Ms. Hen reviews Let Me In

Let Me In

John Ajvide Linqvist

Thomas Dunn Books

2004

Translated from the Swedish by Ebba Segerberg 2007

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she is currently interested in vampire fiction, as you may have learned from her last post. She had seen the film LET THE RIGHT ONE IN many years ago, but she never read the novel until now. She had vague memories of the film when she read this, but she thinks it’s different in many ways. She is planning on watching the film again soon.

There are a lot of comparisons with this novel and work by Stephen King, but Ms. Hen thinks it’s drastically different. Ms. Hen has read a couple of books by Stephen King, but she doesn't think he is a good writer. This novel is a scary book that is actually well written. A lot of horror novels, and vampire fiction in particular, are not composed of quality writing, but this novel gripped Ms. Hen from page one. She read it fast, though it’s long; she was so engrossed, and she read it a lot faster than she would have if she was working normal hours, since she has ample free time these days.

LET ME IN is about a teenage boy, Oskar, who befriends a vampire named Eli. He doesn’t know she’s a vampire at first, but he discover the fact later. She is mysterious to him, and he likes her, though she looks young. A cast of characters surround the story and live in the suburban wasteland outside of Stockholm. Oskar is bullied at school because he is overweight, and he strikes back. A group of alcoholics gather at a Chinese restaurant want to know what happens to their friend who went missing, who one of the men think was murdered by a child.

The characters in this novel are interesting to Ms. Hen because they are not nice and kind to each other; they are rotten and resentful of their positions in the world and the dingy neighborhood in which they live. In that way, they seemed realistic to Ms. Hen; they are not delusional, and for the most part, they do not have ideas about their lives magically getting better.

There are some chickens in this novel, which Ms. Hen found charming. One place that made her smile was when Tommy, the juvenile delinquent, invites Eli into the storage area where he has been sniffing glue, and she is wearing a yellow dress, “He saw her as an enormous chicken, giggling at his vision.”  She then offers to pay him to drink his blood.

Ms. Hen found this novel highly engrossing, and an excellent distraction from the troubles of today’s world. There’s nothing like murdering vampires to brighten up a dreary springtime. Ms. Hen read an article recently about the myth of vampires and how the idea came about during The Black Death, or the bubonic plague. You can read it here:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20161031-the-real-life-disease-that-spread-the-vampire-myth 

Let’s hope that if new vampires appear as a result of this virus, they are on our side.

Ms. Hen reviews The Vampyre

The Vampyre

John William Polidori

Henry Colburn

1819

Ms. Hen came to read this story because she is currently interested in vampires. “The Vampyre” came out of the same ghost story contest during which FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley was imagined and created. Polldori told ghost stories with Mary Shelley, Percy Shelly, and Lord Byron one stormy night in Switzerland, and this story was born.

“The Vampyre” is a simple story about a young man who travels to Greece, falls in love, and comes in contact with a vampire. When he returns to London, he discovers that his sister is betrothed to said vampire, and he becomes upset and attempts to explain to his sister what happened. He tries to tell his sister that her fiance is a monster, but she pays no heed to him. The results are fatal.

This short story reminds Ms. Hen of FRANKENSTEIN, of course, and DRACULA, and other horror stories written in the nineteenth century. Ms. Hen usually reads scary stories during Halloween, but she doesn’t mind being frightened any time of the year, especially when the world is so horrible. Even now in April, Ms. Hen finds it fearful to leave the house, even in daytime. She does not usually venture further than her yard most days, unless she has to work.

Ms. Hen read this short story on her phone when she was at work, since her job is boring now. She doesn’t think it’s right to break out a book while she is on the clock, but everyone is constantly on their phones, so she doesn’t feel uncomfortable reading a book on hers. She liked this story, though she wished it were longer. But she did find it predictable. It was the first story written in English about a vampire, which is impressive. This story was a trailblazer, and she is glad she read it during these dark days of springtime, when the world is broken from sadness and pain.  

Ms. Hen reviews Death in Venice

Death in Venice

Thomas Mann

Dover Publications

1912, 1995

Translated from the German by Stanley Appelbaum

Ms. Hen decided to read this because one of her rooster friends recommended it since the situation of the epidemic is similar to the one we are living in today. The book is very short, though it is dense, but it pulls the reader in. Ms. Hen had no trouble getting into this novella, and she read it quickly.

This book is about an aging writer, Gustav Aschenbach, who lives in Germany, but vacations in Venice occasionally. He goes to Venice because his summer residence is not prepared yet, and he spends time at a hotel near the beach and the city. He sees a teenage boy in the hotel, and becomes obsessed with his beauty. The situation is homoerotic, but the character does not attempt to do anything about his fixation. He watches the boy on the beach, and in the hotel while he is having meals with his family. Aschenbach observes the boy interacting with other boys on the beach, and is fascinated by the way he carries himself in the world.

A cholera epidemic hits Venice, but it is not in the Italian press. The German papers have printed articles about it, so the Germans leave the city.  Aschenbach learns the truth from an English shopkeeper that the cholera is deadly and a lot of people will die. He tells Aschenbach that the breath goes out of the victim's bodies and they turn black and perish. The Italian government doesn’t want the people to know because they don’t want to scare anyone. Parts of the city are deserted as Aschenbach wanders through the streets, and he fears for his life, but he does not want to leave Venice, because he does not want to lose sight of the boy.

This novella reminded Ms. Hen of other books she has read. The obvious relative is LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA, about a couple that does not get together until the end of their lives during a cholera outbreak in South America. The feeling of obsession portrayed in the book also reminded her of LOLITA and THE COLLECTOR by John Fowles. DEATH IN VENICE displays a different type of fixation than the two previous novels, since Aschenbach’s attentions are innocent, and he does not act upon them.

There is one mention of a chicken, or a reference to a chicken, which Ms. Hen admires. Aschenbach is talking to himself, thinking of the boy, “ ‘Dumbfounded,’ he thought, ‘as dumbfounded as a fighting cock who drops his wings in fear during the fight. Truly, it’s the god who, when we view something lovely, quenches our courage in this way and humbles our proud mind so drastically.’ “ Ms. Hen realizes that this is not really the mention of a chicken, but she believes the cock that is referred to is put there for aesthetic purposes and decoration is speech, which Ms. Hen is partial to, especially when chickens are involved.

Ms. Hen liked this little book. She breezed through it one day, and it was a good distraction from the troubles of the world, though it relates to our problems today. She enjoyed the neurotic crazy obsession in this book, a feeling that doesn’t make any sense, but exists anyway. Some things don’t make sense, but we need to create order out of the randomness and sit and breathe the air to make sure it’s still there.

Ms. Hen reviews Parable of the Talents

Parable of the Talents

Octavia E. Butler

Hachette Book Group

1998

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she read PARABLE OF THE SOWER recently, and loved it, and she wanted to read some sci-fi that she knew would be worth it. She craves sci-fi in times like these, but she doesn’t have a lot on hand, and the library is closed. She doesn’t want to spend extra money buying books, since her house is stuffed with them, and they make a mess because she doesn’t have ample bookshelves, but she bought this book online because she thought she needed it in her life right now.

This novel is the sequel to the above-mentioned novel, and it told through the point of view of Ashe Verde, and the journals of her mother Lauren Oya Olamina, and small passages from Lauren’s husband and brother. It continues the story of Acorn, the community founded by Olamina, and her marriage to Bankole, and the people that help them learn about and grow her religion, Earthseed. Earthseed is a philosophy that Olamina created about how people should live. One of the main tenants is “God is Change.” Ms. Hen thinks that Earthseed has shades of Buddhism or Taoism. Olamina teaches that we, as a human species have to accept change and reach for the stars.

Acorn is a peaceful place where the members work and help each other build houses and grow food and take care of their children. Their place is threatened when President Jarrett comes into power, who is a Christian fundamentalist, and preaches that all other religions besides Christianity are cults, and are practiced by heathens. Acorn gets attacked by Christian America, and the members are put into electronic slave collars and they can’t move without being lashed by the collar. Other people are forced to join the area that was Acorn, and Olamina and her followers suffer under the hands of their captors.

Olamina is a strong character, and she doesn’t take garbage from anyone. She and her group manage to escape, and she makes her way to attempt to find her daughter. She is a person with a vision, and she wants Acorn and Earthseed to succeed. In this way, it seemed to Ms. Hen as if she has a touch of delusion to her, since nobody these days wants to start a religion. But this is a novel, and it does not take place in relevant contemporary times. People now who try to start religions are seen as psychopaths, and are usually locked up. 

Another unstable character in this novel is President Jarrett. He professes that he will “Make America Great Again,” which disturbed Ms. Hen. How did Ms. Butler know this ahead of time? This novel was published in 1998. Is this a common notion that a president would say this? Is it an idea that was floating around in the air, waiting to be spoken by someone in power? America was not great in days of old when there was not as much equality as there is now, but every educated person knows this.

Ms. Hen loved this novel. It’s feminine science fiction, which she admires. A lot of sci-fi is male, filled with fighting and violence, but this novel is about people working together to make the world a better place. We should also try to make society more livable and pleasant, to help see the future as something that is worth working towards, because today we need a vision for what is to come. Books like this assist developing hope.

Ms. Hen reviews Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies

William Golding

Farber & Farber

1954

Ms. Hen read this book years ago, but not when she was in school. She found a copy recently at a Little Free Library around the corner from where she lives in February, when she left the house on a regular basis. She almost didn’t pick it up that time, because she had read it before, and it’s a young adult novel, but she’s glad she did because she thinks it says a lot about the way she is living now, as well as much of the world.

(Ms. Hen got the idea to write a version of LORD OF THE FLIES about her living situation now, which she will not get into, but will save for when the idea ripens into a fully bloomed concept.)

This novel is about a large group of schoolboys who end up on an island somewhere in the South Pacific. Some boys are young, and some are between ten and twelve. The boys decide they have to try to be saved by having a fire burning continuously on top of the mountain on the island. They vote Ralph as their chief, and Piggy is a fat boy who wears glasses and has asthma, who becomes Ralph’s friend. Piggy lends his glasses to kept the fire alit.

The boys get along at first, but as time goes by, they start to fight. The hunters, led by Jack, want to hunt and eat meat all the time, while Ralph is primarily concerned with keeping the fire going for the smoke signal so they can be rescued. This novel is considered allegorical because the different characters represent different parts of society: Ralph is the leader, or the balance, Piggy, the intellectual, and the scientific side of things, and Jack is the savage or the wild one.

When Ms. Hen read LORD OF THE FLIES this time, after so many years, she realized that there are no women in this book at all. The boys reminisce about their mothers, and being at home, but no women play any roles. Ms. Hen wonders if the story would be the same if the children that landed on the island were all girls instead of boys. She tries to imagine what it would be like for a large group of young girls happened to end up in this situation, and she doesn’t know if it would turn out any differently. Girls can be nasty and cruel in their own ways, but chances are good that they would be able to work together and find a way to figure out how to get along. Ms. Hen likes to imagine that girls would be better in an emergency situation such as this, but she is not positive. Girls are not innately savage and violent as boys, so they might not have the gumption to hunt for food, but might cooperate dealing with problems better. Ms. Hen has no proof of this theory.

Ms. Hen liked this novel, though it lacks female characters. She imagined that all the boys would be disgustingly dirty and would smell at the end of the book, and she is right. It’s a perfect novel to read right now, with the situation in the world the way it is. There are people around the world who could be writing their own version of LORD OF THE FLIES, or if not, they are living it day to day.