A review by arnrockwell
Let Me in by John Ajvide Lindqvist

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Let the Right One In (also known as Let Me In) is a Swedish vampire horror novel that is written in third-person omniscient point of view, and focuses on three characters:

  •  Oskar is a 12-year-old boy living in Blackberg, a suburb in Sweden's capital Stockholm. He lives with his mother, as his parents are divorced. He is mercilessly bullied on a regular basis to, from and during school, but he keeps this a secret from his mother so he doesn't give her cause for concern.
  •  Eli is a vampire with the appearance of a 12-year-old girl. She moves to Blackberg with her caretaker and ends up befriending Oskar.
  •  Hakan is Eli's caretaker, a role he volunteered for and has been doing for years. He often goes out to find victims and drain them of their blood so she doesn't have to out and put her life in danger. He often does this in exchange for some "affection." He is also a pedophile, so his chosen victims are often children.

The book is a bit slow, but this not a bad thing. The author spends time in the shoes of many characters, major and minor, and uses their senses to describe the surroundings. He manages to paint a clear picture of the setting and characters you follow, and by the end of the book you feel almost like you have been there and knew the characters as real people.

Oskar gets bullied so much, you quickly become legitimately concerned for his safety. At one point he starts taking boxing lessons so he can defend himself, which appears to work at first. But in fact, it makes matters worse, as the bullies in turn step up their game. There are multiple times where the bullies come just shy of outright killing him.

The book does a great job of humanizing Eli. Although she's forced to drink blood for her own survival, the book makes it clear she does it more out of necessity than desire. She is initially aloof in her interactions with Oskar, but soon befriends him. Eli herself has a traumatic past and part of her journey through the book is learning she doesn't have to be alone.

I found Lindqvist's approach to vampires to be quite interesting. He leans toward a more scientific approach, which makes vampirism appear more real. By the end of the book, there are three total vampires seen, with another being mentioned by Eli. One of them is undead, which is also justified via the lore of the book. Many of the "traditional" vampire weaknesses are on display in this book, most which are valid and make sense. But there is a weakness or two that seem to be present more for dramatic value than making sense.

I also want to make note of the translation work. Remember, this book was originally published in Swedish, not English. If I didn't already know this fact, there was no way I could've guessed it. The translator did an amazing job keeping the author's prose and voice, while also doing a fabulous job in the translation it general. It reads like an English-language novel. And as someone who grew up reading Japanese manga, some of which were translated poorly, I cannot heap enough praise on the translation.

With this book, Lindqvist has proven to me that he is an incredible writer. Let the Right One In has earned its place as not only one of the best vampire novels ever, but one of my all-time favourite books period. Full stop. I look forward to reading his other material in the future. 
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