Vet inte riktigt om jag ska kategorisera detta inlägg som i-landsproblem eller inte, men något riktigt stort problem är det helt klart inte. Möjligen för en riktig boknörd som är livrädd för att snuvas på en god läsupplevelse. Just nu läser jag Skumtimmen och efter de första hundra sidorna har jag riktigt gott hopp om den. Jag gillade Nattfåk och har rätt höga förväntningar.

En annan bok som jag (något otippat) tyckte väldigt mycket om är Låt den rätte komma in och en annan bok av John Ajvide Lindqvist väntar på att bli läst, nämligen Människohamn.

När jag och min kollega pratade noveller idag berättade hon om en novell av Ajvide Lindqvist Flickan, som ska ha funnits i någon Färdlektyr typ 2006. Vi kom då in på både honom och Theorin. Hon sa att hon älskade Människohamn och även tyckte om Skumtimmen, men att de båda böckerna är väldigt lika. Hon rådde mig därför att läsa Människohamn först.

Hur ska jag göra nu? Avbryta läsandet av Skumtimmen som jag faktiskt gillar och istället läsa Människohamn eller hoppas på att den håller för läsning även efter Skumtimmen är utläst? Någon som läst båda? Spontant tror jag att jag läser klart den bok jag håller på med.

En annan fråga till er som vet så mycket om litteratur. Hur får jag tag på novellen Flickan?

Muito foi falado sobre a sensação sueca Deixa Ela Entrar, dirigido por Tomas Alfredson a partir do livro de John Ajvide Lindqvist. Tido como um dos melhores filmes do ano, e um dos melhores filmes sobre vampiro de todos os tempos, o terror sueco choca por seu realismo, apesar do tema. Não se trata, então, de um filme de vampiros. Deixa Ela Entrar vai além e consegue ser um dos melhores retratos de um fenômeno que está se tornando morbidamente comum hoje em dia, o nascimento de um sociopata.

Frágil e inseguro, o jovem Oskar, de 12 anos, causa empatia imediata ao espectador por seu drama. Filho de pais separados, sem encontrar seu lugar em sua casa ou na escola, o menino sente-se sempre deslocado, o que facilita que seus colegas se aproveitem da situação. Alvo constante de bullying, Oskar está constantemente sozinho, com seus pensamentos, e só consegue se encontrar com a presença de sua nova vizinha, Eli. Saindo raramente de casa, também sem amigos, a menina se torna aquele complemento que faltava na vida de Oskar, apesar de ela ter algumas idiossincrasias que logo mostram que a garota não é tão frágil como ele.

Eli não tem 12 anos como ele, mas é uma eterna criança. Uma vampira que vive de cidade em cidade tentando se esconder enquanto se alimenta de vitimas de assassinatos cometidos por seu acompanhante, um suposto pai que é tratado quase como um escravo por ela. A garota logo percebe o sofrimento de Oskar e tenta criar nele uma coragem de colocar em ação seus pensamentos. Apesar de frágil, as constantes humilhações que o garoto sofre já surtem efeito em sua mente, que é cada vez mais sórdida. Aos poucos, a improvável amizade entre os dois faz com que ele comece a tomar coragem para mostrar quem é verdadeiramente.

O filme foi bastante comparado a outros longas de vampiros, sendo inclusive eleito o melhor filme do gênero desde Nosferatu, de 1922. Há outros gêneros no entanto, que Deixa Ela Entrar se encaixaria, conseguindo um resultado ainda melhor, como o de filmes que procuram explicar os constantes massacres em instituições, ou mesmo o de obras que tentam mostrar a origem de um assassino. Mesmo o tão comentado – e já quase esquecido – Elefante, de Gus Van Sant, é superado de forma brilhante pelo longa sueco.

Do meio para o fim do filme, um dialogo entre Eli e seu suposto pai deixam a pista para o espectador sobre o que está acontecendo de verdade ali. Mesmo não havendo qualquer fantasia desde o início da projeção – fora o detalhe de que vampiros, aparentemente, não existem –, aquele pequeno diálogo mostra que a realidade é ainda mais dura do que vimos até então. Não importa que sejam apenas duas crianças tentando encontrar seu lugar e sentindo o que presenciam em um mundo cruel. E até mesmo estas belas e frágeis crianças também fazem parte desta sórdida sociedade.

Deixa Ela Entrar (Låt den rätte komma in, 2008, Suécia)
Direção: Tomas Alfredson
Roteiro: John Ajvide Lindqvist
Elenco: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
115 Minutos

Since both the movie and the book are decent, if not good, I am torn between championing one while piggy-backing the other onto it. Meaning, praising the book, and then discussing how the movie was different and why it was worse. But, strangely, that isn’t the case here. I actually prefer the movie to the book.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t like Twilight, the book is actually good, but I didn’t find it amazing. It didn’t wow me, and I don’t mean that harshly, not in the least. John Ajvide Lindqvist is a capable novelist, a good old fashioned novelist.

In the book, we move through many different viewpoints, but about five or so characters could be considered protagonists. And around each protagonist, Lindqvist creates structures, tension, plot lines, and then smashes them into one another. Each narrative has its own suspense already, so when two narratives cross paths the suspense is doubled, sometimes tripling what’s at stake.

Oskar, the ipso facto hero, has a macabre personality, no doubt, because of the vicious bullying he endures at school. In the book it’s because he’s fat, in the movie it’s because he’s weird, but in the book he’s only weird because he’s bullied. It’s a catch 22 that I don’t mind because it isn’t necessary to the story. Oskar lives with his mother in a tiny apartment. He’s poor, lonely, and without a father. All things make him rife for unwittingly befriending a vampire, Eli, the girl that just moved in next door, with a strange man that Oskar thinks is her father but really it’s the guy who acquires Eli’s food as he has a predilection for young children. From there, a couple of other narratives spiral out, and weave together, in this back and forth motion, until the end of the book.

It’s a novel of nineteenth century proportions but its strength, its fresh outlook is not within itself, it’s within the vampire genre as a whole.

Some say, this book revolutionizes vampire fiction, which is simply not true, because vampire fiction cannot be revolutionized. It is what it is. Which usually is pretty white boys preying on young, pretty white girls, generally of the vestal variety. No one’s pretty in this movie, sure, in the book they can be as pretty as you want them to be, but no special attention has been drawn to the vampire’s beauty. Her appeal is that she’s twelve, and, as a side note, this book did lead me to believe that Sweden has a pedophile problem as a couple of the characters, as well as some of the descriptions, made it seem like desiring, procuring children sexually was a common practice.

I’m going to argue that the draw of this film, of this book, besides the structural juggling, is the banality of it all, which, I fear, the American version, Let Me In, will lack. I don’t know much about the upcoming film, but I do know that the producers felt Let the Right One In, was too long a title, and that is unsettling.

The book, the movie, takes place during the 80’s, but without nostalgia. The time seems much like the present. This immediacy grabs you, pulls you in, invites you to compare now to then. Because they aren’t that different, one is left comparing products, toys and fashion, but really, this is a minor note, and it’s presented as such. It’s presented like stuff doesn’t matter. Possibly the author’s recalling a time when capitalism wasn’t so rampant, when things were easier, but if he is, he’s doing so very lightly, and without affectation.

The long, in both sense of the word, sweeping landscapes, the uninterrupted plains of snow, are almost too sublime for the eye to behold. It’s the perfect setting to spill a couple of drops of blood onto. In this way, it reminded me of Lady Snowblood, the manga film Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series was based off of. Like the image of the Japanese flag, a single red stain on a blanket of white, Lady Snowblood’s revenge is enacted with such beauty that one almost forgets they are watching murder. Because it’s a revenge tragedy, you want Lady Snowblood to kill these men. The same dilemma is presented in Let the RIght One In. It’s not that the murders are beautiful, though, they’re different from the usual gruesome gory ilk, it’s that one’s allegiance is brought into question. If these murders don’t happen then Eli will starve, and if Eli’s starves then Oskar will have no friends, and they’re both children for god sakes.

This is what I love about the story, the love story. Finally, a love story between children, pre-teens (teens?), that’s not soupy, maudlin, or obsessively G rated. There’s an honesty to Eli’s and Oskar’s love, something innocent and real, believable and childlike. The reader ends up caring about these two, no matter what. If these characters were adults, or even fully fledged teenagers, their story would seem less beautiful, less profound. It would be more about the sex.

Instead, the story’s about a child’s existential dilemma, how it’s very similar to the adult kind, but more frustrating, as children are more apt to be powerless. Most of the reviews are right. The story is moving. It’s gorgeous. The way the narrative unfolds at a lento pace reminds one that not all plots can be told with explosions, both the fiery and the orgasmic kind.

The movie walks, strolls, builds, then keeps walking. The book releases the tension then hiccups at the end, but by that time I was already fantasizing about what to read next. Maybe I was too easy on Lindqvist, maybe it is his fault. Maybe the book should’ve been 200 pages shorter.

Either way, I recommend the film.

Though I feel it is my duty to warn. The book is advertised as YA, and though I am all for not censoring, anything, ever, even when it comes to children, some people may find some of the scenes too disturbing. And the book is much more violent than the movie. Squeamishly violent. Just saying, but more importantly, watch for which film translation you pick up. The movie has two different sets of English subtitles. One is clever, funny, and deep, while the other is flat, matter-of-fact, and just not as good. I don’t know why this is, but it is. If one were to rent this movie on Netflix they get the good subtitles, but if one rents it through Blockbuster they get the bad one. (My internet crapped out mid-movie, so we went to Blockbuster, only to be profoundly disappointed.) I am warning you with utmost sincerity that if you get the bad translation, return it. It’s just not worth it. You will know immediately. When Lacke and Jöcke part ways very early on, like the first 15 minutes, Lacke will say, “Thank you for another night of friendship and merriment.” While in the bad version he will simply say “Thanks for drinking with me,” or something to that banal effect.

And, so we’re clear. That’s the bad kind of banal. The good kind presents vampires in a way that doesn’t highlight them as magnificent, awe-inspiring creatures. They aren’t something to be revered but to be pitied. They are like everyone else because they were once everyone else. They see their condition as a disease, nothing to brag about. Sure, a few perks come with the deal, but for the most part, it’s a life of tacking old blankets and cardboard boxes over the windows, and killing innocent people because you can’t fight the hunger pains any longer.

This vampire story is different, because, as one reviewer said it, you forget that it is a vampire movie, and that’s good for any and all genre fiction.

Let the Right One In is a breath of fresh air in the rather stale genre of horror. Categorizing John Ajvide Lindqvist work as horror is brings about misconstrued notions of mindless blood, gore and shocks. Though the requisite amount of blood permeates the pages (this is after all a story with a vampire), Let the Right One In is a much deeper and complex story.

Oskar, a 12 year old boy who is an outcast at school is often bullied and ridiculed. Out of school he takes on a different persona, a thief and a collector of murder news articles. This in itself is pretty troubling as he does go about with a knife stabbing trees imagining them to be the bully Jonny, but Lindqvist does not dwell on this. Oskar is merely and outcast who meets another outcast, Eli who has recently moved into the same apartment as Oskar. There first meeting is awkward and their subsequent encounters are typical boy meets girl encounters of childhood filled with trepidation and fear. Soon, Oskar gets involved with Eli and they form a friendship that goes deeper than physicality. When Oskar finally learns Eli’s secret (and there are a couple of them), he struggles to accept it, but with the innocence of a child is brushed aside and friendship holds.

Lindqvist centres the story on Oskar and Eli, but a host of other characters people the story, bringing life to the rather dreary sounding town of Blackeberg. There is Lacke and Virginia who have a on-again-off-again relationship that is resolved only after a tragic event. In addition there is Tommy, Oskar’s friend who is struggling to accept Staffan who is going out with his mother. And there are Oskar’s parents, divorced with a secret that is slowly revealed by Lindqvist and not forgetting the true monster in the book Håkan.

For a horror novel and a vampire story to boot, Let the Right One In neither glorifies the vampire lifestyle like in Anne Rice’s novels nor paint vampires as sensual powerful beings. In fact, vampirism is a disease as Eli explains it to Oskar; Eli drinks blood because she has to. In fact, there are scenes in the book that suggest that Eli is not without heart. Most of the gore and blood is rather contained, though the scene with Eli and Håkan towards the end is rather disturbing and as with the scene with Tommy and Håkan.

Let the Right One In does one up when compared to other horror novels. It has characters that are completely normal, faced with everyday problems. Nothing is really preternaturally out of place except for the vampire(s). This allows the reader to focus and care about the characters. The usual horror story has loads of gore without much care of character development except for the monster. Here, we take pity with Oskar, though are sometimes frightened by what goes on in his head. We empathize with Eli and feel heart ache for Lacke and Virginia and disdain for Jonny.

Lindqvist’s Let the Right One In undoubtedly tackles issues that plagues the common folk, but features otherworldly characters. Does it mean it is a horror novel or merely a novel with a few shocks and jolts. Whatever it is, Let the Right One In is definitely worth it and should perhaps be pulled off the horror shelf and placed in the common fiction shelf. It’s cross over appeal is aplenty. (4/5)

Jag är så ledsen igår satte jag in sista skivan och nu är den boken slut, snyfft…

10 berättelser och det är som alltid när det gäller noveller. Man tycker lite mera eller mindre om en och annan berättelse men jag gillar hela boken.

Sista berättelsen är en epilok till romanen “Hanteringen av odöda” som jag inte har läst men det kommer jag att göra, helt säkert.

Dessutom hittade jag en recension som jag gillar lika mycket som boken. Det är Bea som har skrivit den på Pocketblogg.se
Bea, har jag upptäckt, gillar liknande böcker som jag. Det är fördelen med bokbloggar. Med tiden hittar man sina favoriter.

Nästa ljudbok är: Ut och själa hästar av Per Petterson.
Pocketboken som ligger på nattduksbordet, “Dagen efter” av Lionel Shriver har jag lite svårt för. Hon förlorar sig väldigt mycket i detaljer och ibland tappar jag tråden medan jag läser. Ska se om det blir bättre framöver.

I was intending on re-watching Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In for my horror movie marathon, but I didn’t. I reviewed this movie before, but I did not give credit where credit was due to superior film that blows Twilight out of the water. Now, that the remake, Let Me In is coming soon, I wanted to shower my praise on this film again.

John Ajvide Lindqvist adapted his book about a young twelve-year-old Swedish boy named Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) who is constantly bullied at school. He dreams of the day that he could strike back.

One night, young girl, Eli (Lina Leandersson) moves into the apartment next door to his with an older man, Håkan (Per Ragnar). The new neighbors are not what they seem be. You notice that at night, Hákan has a kit containing a butcher knife, funnel, old gas can, flashlight, jar of acid and a gas tank, killing people in a quiet place and draining their blood. You think that he was a mass murder, but he has his reasons.

Every night, Oskar talks to Eli at the jungle gym in the courtyard of their apartment complex. The peculiar Eli who never wears a coat in the dead of winter intrigues Oskar. He tries to get to know her, but she doesn’t open up.

What Oskar doesn’t know is that when Eli is hungry, her next meal is Jocke (Mikael Rahm). The viewer knows that she is a vampire, but nobody else knows except for Gösta, (Karl-Robert Lindgren), a spinster cat man who watched what Eli did.

Eli and Hákan’s lives begin to unravel when Eli and Oskar’s friendship continues to grow. They rely on each other to each other every thing. Eli teaches Oskar to stand up for himself against the bullies. In turn, Oskar teaches Eli how to be the kid that she once was.

I watched this the same time as Twilight. This is the far superior vampire movie, because it doesn’t have shimmering shinned vamps that scare creepily at you. This movie has so many layers to it that you don’t realize upon a second viewing. The stark snow covered landscape painted with red, vamps actually drinking blood, the subtle nuances of the relationship between Oskar, Eli and Hákan.

The remake, Let Me In, is not going to have the dark humor, the sexual awakenings of pre-pubescent children, child-to-children violence, the obsession with knives, blood, and the revelation about Eli. It won’t fly. It would just a sterilized version that will cater to a mainstream audience.

Judgment: This is not your tween vampire story. This one is actually good.

Rating: ****

With Halloween steadily approaching us, fellow geeks, I’ve decided to do a count down of the best Halloween-related films/books/music, etc.  For today, I’m geeking this:

Let the Right One In

Theatrical release poster.

With all the vampire hullabaloo plaguing our society, it is my duty to tell you all about a vampire story sans body glitter.  Let the Right One In is a 2004 Swedish fiction novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist popularized by the release of the film adaption last year, directed by Tomas Alfredson. The novel and subsequent film were so well-received that an English adaption will be heading our way in 2010.

The story follows Oskar, a bullied Swedish boy, in Blackeberg, Sweden.  He meets and falls in love with a child vampire, Eli, who may or may not be behind several brutal murders in his suburb.  Sound familiar?  Well, don’t count on any Twilight references here.  Lindqvist, who also penned the screenplay for the widely critically acclaimed film, writes his vampires the traditional way: thirsty.  Read the novel, see the movie, and you will be too…for more.

May the geek be with you,

Lindsay

Data
Title: Låt den rätte komma in
Year: 2008
Length: 115 minutes
Director: Tomas Alfredson
Writer: John Ajvide Lindqvist, based on his novel
Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson
Music: Johan Söderqvist (and non-original music)
Distinctions: currently #220 on IMDb’s Top 250

My reaction
Synopsis: a 12-year-old boy’s new friend is a vampire
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Concept: Indifferent. I can imagine the pitch for this film sounding like a Saturday morning spin-off of Twilight.
Story: Good.
Characters: Great.
Dialog: Great. And I watched the infamous Bad Subtitles version…
Pacing: Indifferent. Kind of slow. Not quite boring, but long.
Cinematography: Indifferent. Most shots are out-of-focus close ups, which I guess creates a deliberate effect, but whatever.
Special effects/design: Great.
Acting: Great. Not “great for a movie staring a couple of adolescents,” just great.
Music: Indifferent. Although, the sound effects are so good, you don’t need good music.
Subjective Rating:7/10 (Good). Immediately after watching it, I thought I’d give it 6/10. But it’s the kind of movie that sinks into your brain and won’t leave you alone, and I find myself deciding between a 7 or an 8.
Objective Rating: 8/10 (Good).

Ingen kan ha missat att Camilla Läckberg har kommit ut med en ny roman som heter “Fyrvaktaren”? Istället för att skriva om henne och nya boken tänkte jag föreslå tre andra böcker som du kan läsa – med Fyren på omslaget.

Johan Theorin har några likheter med Läckberg, till exempel att hans böcker är storsäljare och att de båda befinner sig i deckargenren – men – Theorin är bättre. Hans senaste bok “Nattfåk” är en spännande och mystisk berättelse som utspelar sig på Öland, där en fåk är en kraftig storm som drar med sig snö och is. Fåken har tagit flera människors liv på Öland och förr var sjömän ofta inblandade. I boken är huvudpersonerna en familj från Stockholm som flyttar till Öland för att börja ett nytt liv. De flyttar in i ett gammalt trähus som de ska renovera, men det nya livet stannar upp när ett dödsfall oväntat och mystiskt sker i familjen. Kombinationen mellan det oförklarliga mordet och den gåta som fåken bär med får mig att tycka att boken står sig riktigt bra i deckargenren.

- Havet är trasigt, säger Simon, en pensionerad illusionist som är en av huvudpersonerna i John Ajvide Lindqvists bok “Människohamn” – en av mina favoritböcker från förra året.

I likhet med Theorins bok så har naturen en handlingskraft och en avgörande roll i boken, men det finns inget mord som ska lösas utan det är istället en berättelse om sorg och saknad, med övernaturliga inslag och ett märkligt slut (som jag verkligen undrar hur de kommer iscensätta i filmatiseringen).

“Fyrväktaren” av Jeanette Winterson är en fantasifull uppväxtskildring med ett orginellt språk. Flickan Silver blir omhändertagen av fyrväktaren Pew efter sin mammas död. Tillsammans lever de i fyren och Pew uppfostrar henne så att hon ska kunna ta över efter honom. De lever i en isolerad värld med Pew’s fyrväktarhistorier som verklighet. Med de komiska metaforerna och det annorlunda berättarspråket lyckas Winterson åter igen med sitt säregna berättande.

Winterson är en orginell författare med en tuff uppväxt som hon skildrar i en den självbiografiska debuten “Det finns annan frukt än apelsiner” som vi nyligen diskuterade i Läsecirkeln. Hennes böcker är sagor man inte glömmer så lätt.

Hitta Nattfåk i katalogen

Hitta Människohamn i katalogen

Hitta Fyrväktaren i katalogen

/Andrea

Jag tänker inte skaffa mig någon läsplatta (om vi bortser från att den som i dagarna introduceras i Sverige kostar 3000 kronor och följaktligen är rätt dyr). Det jag hoppas på är förstås att vanliga böcker, åtminstone pocketböcker, kommer att kunna införskaffas vid sidan av. Men för mig är inte böcker musik, som för det mesta ju framförs på någon form av batterikrävande apparat… det jag försöker säga är att hela njutningen med böcker skulle försvinna, nästan i alla fall, om man inte kunde hålla i dem och bläddra i dem. För att inte tala om vad som skulle hända med en elektronisk bok om strömmen försvann! Men jag skulle däremot kunna tänka mig att ladda ner och läsa noveller på en läsplatta, det kanske jag gör så småningom. Däremot vill jag kunna läsa romaner och ha kvar dem i bokhyllan, punkt slut.

John Ajvide Lindqvist - passar bäst i pocketformat

Här är min senaste pågående läsning: Människohamn av John Ajvide Lindqvist. Bästa boken av honom hittills, tror jag, i alla fall bättre än debuten Låt den rätte komma in. Men kanske inte riktigt lika bra som hans novellsamling Pappersväggar.

Let the Right One In (2008)

Eli

Let the Right One In, or Låt den rätte komma in, is a film directed by Tomas Alfredson (Four Shades of Brown). The story is based on a novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist, who also penned the screenplay. It is about an unpleasant and tender, but relatable twelve year old boy named Oskar. It deals with his many problems; from his careless and divorced parents who neglect him, to his classmates who mentally and physically abuse him. Oskar has angry tendencies but you can hardly blame the poor guy. As the film unfolds Oskar finds some light in the dark cold nights of Stockholm. He forges a profound bond with a lonely and disheveled girl around the same age as he is. Her name is Eli and she is a vampire.

Oskar

This is not your normal horror movie fare, nor is it in any way reminiscent of mainstream vampire fiction that I can think of. It is after all, first and foremost, a romance story and because of that the moments of horror were only in the back of my mind, and they work far more convincingly than I expected. Continuity is also rare in horror films and the consistency of the characters and the performances of the actors who played them only worked to enhance the film overall.

An aspect of Let the Right One In that seemed exceptional to me can only be explained by mentioning a scene. As retributive as it may sound, some of Oskar’s bullies get their due in brutal yet satisfying fashion. The scene is incredibly violent and is done underwater, but within the context of Oskar and Eli as characters, and at that point in their relationship, the scene works to be equally as beautiful as it is horrifying. In the end I pity Oskar, but at the same time I’m not sure he has known any relationship better than one with Eli, and he probably never will. There is a bittersweet feeling throughout. I can’t think of any film that brings a sense of romance to such extreme horror but this one pulls it off quite nicely and with little direct effort.

Climactic scene from the movie

There has been talk about an Americanized remake of this movie but it will actually be another interpretation of the novel so I expect something dramatically different. Let the Right One In left an impression on me that no horror film has since perhaps The Exorcist and it is probably, along with Hertzog’s Nosferatu: Phantom Der Nacht, the most compelling portrayal of the vampire myth that I’ve ever seen in film. This is an amazing movie and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

My rating is 5 out of 5 stars.

Vampires are attacking from all directions! Or should I say all mediums. We have adult vampires on TV in True Blood, teen vampires in print and on the big screen in Twilight, and now we have child vampires in Tomas Alfredson’s film Let The Right One In. There’s a vampire out there for everyone! And believe it or not, an American remake of Let The Right One is already in the works. I imagine it got green-lit before anyone even saw this film. The studio execs must have heard it had vampires and signed it off immediately. I wonder if I pitched a film about vampires in a retirement village would it get picked up by the Weinsteins?

Let The Right One In is a Swedish romance-horror-drama adapted from the book Let Me In by author John Ajvide Lindqvist. It tells the story of Oskar, an only child raised by a single mother who is bullied at school. Its not surprising he finds it hard to relate to other kids as his interests include keeping a scrap-book of newspaper articles about muders and massacres, and doing Travis Bickle impressions to trees. Oskar does find a friend in Eli, a strange young girl who has just moved next door and the film revolves around their deepening relationship.

This film is riding a huge wave of critical acclaim. Granted, it is a well-conceived hybrid of genre and art film, which will no doubt appeal to both audiences. However, I felt sometimes Alfredson failed in maintaining a consistent tone, at one minute the film resembled Kieslowski, the next Guillermo del Toro. I also had beef with the intrusive score, particularly when it overwhelmed the more suspenseful scenes. These scenes worked better when utilising silence and evocative sound design as displayed in the two best scenes, a hospital farewell and the brilliantly choreographed climax.

Maybe it is because of the hype but I can’t say this film particularly overwhelmed me. I do however see its appeal as an accessible foreign language film that will impress a lot of people, in the way the likes of Pans Labyrinth did. The kids do a great job, particularly Lina Leandersson as Eli, her weary eyes giving her the appearance of having knowledge beyond her years. If you are a vampire fan I recommend it, it certainly gets marks for originality within a genre that is slowly exhausting itself. 

för att göra mig glad

Tänkte bara köpa lite soppgrönsaker, gick förbi ett bord med reaböcker och lät blicken svepa över ljudböckerna medan jag gick förbi.

Där fanns den! Ljudboken “Pappersväggar” av John Ajvide Lindqvist. Reapris dessutom. Författaruppläsning. Ibland har man tur.

Titel: So finster die Nacht
Autor: John Ajvide Lindqvist
Erscheinungsjahr: 2007
Seiten: 641
Verlag: Lübbe
ISBN: 978-3-404-15755-6
Preis: 8,95€

Klappentext:
Wenn das Unfassbare Einzug hält, nimmt es anfangs niemand wahr …

In dem Stockholmer Vorort Blackeberg wird die Leiche eines Jungen gefunden. Sein Körper enthält kein Tropfen Blut mehr. Alles deutet auf einen Ritualmörder hin. Noch ahnt niemand, was tatsächlich geschehen ist. Auch der zwölfjährige Oskar verfolgt fasziniert die Nachrichten. Wer könnte der Mörder sein? Und warum sind in der Nachbarwohnung die Fenster stets verhangen …

Eine fesselnde Geschichte über Liebe, Rache – und das Grauen.

Meine Meinung:
Abstoßend und überaus fesselnd zugleich
Zugegeben, dies ist keine Lektüre, die jedem gefallen wird.
Schonungslos werden noch die “krankesten” Szenen geschildert. Sei es Verstümmelung, Mord, versuchte Vergewaltigung… alles.
Und gerade das gefällt mir. Ich bin nun wirklich hart im Nehmen, aber an manchen muss man einfach schlucken, weil es so abtrus, so grauenvoll ist.
Aber gerade das macht das Buch so genial. Diese Welt ist grauenvoll. Gut, nach Vampiren kann man lange suchen, doch die elementaren Dinge werden mit einer Nüchternheit beschrieben, die das Ausmaß des Grauens erst wirklich deutlich machen.
Abgesehen davon ist es eine fesselnde und spannende Geschichte, die besonders zum Ende hin immer rasanter wird, wenn alle Handlungsstränge zusammenlaufen.
Man wird mit den Charakteren mitleiden, sie an anderen Stellen nicht verstehen. Man wird Verluste erleiden müssen, aber auch Gewinne erkennen, Erleichterung verspüren.
Dieses Buch nimmt einfach mit, rüttelt auf. Sollte man gelesen habe – auch wenn es nachher nicht unbedingt gefällt!

Bokstav nummer nio är L

Bok: Låt den rätte komma in av John Ajvide Lindqvist som är både spännande och bra. Jag gillar både miljön och personerna. Historien om den mobbade Oskar och den mystiska Eli i Blackeberg är välskriven och läsvärd. Läser gärna fler böcker av Ajvide Lindqvist.

Författare: Det blir en deckarförfattare trots att många av dem presenterats i Krimalfabetet. Åsa Larsson är en av mina absoluta favoriter. Jag gillar hennes huvudperson Rebecka Martinsson trots att hon har en tendens att trassla till det rejält för sig själv.

Litterär karaktär: Thomas Lynley är gentlemannapolisen i Elizabeth Georges böcker. I mitt huvud ser han inte alls ut som Nathaniel Parker utan är både blondare och svårare. Har följt honom sedan den första boken, men har de två sista kvar att läsa.

I så fall kan jag tipsa om John Ajvide Lindqvists böcker, har läst nästan alla hans böcker och de är rysligt bra. Såg Låt den rätte komma in på DVD, och blev djupt besviken. Läs boken istället, den är då mycket bättre.

Eller så kan du ju läsa dagens Aftonbladet istället:

Ni trodde jag hade gått under jorden men nej då, jag behövde lugna ner mig lite efter alla tidningsartiklar m.m. om Utförsäkringskassan.
Dessutom var jag ganska smärtpåverkad som fortfarande inte är på “vanlig nivå” men det medför att man ligga mycket och kan lyssna på en mp3 bok.

Människohamn av John Ajvide Lindqvist

Jag har aldrig läst nånting av honom tidigare och hade därför noll förväntningar.
Författaren läser själv och det känns inte ett dugg som om han läser ur en bok utan som om han berättar historien. Han har en obeskrivlig behaglig röst som gör varje minut lyssnande till en njutning.
Jag tyckte väldigt mycket om boken men vet alltså inte hur jag hade upplevt den om jag hade läst boken.

Några recensioner hittar ni här:

Bodsidan.net och Boktipset.se och PocketBlogg.se 

Åkte förbi en affär igår och stannade för att ta en bild på

GB-Gubben
I fortsättningen kommer jag alltid att tänka på Människohamn när jag ser den här figuren. 

Annars läser jag fortfarande Guernseys litteratur- och potatisskalspajssällskap av Mary Ann Shaffer och började lyssna på Snablar av Arto Paasilinna.

En los últimos meses han ido estrenando las películas de algunas de las novelas. Vamos a dar un repaso a las adaptaciones en la gran pantalla de algunas de ellas. En concreto son tres las adaptaciones correspondientes a la sexta parte de Harry Potter, “Harry Potter y el misterio del príncipe”, la primera parte de Millenium, “Los hombres que no amaban a las muejres”, y el vampírico “Dejame entrar”.

Publicado originalmente el 18 de agosto del 2009.

Continua leyéndolo en anilibro.es

Nos leemos en el siguiente capítulo

‘Let The Right One In” is one of the best films I have seen, or am likely to see, this year. A horror film that isn’t really a horror film at all, but more of an art-film that just happens to feature a character that one wouldn’t normally encounter outside of a horror film: a vampire.  A 12 year old vampire, Eli, who has been 12 “for a long time,” as she describes it in the film. Both old and young, Eli’s character combines the playful childishness of a 12 year old with the experience and weight of centuries of existence. Eli is a lonely soul, and the film is really a love story, the story of the blossoming friendship between Eli and 12 year old Oskar, another lonely soul. Oskar is a frail, awkward, virtually friendless boy, the victim of relentless daily bullying.  We see him keeping a scrapbook of newspaper cuttings of murders and violent news stories. We see him losing himself in revenge fantasies, using a hunting knife to stab at a tree while imagining he’s stabbing at the bullies who daily torment him. Oskar is humiliated and angry and alone. And then one night Eli and her older companion Hakan move into his apartment block, and shortly afterwards a friendship between Eli and Oskar starts to develop, tentatively at first, gradually growing more solid over time.

Directed by Tomas Alfredson and with a screenplay adapted from his own novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let The Right One In is beautiful, poignant and haunting film. It is set in the Swedish suburb of Blackeberg in the early 1980s, and the period detail is spot-on: the haircuts, fashions and music all feel authentic without feeling like unnecessary details. It is a brilliant evocation of a particular time and place, which serves to ground what otherwise could seem a fantastic story firmly in the real world. The performances all round are strong, and in a film that succeeds or fails on the strength of two child actors, both Kare Hedebrant as Oskar and Lina Leandersson as Eli, are outstanding, both successfully conveying the complexities and subtle contradictions of their respective characters. Both are utterly believable in their roles.

This is an intelligently made and well structured film.  Not a frame feels wasted or superfluous.  As well as being the story of Oskar and Eli’s growing friendship, it is also an examination of the impact of Eli’s presence – with the inevitable trail of death that it brings – on the provincial Blackeburg community. It is a mature, complex film that will play havoc with your moral compass; without any clear sense of right or wrong the viewer is invited to empathise with all of the characters in the film and the decisions that they make.

When Eli first arrives in Blackeberg she is accompanied by a much older man, Hakan. In an early scene of horror we see Hakan murder a random stranger in a park and string his body up to a tree in order to drain it of blood for Eli. However, he is interrupted in his endeavours by dog-walkers, and he has to return home to Eli bloodless, empty handed. In a brilliant scene that conveys so much in such a clever way, we see Eli berating Hakan for his failure. The camera is fixed on Hakan’s face (brilliantly played by Per Ragnar), with Eli nothing but a blur in the foreground of the shot, angrily stomping back and forth. Hakan, a man in his 50s, never takes his eyes off this 12 year old girl. You can see the fear in his eyes. “Forgive me,” he pleads. And for the first time we get a sense of how formidable and dangerous a character Eli is.

Contrast that with the vulnerable, lonely girl she is with Oskar.  In one of their first meetings Eli reveals to Oskar that she doesn’t know when her birthday is. “So you don’t get any presents?” says Oskar, surprised. Taking pity on his new friend he offers her his Rubik’s Cube to take home and play with.  We see a shot of Eli’s hands fumbling with the cube, then the camera pans up to a close up of her face.  In a fleeting moment we see the pain of Eli’s existence, the emotional chasm that lies at the heart of her being, her unbearable loneliness. It is clear that this is the first ‘gift’ she has been given in a very, very long time.

Aside from the obvious vampire mythology reference, the title ‘Let The Right One In’ really refers to the heart rather than just the home. This is primarily a love story. It is a beautiful, transcendent film that stays with you long after the final frame and which benefits from repeat viewings. There is real depth, subtlety and intelligence at work here.  Had Krystof Kieslowski made a film about a 12 year old vampire, it might have looked something like this. And I can’t think of any higher praise to heap upon a serious film than to compare it to Kieslowski. ‘Let The Right One In’ is a stunning, moving and unique film and I absolutely loved it.

The Book

After seeing the film I decided to read John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel. I enjoyed it enormously, but it is a very different beast to the film. While the movie is more of an art film than a conventional horror movie, the novel most definitely is a horror novel, albeit one with tremendous quality.

The basic story told in the film is the same as the one told in the book, but in the novel the story of supporting characters is fleshed out to a much greater degree, plus we gain a greater understanding of what exactly is going on inside Oskar’s mind. We understand the depths of his suffering and humiliation to a greater extent than is conveyed in the film. Plus, there are some surprising revelations about Eli’s past that do not make it into the movie.

The major difference between the film and the novel is the role of Hakan, Eli’s companion.  His role in the film is significant, but relatively small: his character, ambiguous; his motives for assisting Eli, unclear.   In the novel, Hakan is a full-on paedophile and his story forms a massive chunk of the narrative, running parallel with the Eli-Oskar love story.  It is in Hakan’s story that the novel is at its most horrific, and perhaps even unpalatable for anyone other than the hardcore horror lover.

It’s not surprising that much of Hakan’s story from the novel did not make it into the film. Firstly, because much of it would literally be unfilmable. And secondly, if it could be filmed, it would be unwatchable.  It would also completely change the dynamic of the movie, shifting the focus away from Oskar and Eli and instead onto the literally monstrous threat of Hakan.

Personally, I loved the book, but it’s a graphic horror novel that won’t necessarily appeal to many of those who enjoyed the film. If you like horror, though, it is a real treat.  For all of its gory excesses, the heart and soul and quality of the movie are all present in the pages of this excellent book.