Let the Right One In: A Novel

I love this book, and recommend the movie! Oskar is a young boy in Sweden, he doesn't have many friends, and he constantly harassed by bullies. A young girl, Eli, and her 'father' move in next door. Oskar and Eli become friends, and strange things begin to happen in the neighborhood, and Oskar begins to wonder; How come he never sees Eli during the daytime?

This is one of those rare instances where the movie was much better than the book. In fact, I am giving the book an honorary star because I liked the movie so much. Most of the time, when a movie changes the source material as drastically as this did, it would be a ruinous proposition. In this case, however, the loss was just fine with me. Regarding the book itself, it seemed unnecessarily convoluted and unfocused. The story was Oscar and Eli, not all the extraneous characters who, for me, detracted from the main storyline and frankly brought the book down. Additionally, pederasty has no place in my fiction reading, so it killed the enjoyment. Overall, it was a useless read for me. I will remember the movie as the true story, and the book as a lame experience best forgotten.

A very well written book, even the English translation reads well. This is a different take on the vampire mythos. While some aspects are familiar, some are not. This is not a light-hearted, romantic vampire novel, like "Twilight". There is real horror in this one. More importantly, the friendship that develops between the young protagonist and the vampire does not feel forced by the plot. It develops naturally and, although I could predict some of what would happen in the end, it was done so well, it was exactly what I hoped it would be--even though I didn't realize that was how I wanted it to end. I only wish I could read it in the original Swedish.

A well written vampire tale. If you come looking for the movie, you will be disappointed in the lack of subtlety the movie has, but the atmosphere is in place. A disturbing view of a vampire and childhood pain.

There are two versions of the Kindle edition of this book, easily differentiated by the old Swedish title, Let the Right One In: A Novel, dated 2008, which is $2.99, and the newer U.S. title, Let Me In, 2010, which is $5.99 (at the time of this review).

I compared them side by side via "Look Inside", and found the text to be identical--while the major difference is that, the "Let Me In" 2010 edition has copyright notices and proper front matter, while the 2008 edition does not have any FM. Both have a similar table of contents, while the 2010 edition has actual dates, the 2008 edition has just the days of the week. I was not looking for the cheaper price, just wanted to determine why there are two editions on Kindle. That should have been sorted out by the publishers and managed properly. Of course it was not, as is often the case on the store these days. But, fortunately, both editions link to the same set of reviews. I can't tell them apart otherwise, and I'm not going to buy both and do the publisher's job for them. I recommend just buying whichever one you prefer, or go with the lesser price.

I will revise with my opinion of the actual content of the book when finished. My only reference at this is that I have watched both movies. The 2010 edition appears to be precisely the same as the 2008 edition--in other words, it was not changed or adapted to the U.S. film, which is quite a bit different from the Swedish film. I prefer the Swedish film--it's one of the few cases where I don't mind captions. But I am also a fan of the actress, Chloë Grace Moretz (she did a wonderful job in Carrie and If I Stay).

I have always loved Swedish novels but this one traumatized me. Don't get me wrong Lindqvist wrote this book very well; but so well that I felt like I was witnessing every horrifying moment of child sexual abuse and graphic violent scene that was consisted in the novel. I thought of it different from the movie. I managed to finish reading this book and I there are so much going on. A pedophile who's in love with a child vampire who turns into a zombie with a raging boner. A middle aged woman who turns into a vampire and sets herself into flames. The main character, Oskar, discovers that Eli is not really a girl and feels conflicted about it. I don't really care for it but I give kudos to the author for making it...real.

If, like me, you experienced first either or both of the movies based on this book, then you MUST read it. Brilliant as the films are, they are not able to tell the story completely, nor provide the full impact of it. Anyone who has ever spent time in Oskar's shoes or felt like an "Eli" should cherish this book and I would like Mr. Lindqvist to know how much it means to me personally. Yes, it's a work of pure fantasy, populated by monstrous humans and "monsters" who are very human. The characters, some of whom behave in terrible ways, are so well fleshed out that their humanity shines, if sometimes dimly, even in the midst of their crimes against body, heart and soul. The characters are more multi-dimentional than in the films, because Lindqvist has the time to tell you their full stories. There's loads of despair and dysfunction to be found here within the bleak landscape they inhabit. But there is a real, aching beauty, embodied most fully in the remarkable love story at the heart of it all. There is so much to pause and wrap your head and your heart around. I tore through this book like any hardcore junky, grabbing a fix with every spare moment I had. Once I reached the end, though, I couldn't bear to turn the final page. I wanted to linger with Oskar and Eli as long as I could. The best "monster" stories have always been essentially human stories, those that challenge our notions about good and evil. For thirty years or more Interview With the Vampire has been my favorite novel. Let Me In has shoved it off the pedestal.

If, like me, you experienced first either or both of the movies based on this book, then you MUST read it. Brilliant as the films are, they are not able to tell the story completely, nor provide the full impact of it. Anyone who has ever spent time in Oskar's shoes or felt like an "Eli" should cherish this book and I would like Mr. Lindqvist to know how much it means to me personally. Yes, it's a work of pure fantasy, populated by monstrous humans and "monsters" who are very human. The characters, some of whom behave in terrible ways, are so well fleshed out that their humanity shines, if sometimes dimly, even in the midst of their crimes against body, heart and soul. The characters are more multi-dimentional than in the films, because Lindqvist has the time to tell you their full stories. There's loads of despair and dysfunction to be found here within the bleak landscape they inhabit. But there is a real, aching beauty, embodied most fully in the remarkable love story at the heart of it all. There is so much to pause and wrap your head and your heart around. I tore through this book like any hardcore junky, grabbing a fix with every spare moment I had. Once I reached the end, though, I couldn't bear to turn the final page. I wanted to linger with Oskar and Eli as long as I could. The best "monster" stories have always been essentially human stories, those that challenge our notions about good and evil. For thirty years or more Interview With the Vampire has been my favorite novel. Let Me In has shoved it off the pedestal.

Wow... One of the grossest and most brilliant books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I love how Lindqvist writes. It can be extremely beautiful... or extremely disturbing. Sometimes both at the same time. I really enjoyed seeing how the all the characters became interwoven into each other's lives. The characters are believable and real -- a little too real at times. Groups of characters start off as strangers, but as the story unfolds, they interconnect in surprising (and sometimes fatal) ways.

This book made me uncomfortable, sad, angry, happy, anxious, curious, disgusted, and amazed. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you can stomach it, I highly highly highly recommend this book.

Wow... One of the grossest and most brilliant books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I love how Lindqvist writes. It can be extremely beautiful... or extremely disturbing. Sometimes both at the same time. I really enjoyed seeing how the all the characters became interwoven into each other's lives. The characters are believable and real -- a little too real at times. Groups of characters start off as strangers, but as the story unfolds, they interconnect in surprising (and sometimes fatal) ways.

This book made me uncomfortable, sad, angry, happy, anxious, curious, disgusted, and amazed. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you can stomach it, I highly highly highly recommend this book.
[...]

I enjoyed this book (and the Swedish original film, haven't seen the American remake yet) but hesitated a little at giving it four stars. I'd give it three and a half, but I rounded up.

There is a really fascinating, well crafted, emotionally engaging, and complex story in here. For some reason it really resonated with something in me, and I'm still thinking a little about what exactly it was. I like works that do that... that resonate with you in complex and difficult to discern ways.

Unfortunately its virtues are hidden behind a layer of gunge, especially toward the end.

Eli and Oskar's coming of age(lessness) tale against a rather bleak and vividly rendered backdrop was very well executed. I particularly liked the glimpse of Euro-suburban-decay. As an American I probably had a somewhat cartoonish picture of Europe as a place where "sprawl" and the associated social ills never happened, and I found that aspect of the novel enlightening.

There is a lot of character detail. The secondary characters are rendered in vivid color as well as the two main characters, and I found that it contributed to the story. This writer has a talent for making even disgusting and pathetic characters sympathetic... as some of them were. (Hakan, the worthless drunks, etc.)

Now on to the problems. IMHO the book's greatest flaw was its completely unnecessary gross-out elements. Now don't get me wrong. There is nothing inherently wrong with squick stuff, or with any other element in a work of fiction, provided that it serves a purpose. A little bit of it did in that it showed the fundamental inhumanity of Eli and "it's" situation, but there were gratuitous elements that felt... umm... gratuitous.

It felt to me like this: like Lindqvist wrote a masterpiece, submitted it, and got back an e-mail saying "but this is horror! you need more horror elements, more gore, more gross-outs, more... zombies! yeah! zombies!" So he went back and added that in, polluting the purity of the story.

Or maybe Lindqvist didn't know what he had. Maybe he set out to write a gross horror novel and instead wrote a masterpiece hidden beneath the surface of a gross horror novel.

So I went ahead and gave this four stars. There is something much, much deeper under the surface here. Squeegee away the squick and it's really quite beautiful.

I enjoyed this book. The love story was sweet; the horror was gripping. I took away a star because it seemed a little long and drawn out with regards to the non-central characters (it was still a page turner). It was still excellent and I'm sure I'll read it again in a few years.

This is a well written and fast paced thriller. The characters are well explored and believable. This is not a book for the squeamish , however. It's the ultimate book about bullying, which is very wrenching and graphic. That said, if you like intense and fast paced...you will not be sorry you bought this book.

I have seen the original swedish movie some time ago, sonwhen I found the book,picked itbup to read remembering the movie. But the book is so much more than the movie, a truly great coming of age tale, a young boy and everyone around him having to face life, the good and the bad, overcoming their fears and learning to enjoy their new experiences...

This was my first read of John Lindquist's books. I saw reviews of his works that compared him to Stephen King. Well, I wouldn't go quite that far. However, for my first look into his creations, I was pleasantly surprised. And, the story was not what I was expecting at all. It kept me very interested and the ending didn't disappoint. Mr. Lindquist is very creative and imaginative. His characters and stories are believable, which are important to me when reading books by authors I've not read before. I've completed "Harbor" and am now in the middle of "Handling the Undead". All of Lindquist's books have just enough quirkiness to keep you glued till the ends. Isn't this all we ask for in a good book?

I bought this book after watching the film and loving it. Movies don't always tell the full story, so I was drawn to the book to get the full experience.

I would HIGHLY recommend the same to anyone who remotely enjoyed the film! Though not a big vampire lore fan, this book is more than just a typical vamp fare Ala-Twilight. The relationship between Oskar and Eli feels genuine, the **** scene, oh my, the **** scene. Good times.

As I'm awful with words, I will end this quickly by saying the book was a great read and I was sad to see it end. Greedily, I want more but will have to do with the film and book.

Get it! :)

Warning: This review may contain minor spoilers that I personally already knew before reading the book but didn't affect my enjoyment of the story.

I picked up the novel because I just loved the movie so damn much and the book turned out to be pretty excellent as well. Some parts the book pulled things off better while other scenes I appreciated how the movie handled it, but each scene was better suited for its medium.

The big reason most of the altered material was changed or removed was because it would have either bumped the movie's rating up to NC-17, would have required too much Hollywood CG, or the focus of the scene or subplot was just all over the place. Many redundant scenes (such as Oskar's fascination with murder news stories or Eli's inability to eat human food) were also combined together in the movie. Also while it was good to see the dead-end submarine subplot abandoned in the movie, its presence in the book does ground it into reality by letting you know that, "Yeah, there's murderers and vampires running around town trying slit your throat and suck your blood but we also have a Cold War to deal with."

Another the store reviewer stated that Eli was a little more heartless in the book than in the movie which is true and I think the decision to humanize her in the film could have come from the fact that Alfredson and Lindqvist realized they hit a goldmine when they cast Lina Leandersson for the role and saw the raw emotion she could bring to the table.

The real big selling point for the book is how the reader will appreciate how it will answer many of the issues and questions left unresolved by the movie such as why Eli spares one of the bullies at the poolside in the end or why Virginia went to visit Gosta after she was bit. Not knowing these facts won't affect your enjoyment of the movie, but going through the book after seeing the movie it was based on is like reading the script for an extended cut of the film (wise words from an art teacher I had).

As much as I enjoyed this book, there were just enough bugs with it that I just can't justify giving it a 5/5 as much as I would want to. First, I was surprised to see how many blatant spelling and grammar errors (I counted around 6) which I've never spotted that many in a published book before. This is obviously not Lindqvist's fault since he didn't translate it and it didn't interrupt from the story (it actually provided a cheap laugh or two) but I'm surprised the story wasn't given another once-over before the new edition was printed to coincide with the movie's release.

Another problem I had was that there were inconsistencies with the laws of the universe. Lindqvist couldn't decide whether or not post-mortem Hakan was a vampire or a zombie after he was bit since he lacked many vampire weaknesses such as being required to be let into a building and being able to live without a heart. Some explanation would have been nice on why he performed differently than other vampires.

Another inconsistency was that there was no hard fast rule as to what buildings a vampire had to be invited into. Eli could walk into a hospital atrium or an apartment hallway without invitation but is required to be invited into any occupied apartments or hospital rooms which made perfect sense but this was thrown out the window when Eli was required to be invited into a public pool to save Oskar.

These hindrances aside, you'll love how many of the traditional vampire rules are present in this story along with a few new interesting ones like what happens if a vampire enters a dwelling uninvited or what animals don't take kindly to vampires.

I feel that what truly makes a horror story horrifying is the addition of real life terrors that could affect us and Lindqvist nails this aspect on the head many times. Vampires ripping your head off can be almost comical since we all know they are not real and therefore cannot do those things. However, when you have despicable human taking care of a monster who is represented by a 12 year old girl for the sole reason that in hopes that he can one day molest her, that really grounds the story in a surreality because something like child molestation or kids picking on you at school can really happen and it's those things that really make us scared or feel sorry for someone. If that's your definition of good horror, throw this book into your shopping cart immediately. There are no 2D cardboard characters in this story.

This book is amazing lots of great character development. I can't believe this book isn't the best selling book every month. I know this book isn't for everybody but give it a chance. Far better than that Twilight crap.

I had high hopes for this book...the reviews seem really good so I was excited to read it. I just couldn't get into it. I tried. I read it half way through and lost interest. I never did finish it.

While the book is well written, after reading the book was the first time I have ever been able to say that I liked the movie better than the book. Some of the Sweedish didn't translate very well into English and made some awkward sentences, but that is not the reason I liked the movie(s) better. There are some very big things in the book that I can't mention without severely spoiling it that make me not like it, and those things were changed in the movies. The Sweedish movie has the same title as the book and the English movie, the one I prefer, is called Let Me In. This is one of the best vampire stories I have come across.

Honest, I saw the movie before researching for the book. The book was a bit confusing though if you hate complex characters. Not to give too much away its about a love between vampire and a human, but IT IS NOT A TWILIGHT BOOK.
Thank god for that. It is way deeper and metaphoric at the end. But I am not going to spill that for you. But definitely a great read if you're going on a road trip or have spare time on your hands.
The book is thick and contains a lot of pages, but its worth the time. The movie according to my humanity professor who first introduced it to us, was one of the international award winning film. I thought it was a bit confusing but good until I began to read the book, then I was amazed a few scenes that were missed in the film or didn't happen accordingly.
Its a dark suspense book with a hint of romance in it. If you're into dark films dark books I'd recommend you to get this. If not, get it anyways, maybe this book will change you.

This was the most emotionally touching and heart-wrenching stories I have every read. I must say that I first saw the film, Let the Right One In before I read the book, and I am glad that I did so. The image of Eli (Lina Leandersson) filled my head and heart as I read and made this really come alive for me. I encourage all to watch the film
Let the Right One In [Blu-ray]

So much tragedy. So much emotion. So much inner conflict and strength. So much tender love.

I confess that I am now haunted by this story. I have never read a story nor seen a film that made the characters so real to me nor that touched me so deeply. I actually have to remind myself that this is a work of fiction and that alas, Eli is not real.

In any case, I give this story the highest rating possible and I definitely recommend it to everyone mature enough to enjoy this most touching tale about Eli.

I watched the Swedish language movie with English theatrical subtitles, "Let the Right One In", and the American remake, "Let Me In", and I had to buy the book! Not surprisingly, the book adds a lot more detail, especially about the supporting roles.
What intrigues me most about this story is the relationship that develops between the young boy and the equally young female vampire, who both desperately need a friend.
I wasn't disappointed!

If you're tired of the typical sexy, perfect vampires in most popular fiction, you need to read this novel. Lovely prose with a sense of immediacy and brilliance that sucks you in, and a vampire who manages to be sympathetic and tragic as well as dangerous.

I found the story refreshing after the overabundance of sparking/sexed-up vampires the past few years.

The book was easy to read, but kind of a dull style, likely from translation. Despite this, characters were well developed and I constantly found myself eager to get back to story threads that had been left hanging.

I wouldn't call the book scary, more like creepy. The pedophile storyline might be too much for some

Possible Spoilers....

I wanted more explanation about why the undead person ended up undead and not a vampire. The vampire explanation was much better (and a neat idea) by comparison.

I wouldn't mind a sequel, kept thinking how things would play out after the epilogue.

Not your typical American vampire story, and I encourage you to give this a try. I personally cannot get into the romanticism of American vampires. However, this book, and subsequently the (Swedish version of the ) movie, are phenomenal. True horror. I couldn't put it down. I watched the movie first, then heard so much about how awesome the book was in comparison to the movie, I had to give the book a try. They were right. Worth every word.

The novel is a perfect example of how an imperfect book can make two (one Swedish, one American) great films. Of course, the book is the source of both films, and it is a strong addition to the vampire genre. The book's major difference is in the character of Håkan, Eli's protector. He is quite unsavory in the book. Also Eli's sex is explained, although I find it totally gratuitous, and confusing. Nevertheless, the book is a good read, and not just for fans of the films.

A surprisingly "human" book that resonated with me on a very personal level and left an impression on me that few other books have been able to do. Highly recommended for fans of any genre. Looking forward to more from this author.

Lindqvist's writing creates a dark suburban atmosphere, where things appear normal but something feels a bit...off. Even during the most quiet scenes you always feel something darker hiding below the surface. The subplots go well with the main story and whomever the omniscient narrator is focusing on, you always feel invested in their part of the story. The pedophilia described within is hard to stomach, but it is thankfully mostly present in the first part of the book, and never portrayed as anything but vile. I couldn't put this book down, it was an excellent read for the beginning of the Halloween season.