Will I love Let the Right One in?

I love the compassion in this book.

Even the darkest things are not wholly dark, and that makes a story about vampires seem far more real than many books set in the "real world." It uses the supernatural to tell a story about the human condition, in all its stark, bleak, beautiful loneliness. 

I caught the original Swedish film before reading the book, and was delighted by how the novel enriched and expanded upon the film’s themes.

I was a lonely kid and could empathise with the protagonist’s desperation to connect. Had a vampire shown up in my early teens and extended the hand of friendship, I probably would have taken it.

Supernatural tropes are often a powerful way to explore themes of alienation, longing, and teenage angst, and few stories do it better than Let the Right One In.

So much of Lindqvists writing is fantastic, but this has to be my favorite. I read it while in university and then I re-read it and re-read it until one of my housemates asked why it was taking me so long to read a single book then seemed confused when I admitted that every time I finished it I just started it again. 

I love the take Lindqvist has on the vampire as a ‘monster’ Eli is complex and sympathetic, dangerous and vulnerable it’s a wonderful balancing act. But what I enjoyed most of all was that Eli, while being… show more.

I had to include a vampire story on this list, and there is no better contemporary vampire novel than this Swedish tour de force.

Blackeberg, Sweden, a cookie-cutter suburb of Stockholm, is one of the most memorable settings I have ever encountered in a book. The novel is full of complex, empathetic portraits of Blackeberg’s residents, even its most cruel ones. The friendship between Oskar, a bullied and scared twelve-year-old boy, and Eli, a centuries-old vampire child, is beautifully rendered and unforgettable. 

There is an intrinsic link between comedy and horror.

Fans of Jordan Peele’s horror films would probably appreciate that author John Ajvide Lindqvist worked as a stand-up comedian for twelve years. And his take on the vampire story is immersive, thanks to Ebba Segerberg’s amazing English translation of the Swedish novel. The descriptive scenes rival both movie adaptations. 

You are transported to a suburb in Sweden in 1981 where a twelve-year-old boy is struggling with the loneliness brought on by bullies and his parents’ divorce. Until an attractive new neighbor moves in that only goes out at night. Oh, and… show more.

This is a book that to me was a Rocketship!

It covers so many themes I love and redefined a Vampire tale… It danced around gender, social horror, and coming of age; but something I find very intriguing about this book’s world is its past, or lack thereof.

The town it takes place in is described as missing a past early on, which made such a stark impact on me considering it is a book that deconstructs such a historied character: the vampire.

The vampire is taken into such new contexts, not a suave, rich, handsome aristocratic type, but a… show more.

I am not impressed by vampire novels as I always feel as if I am being gypped into reading romance. First off, this book is not that book, although it involves a vampire. A twelve-year-old vampire to be exact, the best kind. I will admit that it will not leave you sleeping with the lights on or weaving a garlic necklace. It is understated when it comes to jump scares but manages to evoke dread nonetheless. What I loved about the book is its fresh take on vampires, the morose setting, and the no holds barred gruesomeness. So many things… show more.

I came to this book having seen the original Swedish film version. It's a clever modern take on the vampire tale and breathes new life into a theme that had become a bit hackneyed. The mood is dark and menacing and many of the characters are lost, unsavoury, and disturbing. At its heart, this is a love story between a lonely young boy and a mysterious girl who moves next door. Love is a key theme that underpins my novels. Not romantic love, but the love of family and community, and the lengths people will go to in order to… show more.