Handling the Undead, with spoilers.

For discussion of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel Lilla Stjärna
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gattoparde59
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Handling the Undead, with spoilers.

Post by gattoparde59 » Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:23 pm

Just a couple of points about the mysterious Theres in Little Star.

I was reading the Wikipedia article on this novel and it reminded me of something I had noticed before. Theres shares certain things in common with the Undead in Handling the Undead.

Like the Undead, Theres pulls things apart to see how they work. She does this with the CD player and she is also fascinated with CDs themselves. In Handling the Undead Elias pulls apart the remote control car. In general the zombies seem fascinated with moving toys etc.

And yes, the CD player is not the only thing that Theres takes apart. :shock:

In addition there is the business with the "red smoke," which Theres sees leaving the bodies of the dieing.

In Handling the Undead, the souls of the dead come and go in the form of caterpillars. In addition in The Final Processing sequel we have "The Visitor" who consumes the souls of the dieing in much the same manner as Theres.
So is Theres somehow a spirit kindred to the "reliving" in Handling the Undead, and perhaps also "The Visitor?"

I'll break open the story and tell you what is there. Then, like the others that have fallen out onto the sand, I will finish with it, and the wind will take it away.

Nisa

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metoo
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Re: Handling the Undead, with spoilers.

Post by metoo » Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:35 pm

gattoparde59 wrote:So is Theres somehow a spirit kindred to the "reliving" in Handling the Undead, and perhaps also "The Visitor?"
I don't think so, the universes in the two novels are not related. Also, the motif of sucking some kind of essence of life out of people is common, compare the dementors of Harry Potter, for example.
But from the beginning Eli was just Eli. Nothing. Anything. And he is still a mystery to me. John Ajvide Lindqvist

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lombano
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Re: Handling the Undead, with spoilers.

Post by lombano » Sat Feb 02, 2013 9:07 pm

metoo wrote:
gattoparde59 wrote:So is Theres somehow a spirit kindred to the "reliving" in Handling the Undead, and perhaps also "The Visitor?"
I don't think so, the universes in the two novels are not related. Also, the motif of sucking some kind of essence of life out of people is common, compare the dementors of Harry Potter, for example.
In a similar vein, there's a certain blood-sucking child in JAL's work.

gattoparde59 wrote: Like the Undead, Theres pulls things apart to see how they work.
Kind of like how particle physicists smash stuff to see what it's made of and how it works.
Bli mig lite.

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Slightlydazed
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Re: Handling the Undead, with spoilers.

Post by Slightlydazed » Mon Apr 08, 2013 2:56 pm

This is my first post here so please be gentle!

I'm about half way through 'Little Star' and I had the same thought as you.
I remembered how in HTU the Undead were calmed down when they were given mechanical or clockwork toys to watch or take apart.Obviously I haven't read the end yet so have no idea whether Theres origins are revealed but as she was found half dead and in the ground I wondered if she was caught up in the phenomena that caused the reliving thing.
I think it was Eva in HTU who was so very recently dead yet still had the power of speech so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that Theres caught between life and death retained some aspects of being alive and some of the traits of the undead.
It would be cool to link the two stories.

I think the Universe is the same between the two stories because in the short story The Final Processing the character of Roland appears,he was the singer in a band and he helped the main characters out one of whom was a roadie for Rolands band.In Little Star Lennart catches his wife having sex with the singer in the band .That man was Roland.The name of the band was the same -something like Scorpion !

Anyway I'm glad to read that someone else had the same thought as I did.

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