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Let Me In
by John Ajvide
Lindqvist
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SQT sent me this book because she was so overwhelmed with books to
read, a move to complete, and a life to get back in order after
moving. All I can say to that is "Thank God!" (You can catch her
blog
here.)
This is an excellent book by a new author. Dang, am I glad she was
overwhelmed.
Let Me In is purportedly a vampire novel. And it
centers around the life of an 11-year old, very human little boy who
has no life, no friends, no hope. That is until a child vampire
befriends him. Throughout the whole book, the reader is constantly
waiting for the other shoe to drop. The characters are
self-centered, self-serving, are incapable of any type of lasting,
loyal relationship. Those that are are trying to build relationships
with those that aren't. Its a hopeless, bleak society in very modern
Europe.
Into that comes a 200 year old vampire, and all that this condition
entails, that inhabits the body of a 12-year old. The vampire has
known loss, betrayal and must feed on human lives to survive. But
the author conveys that this might be the only character worth
surviving. I don't want to give away too many details, but the
vampire and the little boy have the only redeeming relationship in
the story. It pulls at the readers heart-strings that a little boy,
who only wants to be loved and accepted has to work so hard to
emotionally get by. There are tragic characters in abundance in this
story, but it ends on a note of hope and redemption.
My recommendation? Read this one. Its not the most descriptive of
literary efforts, but the ideas come across and the characters are
the people you live, work and play with everyday. It will definitely
give you pause to think - my highest form of flattery to any story. |
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