Rarely do three different versions of story offer both gripping stories that are equal in greatness, and many different character perspectives that act to deepen the heart of a story. I am sure most people have seen the Swedish version of Let the Right One In and the American version Let Me In (which I liked a little more because of its focus on the children’s relationship), and know that they are some of the best vampire stories since Near Dark and The Lost Boys. The novel is just as great, and fills in many of the blanks for those wanting more of this wonderfully haunting story of a troubled boys (Oskar) relationship with a young vampire girl (Eli). Linqvist brings a kind of heart to his genre-based stories and uses the conventions to deal with many of the trials and tribulations we must go through as we live our lives. Handling the Undead, which I read last year, used zombies to show the hardship and courage it takes to let go of loved ones who have died. Here, he uses vampires and eternal life to talk about young love and how our relationships to those people we knew when we were young are the most important, and sometimes the briefest. I won’t recount the plot, because I know most people have seen the one of the movies, or at least caught the trailers at sometime. I mainly want to talk about the differences between both. The book, as always, has a lot more information than the movie. We see the many illicit pedophilic exploit of Haken, which are described in almost unwanted detail. It makes his character turns both vile and sympathetic at the same time. We also become intimate with the people who live in Oskar’s apartment building. It can get tiring towards the middle, but it pays off in the end. We also have brief glimpse at the life of Jonny, the kid who cruelly bullies Oskar at school and makes sure he goes home feeling worthless. Smartly, we only see a little bit of him, which makes his actions still seem reprehensible and sickening, but we see enough to know there are worse people than he is. It is also more violent, as expected, with Haken’s acidic injury being described endlessly, and his death, which is not the same one in the movie, being truly grotesque. The differences in story are pretty abundant, (like how Haken is caught and Eli’s final meeting with him) but they only add to the story that is being told three different ways, and does not take anything away from the cinematic adaptations we know and love. The death of one of the residents in the apartment complex is still sad, and Oskar’s final showdown with the bullies is still gripping and terrifying to bear witness to. All in all, a book deserving of it’s many accolades and coming from a non-vampire fan, it says a lot in how much I love this story, no matter what medium.
Rating: 5/5
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