Let the Right One In (2004)
Author: John Ajvide Lindqvist | Translator: Ebba Segerberg | Page Count: 519
'They could give a number of reasons for why they had to torment him; he was too fat, too ugly, too disgusting. But the real problem was simply that he existed, and every reminder of his existence was a crime.'
Swedish author Lindqvist has been described as 'the new Stephen King' in the press. It quickly lets you know that you're getting a well-written horror novel, but it isn't just a lazy journo way of getting an idea across: he really does write like King. His character development, his plotting and his reliance on the reader to fully invest in the magic realism of the world are uncannily similar.
He also has almost identical failings as King: the awkward wording at the end that ruins an otherwise perfect paragraph (but to be fair, some of that may be in part due to the translation?), the over-indulgence, the pop culture references that date the work, etc.
The biggest difference between the two writers, at least with regards Let the Right One In, is that Lindqvist doesn't give the reader anyone to like.
Firstly, there's twelve-year-old Oskar, the school bully's favourite punching bag. Ordinarily it would be Oskar that receives our sympathies, but the youth's vivid imagination and morbid fascination with death keep him just outside the realm of likeable.
Next, there's Eli, the girl next door. Is she the one? She's as much a victim as Oskar. She has some likeable and noble traits but she exists in another world.
Then there's Eli's adult protector, Håkan, a former school teacher, but it's certainly not he, for reasons I can't expand upon in this review. In fact, all of the adults are selfish and flawed in some way; there'll be no parent of the year awards given out to any of them.
I feel I should give a warning before you even consider picking up the book: there's some graphic sexual content that many (i.e. most) readers will find offensive, both morally and ethically. If you don't get offended, then you've got serious problems. Parts of it make uncomfortable reading.
Elsewhere, there are equally graphic horror moments that are so well-described, so beautifully depicted that you may even reel back from the page as you read. They really are magnificent, in a grotesque way. Lindqvist has the kind of imagination that Oskar only dreams about.
The novel's ending is abrupt. It makes sense within the context of the story, but it's almost as if Lindqvist thought, 'I guess I'd better end this now, it’s gone on long enough'. He later wrote a short story titled Let the Old Dreams Die to document what happened afterwards and to clarify his original intentions, because they're unclear and open to interpretation. That story can be found in his 2012 short story collection of the same name. I'll link to it when I make the post.
