Not a bit horror reader, but I really, really enjoyed this all the same. A lot of, you know, horror. I loved how mundanely, boringly fucked up the normal characters were. ( )

A very compelling read. Nothing really new to add to the vampire mythos but an intriguing character study with sympathetic characters. Highly recommended. ( )

I've really enjoyed the consistent pacing and that there were no copouts on consequences.
All around this is a very well written book.
But the plot doesn't go anywhere. No tension arc, no goal, no nothing.
I at no point had the feeling that the story worked towards anything.

It's just a random slice of a drama enriched with unnecessary horror.

There is no consistent explanation of the supernatural elements either.
It's just what the author needed at the moment which sadly is much more apparent here than in the general case of this flaw because it is used just to draw horrific graphic scenes that don't even have some other point to them.

I was intrigued enough by the writing and the setting to keep reading. I usually drop a story quite quickly if it suffers from major flaws but this kept me hooked in an unusual way.
I can see why people might appreciate this kind of story but it just wasn't for me.
Maybe this is a bit like modern art. It is appreciated because it is different not because it is "good"? ( )

After watching the Swedish film (which I thought was excellent), and the American remake (which, amazingly, was very good), I decided to read the novel.

If you're here, on Goodreads, reading this review, you know that the written word can create a far more nuanced story-world than the movie, with additonal layers to filter through, and numerous nooks and crannies to be explored. You can only squish so much material into two hours of celluloid.

So we expect more from the original material.

And Let the Right One In doesn't disappoint at all. The MC here, Oskar, is faced with some ethical decisions, and he doesn't always choose wisely. In the movie I felt as if he was an impassive observer, content to let circumstances waft over him.

And the vampire, Eli - we learn far more about the vampire in the novel. I don't want to spoil things, but suffice it feels regret over some of the moral choices it makes, odd for a vampire!

Håkan, the vampire's familiar, is a much larger character in the book..He sticks around far longer, and causes more damage, both to himself and others.

There is a woman who becomes infected, I don't think I spoil things by saying this is a result of a vampire bite. Her story takes up a large portion of the last half of the book. In the film version, she is infected in one scene, and then in another there are consquences. That's about it.

This is not to mention several characters in supporting roles who fleshed out in the novel. The antogonists here face daily pressures, both at school and at home. Loved ones of the larger characters are given personalities and desires. The whole story-world is filled in, rather than alluded to.

All in all, an enjoyable read, one that will stick with me for awhile. ( )

Great movie ( )

Cinematic and gruesome. Nuanced depiction of love and not-love, and of the inherent sociopathy of children and vampires.

Very enjoyable read. ( )

Admittedly, it took me a few pages to get into Let Me In. Once I fell in love with Oskar and Eli I couldn't get enough of their story. Being a twelve year old sensitive boy, Oskar is the subject of daily bullying at school. He dreams of murderous revenge far beyond his sad and lonely years. At night he takes a hunting knife into the woods and repeatedly stabs trees, imagining the soft and penetrable flesh of his school yard enemies. Meanwhile, Eli is a mystery. With a strange way of speaking and no history to speak of, Eli fascinates Oskar to the point of obsession. He finds himself in love with a strange girl who only comes out at night, repeatedly says she neither a girl nor boy, and can solve puzzles she has never seen before in the blink of an eye. Who is she? Then the murders begin. Gruesome and strange, victims are drained of blood. Is Eli to blame?
A running theme through Let Me In is the absence of father figures. Eli has a fake father. Tommy has a fake step-father. Oskar's dad has divorced his mom and is living an alcohol-soaked life outside of town. I wanted to pay attention to the mothers for I hoped they would be the unspoken heroes of Let Me In.
Not so much.
As an aside, I appreciated the literary references of Plato, Dante, Pyramus, Thisbe, and King Minos. ( )

Le vicende narrate ruotano attorno ad un crocevia di solitudini che si accavallano (Oskar, Tommy, i bulletti, gli ubriaconi, i genitori di Oskar, Hakan). Al centro c'è Eli, bambino-vampiro senza sesso né età, che un atto di crudeltà estrema ha proiettato al di fuori dell'umanità, del tempo e di sé stesso, in uno spazio senza orizzonti dove l'aberrazione è quotidiana normalità.
È infatti la solitudine la vera protagonista del libro e la principale causa di orrore, tanto che il gelo nordico che fa da sfondo alla storia è quasi un'emanazione meteorologica del freddo dell'anima che essa suscita. La condizione di vampiro è orribile proprio perché concentra in un solo individuo una tale carica di solitudine da renderlo un mostro assetato di socialità, ma nello stesso tempo incapace di costituire delle relazioni interpersonali che non siano violente e distruttive.

Anche Oskar è assetato di amicizia e rapporti sociali normali ma le prospettive sono fosche: la metamorfosi in una forma anemica di vampiro è già iniziata anche in lui (colleziona articoli di giornale che parlano di efferati delitti, medita di colpire con un coltello i bulletti che lo maltrattano) e tra le palazzine popolari della periferia sembra non esserci spiraglio per la redenzione.

Ecco perché la vicenda di Oskar ed Eli è straordinaria.
In un fragilissimo equilibrio di tempi e distanze, queste due singolarità si sfiorano, si annusano, si scontrano e infine si accettano.
Non è tanto una storia d'amore o di lotta per la sopravvivenza, non solo almeno, quanto piuttosto un percorso adolescenziale di ricerca della propria identità che può essere colta solo nel riflesso di un rapporto interpersonale sincero e duraturo.
Eli lo dice chiaramente ad Oskar: "Io non sono niente. Non sono una bambina. Non sono una vecchia. Non sono un ragazzo. Non sono una ragazza. Non sono niente". Chi non riesce a costituire una propria identità nel confronto con l'altro è condannato all'oblio e alla morte, spirituale prima che fisica (si pensi al gruppo di amici alcolizzati e in particolare alla relazione fuori tempo massimo fra Lacke e Virgina).
È tutto qui il nucleo pulsante di questo romanzo.

È apprezzabile anche la prospettiva razionalistica in cui viene inquadrato il fenomeno del vampirismo (ereditata dal romanzo di Richard Matheson [b:Io sono leggenda|10209389|Io sono leggenda|Richard Matheson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1346956824l/10209389._SY75_.jpg|19273256]) e la descrizione delle sensazioni interiori di Virginia che subisce la trasformazione, entrambi elementi che giocano a favore di un'ulteriore umanizzazione della figura del vampiro.

Dal punto di vista stilistico, la narrazione procede per accostamenti di quadri sostanzialmente statici. L'autore viene dalla TV e lo si percepisce nell'architettura del racconto e nello sviluppo framentario delle singole parti. La prosa è scorrevole e funzionale alla narrazione anche se risulta piú adatta ad esprimere i toni delicati e intimistici della prima parte piuttosto che quelli piú cupi e gore delle pagine finali. Il contorno di boschi e foreste contribuisce poi a immergere tutto il racconto in una suggestiva atmosfera di fiaba nordica.

Insomma un romanzo apprezzabile con una interessante storia originale, una discreta capacità di introspezione psicologica e uno stile piano ma gradevole.
Non un capolavoro ma una lettura soddisfacente.

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Precedente: Oltre il confine, da [b:Trilogia della frontiera: Cavalli selvaggi - Oltre il confine - Città della pianura|9703443|Trilogia della frontiera Cavalli selvaggi - Oltre il confine - Città della pianura|Cormac McCarthy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1318451951l/9703443._SY75_.jpg|979259]
Successivo: [b:Blade Runner: Ma gli androidi sognano pecore elettriche|18281003|Blade Runner Ma gli androidi sognano pecore elettriche|Philip K. Dick|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413841956l/18281003._SY75_.jpg|830939] ( )

Definitely a good book that kept my interest with a new twist on the vampire genre. Unfortunately it was also very strange with a lot of pedophilia and “piss balls”, and a very odd cast of characters that were all flawed, some slightly to some highly. You had everything from the over protective divorced mother, to the group of do nothing drunkards not to mention the absentee drunkard father, to the glue sniffing juvenile delinquent, to the sadistic bully and his friends, not to mention the vampires and Hakon…I don’t even know how to describe him and what he became…I don’t think one of the characters had anything positive to contribute to society or ever even cracked a smile. What a miserable lot. The book had potential, I think it just really missed its mark, cutting a lot of the really oddball stuff would have helped make it a lot better…I mean, who even comes up with the concept of a piss ball, and talks about it so much… ( )

A must read for fans of the vampire genre

If your thing is vampires, then this is a must for your collection. It took me far too long to get to it, but I'm glad I finally did. The vampires are classic in nature--no team Edward here, and whether intentional or not, there's an underlying commentary on gender identity that makes this more than another vampire novel. ( )

Every so often a writer comes along and challenges the perceived boundaries of "genre fiction", keeping some basic elements to keep the particular genre recognisable whilst fiddling around with the rest. This is exactly what Lindqvist does in "Let the Right One In". True to tradition, his Undead require an invitation to cross any threshold (hence the title), need a regular diet of fresh blood to survive and catch fire when exposed to sunlight. So far, so familiar. The novelty lies in the vampire character - no ageless bloodsucking count or sexy Twilight-style protagonist - but Eli, a seemingly vulnerable two-hundred year old girl whose development is frozen at the cusp of puberty and who finds a kindred spirit in bullied Oskar.

Similarly, the sitting is not your typical Gothic backdrop but a boringly normal Stockholm suburb in the early 80s. It is a newly-built area where, the author tells us, "there wasn't even a church. Nine thousand inhabitants and no church". It is, in other words, a settlement without a past, without a sense of community, without a moral compass.

Lindqvist manages to evoke this sense of dreariness - his novel is peopled by single mothers struggling to raise difficult children, youths who resort to drugs or bullying just to chase away their boredom, old people struggling to make sense of their final years. In this context, the vampire almost assumes a symbolic significance, its bloodsucking a metaphor for the spent life-force of these monotonous urban surroundings.

Given its richness of ideas and literary ambition, this novel could well have won over readers who are not generally keen on vampire tales. But this being "modern horror", psychologically-charged storytelling is not enough for Lindqvist. No, he must bludgeon our heards with a sledgehammer!

...and so his Undead child is aided and abetted by a homicidal paedophile (whom we get to see in action a couple of times), we get some acid throwing for good measure, Oskar is bullied by sadistic classmates (leading him to wet his pants with wearisome regularity) but discovers a surprisingly violent streak when he finally makes up his mind to fight back. In the concluding part of the book, as bodies pile up and the plot becomes increasingly OTT, we even skirt zombie territory and the novel's supposed "scariness" descends into grotesque black humour.

I can't say I didn't enjoy this novel. But I did find myself missing my old friends Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu and M R James. They're much subtler. And scarier. ( )

Excellent book. Great characters and development. Creepy because it's all so plausible - that vampires exist and Eli is on are just additional aspects of the setting. Vampirism is not overdone, or overwrought at all. It's a seamless part of the setting that motivates the characters in quite reasonable ways. And the characters, you care about them, flawed as they all are. Definitely one of the best books I've read recently.

Also, I should add that it's very nice to see that not all modern vampire fiction has devolved into glitter and schlocky romance. Vampires are visceral, primal things, so thanking, Mr. Lindqvist for writing this the way you did. ( )

I've had this book forever, and it finally took it being picked as a book club read for me to sit down and start it. But once I started it... whoa. Super fast read. I have about a 30 minute train ride in/out of the city every day to get to work. In that half hour, I got through a little over 60 pages at a time. It was a fast read. And it sucked me in.

First off, trigger warnings to the triggerable: pedophilia, murder, one scene of attempted rape, bullying, and a zombie.

I did not find this a very dark book, despite all the above. It was a coming of age story of an ostracized and bullied boy finding himself with the help of his best friend... who just happens to be a vampire.

It was much more philosophical and involved more soul-searching than American vampire novels (what does that say about Americans?), which I liked. And despite it having taken place in the 1981, the novel did not date itself much other than walkmans and Rubik cubes (and the lack of cell phones).

And I loved that the bad guys weren't the vampire, but the more mundane pedophile (well, he started off mundane) and bullies. ( )

Every so often a writer comes along and challenges the perceived boundaries of "genre fiction", keeping some basic elements to keep the particular genre recognisable whilst fiddling around with the rest. This is exactly what Lindqvist does in "Let the Right One In". True to tradition, his Undead require an invitation to cross any threshold (hence the title), need a regular diet of fresh blood to survive and catch fire when exposed to sunlight. So far, so familiar. The novelty lies in the vampire character - no ageless bloodsucking count or sexy Twilight-style protagonist - but Eli, a seemingly vulnerable two-hundred year old girl whose development is frozen at the cusp of puberty and who finds a kindred spirit in bullied Oskar.

Similarly, the sitting is not your typical Gothic backdrop but a boringly normal Stockholm suburb in the early 80s. It is a newly-built area where, the author tells us, "there wasn't even a church. Nine thousand inhabitants and no church". It is, in other words, a settlement without a past, without a sense of community, without a moral compass.

Lindqvist manages to evoke this sense of dreariness - his novel is peopled by single mothers struggling to raise difficult children, youths who resort to drugs or bullying just to chase away their boredom, old people struggling to make sense of their final years. In this context, the vampire almost assumes a symbolic significance, its bloodsucking a metaphor for the spent life-force of these monotonous urban surroundings.

Given its richness of ideas and literary ambition, this novel could well have won over readers who are not generally keen on vampire tales. But this being "modern horror", psychologically-charged storytelling is not enough for Lindqvist. No, he must bludgeon our heards with a sledgehammer!

...and so his Undead child is aided and abetted by a homicidal paedophile (whom we get to see in action a couple of times), we get some acid throwing for good measure, Oskar is bullied by sadistic classmates (leading him to wet his pants with wearisome regularity) but discovers a surprisingly violent streak when he finally makes up his mind to fight back. In the concluding part of the book, as bodies pile up and the plot becomes increasingly OTT, we even skirt zombie territory and the novel's supposed "scariness" descends into grotesque black humour.

I can't say I didn't enjoy this novel. But I did find myself missing my old friends Bram Stoker, Sheridan Le Fanu and M R James. They're much subtler. And scarier. ( )

This was the Jean Ralphio of books.
( )

I don't think I can begin to describe my love for this story. I love it in all forms. I first saw the Swedish film on a whim. I like foreign films, find vampire stories (some of them) intriguing, love stories centered around the age from 10-13ish, so I figured why not. My god the film is beautiful. I know this is a review for the book, and I will get to that, but holy shit it is an amazing film. The two kids will blow you away, the cinematography makes me smile and its just pure fucking art.

I couldn't get the story out of my head, and found out it was based on a book. I went straight to my library and they didn't have it. So I headed of to Borders and thank fucking god they had 2 copies. The book is a lot darker than the film, which is saying something because the film is pretty damn dark. The basic story is about a 12 year old boy named Oskar. He is lonely, weird, bullied beyond belief, and collects stories of murders. His father is a drunk and his mother is all religious. They are divorced and neither really have the time or the patience for him. The kid cannot catch a break.

In comes Eli.

Eli moves in one night with an older man people assume is her father. They keep to themselves, board up the windows and only come out at nighttime. Oskar is somewhat intrigued. After some time he befriends Eli despite her warning that they cannot be friends. Eli is weird, she smells, she doesn't seem to get cold, she walks barefoot in the snow, she only hangs out with Oskar at night and she is crazy good at solving a Rubick's cube. (the novel is set in the early 1980s in Stockholm) Oskar figures something is a bit off with her, and it is revealed that she is a vampire. (there is also a lot to "her" backstory that was very interesting and revealed as time goes on, I don't want to spoil it, but it is part of the dark themes I mentioned). The man is clearly not her father, and though not really shown or hinted at too much in the film(s) he is clearly a pedophile in the novel. Hence another dark part. To be honest, his part disturbed me a bit, it was interesting, but definitely disturbing. The other sections are some other adult characters that get involved because of Eli. The relationship between Oskar and Eli is beautiful. They have a totally innocent, simple, loyal, and just stunning relationship. It is the core of the story.

The american remake of this film (in my opinion) is beautiful as well. Its a bit of a different feel to it, but it is still the story I loved and the kids were amazing. I recommend that people check out all 3. The novel, the Swedish film and the American film. ( )

Spooky read number 1. It was a pretty good vampire novel with some nicely gruesome scenes as befitting the season. Ending was a little underwhelming and one character/plot thread was left completely dangling. Pretty well written. Debut novel, I'd check out more of the author's work to see if he improves as a writer. ( )

This is exactly the kind of thriller I most like to read as it combines murder, mystery and the supernatural.
Having watched the most recent film adaptation with Chloe Grace Moretz a few years ago, I already had an idea of what would happen in the book but the secret of Eli's character (besides being a vampire) was a surprise and added to the story making it more diverse and also gruesome. ( )

Now one of my favorite books. ( )

Nice pacing, interesting characters, and an interesting take on an often crowded and tired genre. Well worth the read but expect gorey details. ( )

Disturbing as fuck, but very well written. Deals with triggering topics. ( )

One of the best pieces of fiction I have read in a long time. Interesting take of the traditional vampire legend. ( )

I liked it...I feel like there was a fair amount of Swedish social commentary going on that I just didn't get, but it's an interesting take on the vampire story. ( )

Well that was unpleasant. ( )

Originality
Vampires. Child vampires. Been there, done that.

But this story world is not a supernatural one--it is, in fact, the very real world. It could happen. It could have happened. Do you wonder why your next-door neighbor comes out only at night?

Writing
In addition to going above and beyond the quality writing criteria, I learned a few new words ("halothane") and was treated to some truly poetic passages and realistic, un-romanticized gore.

Characterization
Lindqvist writes quite believable characters that are explored to the depths of their human, inhuman, and depraved selves.

Story
The mechanics of becoming a vampire aren't explained satisfactorily enough for a suspension of disbelief; that is, if a physiological basis is going to be posited, then more than a cursory explanation is required. Furthermore, why can't vampires raid the local blood bank--it's modern times, you know. There actually is a scene that implies that possibility, which leaves the reader wondering. It would've been better to not have included that scene.

Too much time was spent on secondary characters that ended up going nowhere and extraneous scenes (for example, from a squirrel's point-of-view).

There was a lack in setup, such as the bathroom scene at the end.

The pacing is good; however, during the lead up to the finalé, because the cast of secondary characters needed their stories to be completed, the main story line was interrupted--thus the entire story became fragmented.

Although the story turned out how I thought it would, by no means was it obvious. In that way, the author did his job well.

Personal Notes
This book is really only the second vampire story I've read, the first being Interview with the Vampire. I don't find it worthwhile to be stuck inside the heads of depraved individuals and I had to in this book--that's one reason I'd probably never read Silence of the Lambs. I liked the realism of the horror scenes and the characters. What drove me to finish the story was to find out how vampirism worked in this world, but in that respect I was disappointed.

Overall, a solid reading experience but it could be more focused. ( )