Let the Right One In, John Ajvide Lindqvist
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Reviewed by Ciara Ní Ghabhann
Also known as Let Me In, this novel is a very dark coming-of-age novel set in 1980s Sweden.
It tells the tale of Oskar, a 12- year- old boy who is bullied awfully at school. One day, he happens to meet Eli, a girl the same age as him. Gradually, they become friends, and that friendship gives Oskar the courage to stand up to his tormentors.
Let The Right One In is a very strange mix of social commentary and vampire novel. Lindqvist seems intent on creating the darkest and most bleak life for all involved; there are glue sniffers, alcoholics, paedophiles, shoplifters and more.
Lindqvist’s native Sweden is the perfectly dark and bleak setting for this novel, it couldn’t have been set anywhere else.
The creepiest aspect of this novel, and one which is lost in the Swedish film adaptation of the same name, is the man Oskar assumes is Eli’s father. He is, in fact, a paedophile who provides Eli with fresh blood when she needs it.
The violence in the book is a true return to the vampire’s gory and scary origins, and is made all the more horrifying by the mundane suburban setting.
Eli doesn’t discuss her life as a vampire terribly much, although old myths are hinted at briefly, and these scenes generally raise more questions than they answers. Lindqvist threw all vampire clichés out the window and created a truly refreshing and new take on the myth.
This book is a rollercoaster ride with some wonderful plot twists thrown in. It is by turns terrifying, hilarious, sad and repulsive, but it’s well worth a read.
Ciara “Kiwi” Ní Ghabhann is an Irish student journalist with too much time on her hands. You can read her blog or follow her on Twitter.
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