Let the Right One In, Indeed

Let the Right One In

By John Ajvide Lindqvist

This novel is not for everyone- just skip it if you can't stand reading about child molestation, gore, and all things dark and gritty. This is definitely one of the darkest novels I've read. That being said, if you can get past all the darkness, this novel goes beyond your average gore-fest and probes some deeper themes.

First off, the novel has an excellent sense of place- it's set in the fall of 1981 in Vallingby, a northwest Stockholm suburb. I readily admit I'm not all that familiar with Vallingby and what it stands for in Sweden, but I think the author chose this city for a reason. From what I've gleaned, Vallingby is a pretty new suburb that opened in 1954. The idea behind the city was to have all you'd need to work, live, and be a part of the community in one area. Perhaps Lindqvist chose this setting for this dark novel as a critique? Or perhaps I'm reading too much into things...

Additionally, I struggled with what to make of Eli. On the one hand, Eli is a brutalized child fighting for survival, but on the other hand, Eli is a manipulative and fierce killer. Here comes my moral relativism again, but I couldn't just condemn Eli- part of me feels sympathy for his/her desire to survive no matter the cost. To complicate things further, there are all the connections between Eli and religious figures in the book. For example, Hakan yells "Eli!" when he is caught, and according to Staffan, anyway, Eli means God. Additionally, at the end of the novel, witnesses describe Eli as an "angel" after he/she saves Oskar (not to mention Eli's apparent sexlessness, which evoked angels in a way for me). I'm not sure where these references fit in with Eli the character, but it's certainly food for thought.

Finally, I can't resist comparing the novel to the film. Overall, I enjoyed the film, though I did find the pacing strangely slow for a horror flick (maybe that's just my American desire for instantaneousness). The film did a great job with setting and characterization, even if they did need to simplify things some. Unsurprisingly, though, the film couldn't match the depth and richness of the novel.  While I enjoyed the film, it was the novel that really hooked me and got me thinking.