Book Review: Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Let The Right One In - John Ajvide Lindqvist

Synopsis:
Living with his single mother in the Swedish suburb of Blackeberg, twelve-year-old Oskar Eriksson’s life revolves around going to school- where he is bullied by a group of thugs led by Jonny Forsberg- and spending time alone around the dreary housing estate he calls home. With no friends his own age, an odd fascination with murderers, and an incontinence problem, Oskar seems destined to forever be a loner. That is, until he meets Eli, a strange young girl who lives next door, seems to have no aversion to the winter cold and whom he only sees at night. The two soon form a tentative friendship, bonded by the fact that both are victims of different circumstances.
When a teenage boy is found murdered in the nearby town of Vällingby, his body drained of blood, panic strikes the heart of Blackeberg and the surrounding towns.
As more bodies begin to pile up, there are fears that the killer, dubbed the Vällingby Murderer by the media, is on a serial-killing frenzy.
Oskar holds a gruesome interest in the developing story, and soon begins to piece together some disturbing facts about his new neighbour and friend.
Why does he never see her during the day and why are her apartment windows blacked out? Why does she sometimes seem wise beyond her years? Why does she sometimes appear to look like an old woman, and the next day look as fresh and sweet as ever?
But Oskar’s digging soon finds him learning more than he ever wanted to know about Eli. Will what Oskar learns turn him from the only happiness he has ever really known? Or will he keep Eli’s terrible secret and stay loyal and true to his mysterious, and deadly, friend?

What I gained from reading this book:
This novel is essentially about victimisation. Oskar is bullied from the outset- teased and harassed by Jonny and his friends, Tomas and Micke. Eli’s victimisation is different but still causes her just as much pain as is inflicted upon Oskar- she is over 200 years old, trapped in the body of a child and has to live with the guilt of killing innocent people, drinking their blood to survive. Eli has also experienced a devastatingly brutal past, which has completely shaped her life as a vampire. Even some of the older characters experience feelings of distress brought about by negative circumstances. Oskar’s mother does the best she can, but clearly struggles as a single parent, while Håkan, Eli’s ‘father’, is a victim of his own weaknesses. Although not all the characters are victims of bullying, many still struggle to get on with their lives, and this novel reminds readers that although life may be tough to deal with sometimes, it usually does improve with time. Oskar’s experiences also show readers that if they fight back and stand up for themselves, justice will prevail in the end.

Positives:
While reading the novel, I had a clear view in my mind of what each of the characters looked like, thanks to Lindqvist’s descriptive language. Admittedly, I saw the film before I read the book, and so this could have some bearing on the way that I imagined the characters, but if that’s the case, then the casting of the film was exceptional! The strengths and weaknesses of each person are explored in the novel, and most of this translates nicely into celluloid. But like all films that are adapted from books, there are key scenes that have been cut (for timing reasons), which add to the depth of the story, and can only be explored when you read the novel.

Negatives:
Some of the subject matter in the novel could be disturbing for some readers. Themes including child prostitution, sodomy, paedophilia and murder pervade the text, and help to form the characterisation of some of the people in the novel. This could be considered a ‘serious’ vampire novel (ie. not a fluffy teen romance like the Twilight saga or some of the other vampire novels around at the moment). Believe me when I say that this book is not for the faint-hearted.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Genre: Horror

Recommended for: People who have seen the excellent Swedish film, and want to read the novel that spawned it.



Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below:

Book Review: Shopgirl by Steve Martin

Shopgirl - Steve Martin

Synopsis:
Mirabelle works at the glove counter of department store Neiman Marcus, ‘selling things that nobody buys anymore’. Attractive in an unconventional sort of way, Mirabelle manages to avoid the attention of most of the people she works with, and attempts to isolate herself from those she believes to be all beauty and no brains, especially those behind the perfume counters, despite her loneliness.
Her life consists of spending the day at work, bored out of her brains, going home to her two cats and occasionally going out with her friends Loki and Del Rey, if they remember to include her. She also draws and sells her artwork to galleries.
But then two men come into her life- younger Jeremy, who she meets at the Laundromat and who spray-paints logos onto amplifiers, and the older Ray Porter, a wealthy businessman who is nearly twice her age, but willing to spend any amount of money on her. Embarking on relationships with the two men at different points in her life, emotionally fragile Mirabelle struggles to discover what love really is, and through a series of events, attempts to find her place in this often confusing world.

What I gained from reading this book:
Mirabelle is a bit of a recluse- a loner whose depressive state is often hidden behind the façade of aloofness or daydreaming, and whose dark feelings are pushed back by various medications. At times however, such as when her medications fail, she falls into a state of lethargy and is unable to find the willpower to do even the simplest thing. There are probably many people like this in the world, yet most authors do not attempt to make them the protagonists of their novels. Therefore, a whole new world of people struggling with mental illnesses is hidden from readers. Perhaps if more novels were written that feature characters like this, there would be a greater public awareness, and acceptance of, mental illnesses and their affects on people.

Positives:
This novella is well written and often witty. Readers are able to relate to Mirabelle as she struggles with the tediousness of her job, and can sympathise with her as she realises that she’s wasting her life behind the glove counter at Neiman’s.

Negatives:
Some people may not appreciate the quirkiness of this novella, and may wonder what the point of the story is. The truth is, this is basically a story about a young woman’s struggle to accept herself and her uninspiring life, and her effort to understand what love is and how it will affect her. These are lessons everybody can learn, and so even if you don’t like the way that the story is written or set out, Shopgirl should hold some meaning.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Genre: Romance/ Relationships

Recommended for: Fans of Steve Martin, or people who enjoyed the film.

Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below:

Book Review: Atonement by Ian McEwan

Atonement - Ian McEwan

Synopsis:
It’s 1935, and at thirteen years of age, Briony Tallis has decided to move on from writing and illustrating short stories, instead choosing to create a play, The Trials of Arabella. She has high hopes that the play, which is a product of her overactive imagination, and which features her penchant for dramatics, will be performed for her brother Leon and his friend Paul Marshall, following their homecoming from college.
Her cousins, who are staying with the family for an undetermined amount of time while their parents go through a messy divorce, are delegated roles in the play, but Briony is disheartened by their poor attempts at acting and decides to call the play off. It is while she is staring out the window in a depression that she spots her older sister Cecilia in a moment’s interaction with the cleaner’s son Robbie Turner.
With her thoughts going into overdrive, Briony imagines the scenarios that have lead to what she has witnessed, and starts to plot a story far beyond what she knows.
These imaginings skew her perceptions of Cecilia and Robbie’s relationship, and when a crime is committed on the grounds, she immediately points the blame at Robbie, despite contrary evidence.
Briony’s distorted perceptions of the event, and the repercussions that follow, haunt each of the characters as they struggle to survive through World War II and through the difficult years that follow.

What I gained from reading this book:
This story gives as good a reminder as any that you shouldn’t judge someone without knowing all the important facts.
Briony lets her imagination dictate what is happening between Cecilia and Robbie, and this not only threatens to ruin the couple’s new relationship, but it destroys their families and aids a criminal in his escape from justice.
The fact that a thirteen-year-old middle-class girl is believed over a cleaner’s son is also reminiscent of the times when higher status in the community meant more than a person’s integrity. What is worse, even though Briony has her doubts later on, she is too afraid to renege on what she has said for fear of retribution, which only heightens the guilt that she ultimately feels.
This is an issue that affects many people in their day-to-day lives, where they feel the need to lie to save their own skins, despite knowing that they are wrongly incriminating somebody else. The author is able to highlight the remorse that Briony feels about Robbie during the war, but is also able to draw on her fear of being blamed for destroying so many lives. This theme could strike a chord with readers who have also found themselves in situations where they have faced avoidable guilt.

Positives:
Not only are the characters well developed, but readers will get drawn into the drama that comes from their personal stories and the wartime experiences they face- especially as they deal with the consequences of what happened in the summer of 1935.

Negatives:
Although the novel has won wide acclaim from critics, as well as several awards, it takes a while for readers to actually get into the story. The beginning is slow and sometimes it seems as though nothing exciting will ever happen, but if you persist with reading the first few chapters, you will find yourself drawn into wanting to know what happens next to the characters.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Genre: War/ Relationships

Recommended for: People who have seen the film and would like to read the book.

Australians can buy the book by clicking the picture below: