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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
A riveting beginning runs into a wall with the introduction of the Other Girl and devolves into a tepid, uninspired tale I could barely bring myself to finish. What a waste of a unique concept....
Det här var konstigt och obehagligt att läsa på så många plan, men jag kunde inte sluta. Aldrig läst något liknande. Ajvides sätt att skriva är så speciellt och fängslande! Vill definitivt läsa mer av författaren!
Another great book by John Ajvide Lindqvist.This one didn't have quite the pull on me as Let the Right One In, but it still had that familiar style which made me love Let the Right One In so much. What I think somewhat hampered my enjoyment of this book was Jerry. He was just so blah. All of the other characters had that hook that kept you going, but Jerry not so much. The chapters that focused exclusively on him really made me struggle not to skim.
Disclaimer: I’m not a fan of Stephen King, so I probably shouldn’t have been so excited about reading something by Sweden’s Stephen King.
The plot is in other reviews, so I’ll just put my thoughts:
The idea of the story was interesting, and I was intrigued to see where it was going while reading it, but ultimately I was disappointed by how it came together. What I anticipated happening was more interesting to me than what ended up happening. Throughout the book, certain plot seeds would be planted that would never grow into anything. Most of those seeds were the plot points I was most interested in, but ultimately they amounted to not much.
Also, I feel like several characters were there merely as plot devices, and Lindqvist would realize he hadn’t mentioned them in a while and quickly bring them in for a second so we wouldn’t forget about them, but I don’t feel like they really do much. During the big climax, there’s literally a moment where a character goes, ‘Wait, what about *character*?!’ And it’s just explained away with an ‘Oh, they’re not here.’ Just an insert to cover a hole in the narrative that seems added at the last minute. He didn’t even bother to go back and make it cleaner. Some editing/revising definitely could have been used to trim the story and clean it up.
I give it three stars because despite a fair amount of fat to trim down/around, the writing itself is more than decent. The incorporation of ABBA music fits seamlessly into the plot, and is a very interesting idea. I didn’t love it, but it is a solid book.
The plot is in other reviews, so I’ll just put my thoughts:
The idea of the story was interesting, and I was intrigued to see where it was going while reading it, but ultimately I was disappointed by how it came together. What I anticipated happening was more interesting to me than what ended up happening. Throughout the book, certain plot seeds would be planted that would never grow into anything. Most of those seeds were the plot points I was most interested in, but ultimately they amounted to not much.
Also, I feel like several characters were there merely as plot devices, and Lindqvist would realize he hadn’t mentioned them in a while and quickly bring them in for a second so we wouldn’t forget about them, but I don’t feel like they really do much. During the big climax, there’s literally a moment where a character goes, ‘Wait, what about *character*?!’ And it’s just explained away with an ‘Oh, they’re not here.’ Just an insert to cover a hole in the narrative that seems added at the last minute. He didn’t even bother to go back and make it cleaner. Some editing/revising definitely could have been used to trim the story and clean it up.
I give it three stars because despite a fair amount of fat to trim down/around, the writing itself is more than decent. The incorporation of ABBA music fits seamlessly into the plot, and is a very interesting idea. I didn’t love it, but it is a solid book.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
redux. exploitive adults create an ugly world. couple hundred pages of boring subplot. people we were not rooting for are slaughtered. the bullied child and beautiful little monster escape together.
The Bloody Chamber (namely "The Tiger's Bride" & "The Company of Wolves")
Fight Club
Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang
The Neon Demon
‘Theres. Do you think I’m beautiful now?’
‘Yes.’
‘Would you like to kiss me?’
‘No.’
‘That’s what I thought.’
3 & 1/2 stars
The Bloody Chamber (namely "The Tiger's Bride" & "The Company of Wolves")
Fight Club
Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang
The Neon Demon
‘Theres. Do you think I’m beautiful now?’
‘Yes.’
‘Would you like to kiss me?’
‘No.’
‘That’s what I thought.’
3 & 1/2 stars
I've literally just finished this book & I don't really know what to make of it.
I found while reading it that I was definitely enjoying it however as it came to the end I'm not sure why! I'm not really sure I got the point of the story to be honest & disappointed with the ending. I think it's fair to say I need some time for it to sink in..it's likely I'll appreciate it more then!
Well. That was certainly messed up. I don't really have much to say about this book except that it held my interest and managed to be profound despite all the power tools.
I would like to mention, though, that I am seriously intrigued by the author. It's not too often that I willingly thing about themes, especially in a broad context. But having read and watched all versions of "Let The Right One In", it isn't hard at all to pick up on his fixation on the themes of and dangerous children. It's not a headspace that I want to spend too long contemplating but I'd like a bit more insight into what formed it.
I would like to mention, though, that I am seriously intrigued by the author. It's not too often that I willingly thing about themes, especially in a broad context. But having read and watched all versions of "Let The Right One In", it isn't hard at all to pick up on his fixation on the themes of
Spoiler
pedophilia
“We are always in a certain amount of pain. There is chafing somewhere, and if it isn’t in our body, then it’s in our mind. There’s an itch, all the time.”
Book Review: Little Star by @johnajvidelindqvist
Don’t you think that sometimes, the right book comes along at the right time? After complaining on a post recently that I was in a bit of a slump, I picked up this absolute gem and BANG! After reading Let The Right One In (5⭐️)last year and Handling The Undead (4⭐️) this year, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on more JAL and I wasn’t disappointed.
The character building in this book is phenomenal. Both Theres and Theresa, while I think they’re intended to be unlikable girls, you really can’t help rooting for them! We’re obviously meant to hate Lennart, Max and possibly even Jerry to some extent and you really do! I was worried (after reading other reviews) that I wouldn’t enjoy the book being split into the perspectives of the different girls but for me it worked and I didn’t lose track of who was who and what was going on.
I don’t want to give too much away because the book really took a turn that I wasn’t expecting, I think that from the description you definitely expect certain things that do, in fact happen but for me, they happened in a way that I couldn’t have predicted.
It definitely raised for me the question of nature vs nurture. Are people inherently bad from birth or are they made that way due to their upbringing? And don’t even get me started on the creep and gore! Some of the things written in this book actually made me wince
Book Review: Little Star by @johnajvidelindqvist
Don’t you think that sometimes, the right book comes along at the right time? After complaining on a post recently that I was in a bit of a slump, I picked up this absolute gem and BANG! After reading Let The Right One In (5⭐️)last year and Handling The Undead (4⭐️) this year, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on more JAL and I wasn’t disappointed.
The character building in this book is phenomenal. Both Theres and Theresa, while I think they’re intended to be unlikable girls, you really can’t help rooting for them! We’re obviously meant to hate Lennart, Max and possibly even Jerry to some extent and you really do! I was worried (after reading other reviews) that I wouldn’t enjoy the book being split into the perspectives of the different girls but for me it worked and I didn’t lose track of who was who and what was going on.
I don’t want to give too much away because the book really took a turn that I wasn’t expecting, I think that from the description you definitely expect certain things that do, in fact happen but for me, they happened in a way that I couldn’t have predicted.
It definitely raised for me the question of nature vs nurture. Are people inherently bad from birth or are they made that way due to their upbringing? And don’t even get me started on the creep and gore! Some of the things written in this book actually made me wince