Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist is a vampire novel. The most unromantic and depressing vampire novel I have ever read. There is nothing seductive about vampirism in this novel. The thrill and fascination for death, immortality, and power are nil. This is a vampire story by Wally Lamb: gray, depressive, and in need of a real anti-depressant. The back of the book claims that the author is “Sweden’s Stephen King.” If that is so, I am eternally grateful that I live in America. If King’s works seem a tad less serious, the impression they leave is still as lasting as this story and yet much more engrossing.
Oskar, a 12-year-old misfit, is ostracized and bullied to the extreme. He really has no one with whom he can connect with other than his mother, who seems to be just as desperate and lonely. No one really understands the extent to which he is subjected to cruel and inhumane harassment from bullies. No one tries to alleviate the problem. Oskar fantasizes about killing his bullies, and this is where you begin to question the empathy you developed for him. Is this kid whack-o? Is he going to go crazy and kill everyone? But as soon as you develop an aversion to Oskar, Eli enters the storyline and pulls you back in.
Oskar meets the strange, waif-like girl in his apartment complex's playground one night. He is unused to any attention that is not scornful. She, too, seems lonely. From the get-go, the narrator lets you know that Eli is a vampire and that her situation is as sad as the dull, cold apartment complex in which she and Oskar live. Due to her child-like appearance, Eli must live with an adult: a pedophile who is willing to kill for her and clean up the mess. In no uncertain terms is vampirism made appealling. Her situation is not glorified: she is a killer. When Eli hasn’t fed, she becomes old and decrepit looking. She often smells.
However, there is something between Eli and Oskar. Some understanding between their souls, some understanding of the quiet loneliness they both live with. They become friends. An odd friendship comprised of meeting at night and communicating through walls using Morse code. But this friendship, however strange, seems to give Oskar a little more strength in daily life.
It is Eli, primarily, and Oskar whom you want the story to develop around. However, there are so many subplots to the story that weave in and out, dampening my enthusiasm for the book. There’s the group of alcoholics that have little in their own lives but each other and the need to drink. There’s the pedophile that is willing to kill for Eli who has his own depressing and repellent background. There’s Oskar’s own sad alcoholic father. The author even develops the stories of the main detective who investigates the mysterious murders. And the story of his girlfriend and her drug-addict son, Tommy. Even the background of the main bully is explored. There’s just too much in the way of character development, and I’m not sure if it really adds much to the story….
Except to focus on the complete lack of connection these characters feel to any other human in their lives. So little love is displayed. So little enthusiasm for life.. And why would that be relevant other than to depress us? Well, it highlights the fact that maybe Oskar and Eli’s friendship isn’t all that odd. In a place with so little life, so little warmth, so little to hope for, perhaps Eli is a good choice as a friend.
Grade: C+
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