The Book Depository Let the Right One in by John Ajvide Lindqvist
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Price: £18.99
Brand: The Book Depository
Description: Let the Right One in : Paperback : St Martin's Press : 9780312355296 : 0312355297 : 28 Oct 2008 : Translation of: Leat den reatte komma in. The Book Depository Let the Right One in by John Ajvide Lindqvist - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: The Book Depository
Product ID: 9780312355296
MPN: 0312355297
GTIN: 9780312355296
Author: P. Smith
Rating: 5
Review: I had never heard of this book, or of either of the films which have been made from it - one Swedish and a later American remake, I think. I'd given up on "Twilight" three quarters of the way through, being unable to understand what all the fuss was about - I found it slow and, quite honestly, not very engaging, despite assurances from everyone that it was "quite wonderful". However, I may try again some time. I therefore didn't think I'd be particularly interested in another book about vampires, but downloaded a free sample of "Let the Right One In" when browsing for books to read on my new Kindle. The complete book was being offered at an exceptionally reasonable price and the sample drew me into the plot sufficiently to encourage me to buy it. I'm so glad I did! At first I was a litle worried that I might have made a mistake, and would find the whole thing silly and childish but I positively devoured the book, which works so well on so many levels. There's the vampire of course, who provides the basis of the whole tale, plus some very gruesome scenes which I had difficulty in getting out of my head for some time; there are extremely well-written and exciting sequences where I just couldn't put the book down as I just HAD to get to the end of the chapter to find out what happened and, rather surprisingly, there's a poignant love story between two seemingly unlikely, rather mature, characters interweaved with the plot. What to me seemed to be the main thread was the story of Oskar, a boy of 12, bullied by his peers and his new-found friendship with the little girl next door (Eli), who helps him face up to his tormentors and is absolutely not what she seems to be, in more ways than one! The translation is a good one and, although some phraseology is a little Americanised, English spelling is used throughout. Obviously, money is expressed in kronor and place-names, streets etc, have Swedish names, so none of the Scandinavian feel has, thank goodness, been lost. The author skilfully builds up suspense and keeps the story galloping along, despite the fact that there are quite a lot of characters (I don't think there are too many, despite what other reviewers have said) and there are several stories being told at once, without causing confusion. What is it about all these Scandinavian authors I've discovered all of a sudden? Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson and now John Ajvide Lindqvist! Brilliant! It's no wonder they're so popular!
Author: Mr. Jody Shelley
Rating: 4
Review: I picked up this book after seeing a newspaper advert promoting the upcoming movie of the same name; I'd never heard of the author Lindqvist, but I'm always up for sampling new things, so what the hell, I gave it a whirl. I must admit, for the first 30-40 pages or so, I wasn't too enthralled, but Lindqvist does paint a quaint little picture, and once our protagonist, little Oskar meets Eli for the first time, you are hooked. The relationship that develops is one that many can learn a lot from, and some of the interactions that go on between the two are magical. One negative I have is that the book can leave you a little frustrated, as it goes off on tangents in an overall attempt to link up later on, in different parts - classic idea; but one that sometimes leaves me frustrated, as I'd be really hooked on one little story line, only to be taken off course to start on another. I suppose this is great in that you want to keep reading onwards to find out just what is going to happen. I'm going to see the movie of this, as I've heard that it too is also very good. I recommened this to anyone who is interested in the vampire genre, and to anyone who is compassionate, and can really see the enchantment evolve from the simplest thing in nature. Humanneness, and the powers that it can emit. Great read. 4 stars.
