventually causing a detrimental effect on their relationship. Consequently, Oskar refuses to be honest with her and decides to run away from home. This could reflect the situation in 1980s Sweden, where one might not think anything bad would happen to people living under the nanny-state government, where schooling, healthcare, and overall well-being are ensured through its iron-clad social welfare system. But the high-unemployment rate and widespread civil unrest toward Soviet Union proves that people could still be damaged and broken, and living in such dreary existence lead people to sought out any kind of entertainment, be it alcohol, drugs, glue-sniffing, shoplifting or any kind of petty crime, no matter how much you rule their prosperity with policies and guidelines. The terror each character experiences serves as a deep contemplation of their life and being, marked as the bond between horror genre and existentialism philosophy. Take Oskar by way of example: the isolation that he goes through leaves him with no sense of belonging, not in school nor at home. He feels alone everywhere he goes and he tries to tackle this by trying to be dependent on his dad, which is deemed unsuccessful as his dad is as reliable as a broken umbrella. Oskar’s journey to discover his place in the world concludes in the story’s finale where he realizes that he himself is responsible for creating a place where he belongs. Furthermore, his confusion and deep consideration of his sexuality as he questions the nature of his attraction toward Eli (who turns out to be Elias) are also a reflection of his contemplation and exploration of his identity. Despite his attraction to Eli, he knows he harbors a deep, dark unknown fear of him. When this is confirmed, his sense of right and wrong is also questioned by Eli who makes it clear that he kills to survive, not because he wants to, for he, like everyone else in the story, are trapped with their assigned chores that they have to accomplish in order to live. This has been quite a compelling read. The pacing might be slow at times and then snowballs near the end, but it's necessary for building the chilling atmosphere that lingers with you long after you close the book. It brilliantly portrays the contrast of horror within a commonplace setting, allowing you to perceive an everyday occurrence differently and discover hidden layers beneath it, making this an exceptional and profound take on vampire horror.

Greg Talbot

If like me you've enjoyed the brooding horror films "Let the Right One In" (2008), and "Let Me In" (2010), it might be time you take a look at the source material. "Let the Right One In" stands strongly as it's own literary accomplishment. What I enjoy about the book, is that it's purpose is not primarily to frighten it's audience. Lindqvist is asking questions about what it means to be bullied, what it means to be become different, and what it means to go after your desires, no matter how perverse or maddening they are. We see Oskar's journey, and his slow build of confidence with new friend Eli. His actions toward his bullies, may not be how we would respond, but we understand him. Where the movie is more limited in scope to Oscar's story, we get a much more detailed story of Eli's caregiver -- a particularly haunted trip! There is a larger sense of how the community members respond to some paranormal events than we get in the movies. At times I got a little confused Lindqvist's quick transcribing of events. For instance in the action scenes consider how quickly he writes up the desk burning prank from Oscar, or consider how quickly the pool bullying scene is in the book. These scenes felt very light and lacking detail. But I admire Lindqvist's use of vocabulary, his strong sense of place in the 1980s, and his willingness to take the reader to a transgressive place. "Let the Right One In" may largely be known as a gemstone in the horror community. It's such a story-focused movie, and gives a warped sense of love, honor and commitment, that it will like likely remain a modern horror classic. To those who enjoy the movie, or want to dive into the horror literary genre, I say, it's time to feast.

My first horror book. And damn this was just hard to get through, all lot of uncomfortable scenes and some of them very unnecessary. Sometimes the characters were interesting other times they were not. The characters were ok.... The ending was satisfying enough I guess.

simran singh

My first horror book. And damn this was just hard to get through, all lot of uncomfortable scenes and some of them very unnecessary. Sometimes the characters were interesting other times they were not. The characters were ok.... The ending was satisfying enough I guess.



The story was not anything sensational. But the storytelling and the writing were phenomenal. 

Lots of callbacks and unique POVs to flesh out the world. Not always relevant but nice details

Also some insanely graphic scenes that made it harder to read but I think that was the "horror" aspect

Jay Tan

The story was not anything sensational. But the storytelling and the writing were phenomenal. 
Lots of callbacks and unique POVs to flesh out the world. Not always relevant but nice details

Also some insanely graphic scenes that made it harder to read but I think that was the "horror" aspect

Interesting story and there are some very uncomfortable scenes. It definitely accomplishes what it set out to do. That being said, the book felt very long. There were a lot of side characters that had no charm, and their stories were skim worthy. This book failed to capture my attention, but maybe it just wasn't meant for me.

Aidan

DNF at 50%. It does not innovate on the vampire lore at all. As a result, it often relies on creating a character based moments to keep the reader engaged, but it fails in doing that so the book feels far too long because it does not achieve any sort of moment to moment satisfaction to keep the reader reading. Although not necessary in better written books, I feel like this book needs atleast one genuinely likeable character in this story which you could root for in this hostile world that the author creates to make it a better and easier read. 

Akhilesh

I think this might be the one time where i like the movie more than the book 

Essence

3.75

I think this might be the one time where i like the movie more than the book 

Kristy Donasco

** spoiler alert **
           A 3.5 or 4 stars.

With so many characters and happenings in this book, I tried my best to think what is the overarching theme. The best I have is that everyone has their own circumstances, some way grimmer than others. And while the lives of the characters here tangle in a mess, they end up the cause and effect, the reason for someone's pain, etc. - all of their actions stem from how they were taught around them and how their lives had been. They try to live comfortably or move forward in a way they know. For example,

(view spoiler)[Johnny (unfortunately so) follows his brother's footsteps because he looks up to the latter.

Lacke buries all what-could-bes through alcohol until it was too late.

Tommy, probably not over his father's death, can't agree with his mother having a new relationship so he thinks of rebelling or stripping himself away from the household instead.

Virginia... deserved so much more.

The list can go on, and the characters makes so much sense because of their narratives and backstories presented. (Except for Hakan, lol. Fuck him.)

My heart goes out for many characters but mostly for Eli and Oskar. Two kids who only want to find connection and play, just like any kids should without having to be bullied. Without having to be chasen around. With all the "flaws" the people see around them, they don't see it as such. They appreciate each other which is wholesome af in a very dark story as this. (hide spoiler)]

There were so many parts that were difficult to read. I abhor the bullying (and all unspeakable things. iykyk) but what made me stay with the story are truly the characters. The characters, man. The characters.

Katherine 

No glittering pussy vampires here. Scary, just the way they should be.

Let the Right One In Takes Top Honors at Tribeca Film Festival and is now an Award-winning movie in both the U.S. and Sweden! It is autumn 1981 when inconceivable horror comes to Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenager 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, day after day. But the murder is not the most important thing on his mind. A new girl has moved in next door---a girl who has never seen a Rubik's Cube before, but who can solve it at once. There is something wrong with her, though, something odd. And she only comes out at night. . . .Sweeping top honors at film festivals all over the globe, director Tomas Alfredsson's film of Let the Right One In has received the same kind of spectacular raves that have been lavished on the book. American and Swedish readers of vampire fiction will be thrilled! Following the success in Sweden, this movie was remade starring Kodi Smit Mcpheem, Chloe Grace Moretz and Richard Jenkins under the new title Let Me In. The story has continued to reach new viewers in a London Musical and the book remains a vampire favorite among its readers.

Apiecalypse Jen

Sonja H

** spoiler alert **
           Dieses Jahr nehme ich an der Popsugar Reading Challenge 2018 teil. Hier erhält man Listen mit Themen, zu denen man ein Buch finden und lesen soll. Dazu gehören z.B. „A book set at sea“ oder „A book with song lyrics in the title“. Es gibt eine Goodreadsgruppe zu dieser Aktion, in der Vorschläge zu den diversen Vorgaben gesammelt werden.

Ich habe mich für mein erstes Buch in 2018 für die Herausforderung „Nordic noir“ entschieden und bin dabei auf das Buch „Let the right one in“ gestoßen, von dem ich bis dato noch nichts gehört hatte.
Allerdings handelt es sich um kein unbekanntes Werk, den es wurde unter dem gleichnamigen Titel bzw. in Deutschland unter „So finster die Nacht“ verfilmt.

Vor dem Lesen war mir außer dem Klappentext der englischen Ausgabe nichts über den Inhalt bekannt und so begann dieser Roman recht verstörend für mich.

Ein Junge, der an der Schule heftigst gemobbt wird, Mordgedanken hegt, mit einem Messer auf Bäume einsticht während fast zeitgleich einem gleichaltrigen Jungen die Kehle durchgeschnitten wird und sein Blut am Tatort fehlt.
Ein Mädchen, das nur nachts anzutreffen ist, das nie zu frieren scheint, das Sonnenlicht meidet und eine zarte Freundschaft zu dem Jungen entwickelt.

Neben diesen Protagonisten bringt der Autor noch weitere Figuren ins Spiel, jede einzelne auf ihre eigene Art und Weise interessant und bemitleidenswert. Jede bekommt einen gleich großen Part in dieser Geschichte wie die anderen. Von jeder Figur erfahren wir ihre Sorgen und Ängste, Hoffnungen und Wünsche.

Nur nicht von Håkan, dem pädophilen Serienkiller.

Diese Geschichte, die als „romantic horror“ eingestuft wird – ein Genre, das mich eigentlich gar nicht anspricht – hat mich unglaublich fasziniert und beeindruckt.
Es ist eine extrem düstere Story mit sehr graphischen Szenen, die (auch sexuelle) Gewalt gegen Kinder beinhalten. Es sind überzogene Schilderungen und dennoch wirken sie im Gesamtzusammenhang glaubwürdig und schlüssig.
Aber – Warnung – diese Teile der Erzählung sind nichts für ungeübte Horrorleser. Ich habe mir sehr schwer damit getan, das Buch immer wieder aufzugreifen und weiterzulesen. Ich wollte wissen, wie sich die Freundschaft zwischen Eli und Oskar entwickelt, ob sie zu einem guten Ende führen wird, doch ich fürchtete mich vor den eindrücklichen Horrorteilen, die sich so realistisch anfühlten.

John Ajvide Lindqvist ist es wie keinem anderen gelungen, unmenschliche Taten so menschlich wie möglich zu beschreiben. Man empfindet Sympathie mit den meisten Charakteren und wünscht sich einen guten Ausgang, wohl wissend, dass es den eigentlich nicht geben kann.

Nichts für schwache Nerven aber absolut empfehlenswert!

Richard Binder

It's been a long, long time since a horror book made me wince and squirm. Bleak, nerve-wracking, makes Stephen King look like Mr. Rogers.

Oskar doesn't have many friends. So when Eli moves in next door, things seem to be improving. She's a little strange, and her 'father' is frankly sinister, but at least she likes Oskar. Then a child's body is found hanging from a tree, and all hell breaks loose. Is it a serial killer? Or something a bit...different?

Closer to 4.5 stars. 

A few initial thoughts: this felt a bit too long and bulky. There were a lot of side characters (mostly the alcoholics) that I felt could have had their chapters reduced to streamline the story a bit more. It felt pretty slow going for the first half or so. 

Also I wish (view spoiler)[the author hadn’t randomly changed to calling Eli “he” shortly after Oskar found out he was a castrated boy. Referring to Eli as "she" throughout the book helped easily differentiate who was doing what, and suddenly calling Eli “he” (and it was truly random when the author changed it, shortly after the flashback but they were in the middle of listening to a record when he switched the pronoun??) really confused me. (hide spoiler)]

The story is great and I found the writing sounded very natural, considering it was translated. It’s probably not one I’d reread again, but I enjoyed reading the source material for a movie I really enjoy.

I decided to watch both movies after finishing the book, so a lot of my other thoughts about the book are interspersed with my movie comparisons:

After rewatching the movie, it struck me how choppy the movie feels in comparison to the book. While I felt there were too many side characters and some of the chapters were unnecessary, I found myself understanding more why they were included. The alcoholics' storyline really took a backseat to Eli and Oskar's in the movie, so much so that it feels unnecessary in the movie. Also, they didn't have (view spoiler)[Hakan turn into a vampire in the movie, so that whole section and Tommy weren't in the movie at all. I found myself missing it, as I wish I could've seen Hakan as basically the zombie vampire. (hide spoiler)] This also means that it's not really explained how Eli is a vampire but she's not dead, nor is the distinction between dead and undead vampires made like in the book. As much as I loved the movie before, I realize now that the book is actually better (wow, such an original thought!) despite my reservations while reading it.

However, one thing I preferred about the movie was that I assumed (view spoiler)[Hakan had been with Eli for a long time, like possibly he'd been in Oskar's place as a kid when Eli found him. Thus, Oskar was basically replacing Hakan as Eli's food supplier/companion. I like that better than Hakan being a pedophile and being in love with Eli despite meeting her as an adult. I found all the references to his pedophilia really creepy in the book, even though there was nothing too explicit. (hide spoiler)]

I also decided to watch the American remake, just to see how it handled things. The intro is the scene where (view spoiler)[Hakan is being rushed to the hospital after pouring acid on his face, and he jumps out of the window, then it goes back 2 weeks for some reason. They also changed the whole scene where he gets caught too, which I didn't understand. (hide spoiler)] I also wasn't too sure about the decision to set it in New Mexico. It seems like it would've fit the atmosphere/weather better in the upper midwest, like Minnesota or South Dakota or somewhere similar. I've never been to NM so idk, maybe it is cold enough in the winter to go ice skating on a lake, but it seems a bit far-fetched to me.

I did like that there were some shot for shot remakes of certain scenes, but there were also some things included from the book that weren't in the original movie, such as Oskar/Owen's love for candy and hiding the wrappers and the Romeo and Juliet references. They streamlined the plot even more, leaving out the alcoholic characters almost entirely (and when they do show up, they're not a group of alcoholics, just neighbors), which I appreciated. It also seemed to nod even more to my previous assumption about Hakan, so I liked that despite it once again not being true to the book. 

They did change a few things which usually annoys me, but to be honest, I think the remake is actually a bit of a better adaptation overall. It feels more fluid and natural than the original, which more felt like a highlights reel of the book because of its choppiness. I really enjoy both movies though.

Tom Turner

Gruesome but Glorious

I have to say, I wasn't expecting this book to pack as much of a punch as it did. I have now seen the Swedish adaptation (though not yet seen the US version.) which has a very different atmosphere. This book grabs your insides and rips them out. I never really knew where it was going, but enjoyed the weirdly uncomfortable ride. Not for the squeamish or faint hearted.

Twelve-year-old Oskar is obsessed by the murder that's taken place in his neighborhood. Then he meets the new girl from next door. She's a bit weird, though. And she only comes out at night--Publisher's description.

Caoimhe Creaven 

Gor Tana

Draculelle

Diesel Cheung

I Blackeberg ånder alt provinsiel idyl. Men så finder man et lig tømt for blod, og flere blodige begivenheder følger. Er der vampyrer på spil. Den 12-årige Oskar forelsker sig i en mærkelig pige, som viser sig at være dreng og vampyr, men kan kærlighed overvinde alt.

Let the Right One In A Novel

Reviews

Highlights