Let the Right One In

What an excellent little vampire book. Wait, vampire book? You mean like Twilight? Sorry: What an excellent little real vampire book, one that brings horror back to the genre while still keeping the slightly human aspect everyone seems to love these days in focus without all the added romance and ‘he is so cute and charming’ crap into it. Okay, that isn’t exactly true, there is a little romance in this story, but it isn’t the overwhelming element that has become popular in other such books, and given some of the descriptions this author pens, is more apt to turn your stomach than stimulate blood flow. Oh, and for all you teen girls (and some boys) that get ticked whenever anyone bashes your beloved Twilight saga, this isn’t a bash, but more of a observation, one that is directed toward horror fans who like creatures of the night, not pretty boys of the night, okay? So, no angry emails this week.

Book Reviews - Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Given that this book was made into a well received movie I don’t think I really need to explain the plotline too much, but will say this, the book tells the story of a twelve year old named Oskar who lives with his mother in the small Swedish suburb of Blackeberg in the 1980s. A single child and a bit of a loner, Oskar has a very difficult time with life due to some bullies that torture him (yes, torture, not taunt), and the fact that he is living in a terrible economy, one that forces him and almost every other character to steal rather than purchase most of their belongings. One night while on the playground of his apartment complex pretending to

stab one of the bullies with a knife he stole, Oskar meets the girl who has moved in next door, one who only seems to come out at night and who lives with a father that doesn’t talk very much and who leaves the apartment at odd hours. Eventually a friendship develops between these two, one which seems to help build up Oskar’s confidence to the point where he is able to take on his bullies and anyone else who tries to stand in his way. At the same time there is a bizarre series of murders taking place, one which involves people being hung up from their feet and drained of blood, or pounced upon by a little girl like creature, one who will rip open the throats of her victims.

Marketed as a vampire book, but more like a coming of age story, one that combines the real life horrors of violent bullies, murder, pedophilia, and poverty, with the make believe horror of vampires, Let the Right One In is a great book that should be a nice treat for those looking for something different amongst the horror titles at the local bookstore. At the same time one should be warned that some of the passages within this book are not pretty and will make you angry, especially when one realizes that stuff like this probably happens everyday all across the world.