Thoughts about Let The Old Dreams Die !!!SPOILERS!!!

For discussion of John Ajvide Lindqvist's short story collection Låt de gamla drömmarna dö
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fuad765
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Re: Thoughts about Let The Old Dreams Die !!!SPOILERS!!!

Post by fuad765 » Mon Mar 28, 2011 11:11 am

Can i buy an electron version of the book???

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Wolfchild
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Re: Thoughts about Let The Old Dreams Die !!!SPOILERS!!!

Post by Wolfchild » Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:39 am

fuad765 wrote:Can i buy an electron version of the book???
There is a Kindle version of the English translation. I'd imagine that there is an electronic version of at least the original Swedish as well.
...the story derives a lot of its appeal from its sense of despair and a darkness in which the love of Eli and Oskar seems to shine with a strange and disturbing light.
-Lacenaire

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fuad765
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Re: Thoughts about Let The Old Dreams Die !!!SPOILERS!!!

Post by fuad765 » Tue Mar 29, 2011 2:54 pm

Wolfchild wrote:
fuad765 wrote:Can i buy an electron version of the book???
There is a Kindle version of the English translation. I'd imagine that there is an electronic version of at least the original Swedish as well.
Thank you for your reply Wolfchild)))

Angelalex242
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Re: Thoughts about Let The Old Dreams Die !!!SPOILERS!!!

Post by Angelalex242 » Fri Apr 22, 2011 7:21 pm

Looks like Oskar and Eli jumped into things even faster then I thought. My fanfic had him being turned on his 13th birthday, rather then immediately. It gave Oskar more time to weigh his decision. But I am glad my theory was ultimately correct, as I had already surmised that an unbalanced relationship (Oskar without vampirism) could never work in any meaningful way.

So, I was part right.

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drakkar
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Re: Thoughts about Let The Old Dreams Die !!!SPOILERS!!!

Post by drakkar » Fri Apr 22, 2011 9:43 pm

The end of the novel came in a clearer light after reading LTODD. The parting - seen with love - for a few seconds.
And the aftermath: Oskar seems to shut the world out. Nothing seems to matter anymore. In the pool he even seems to be sort of content with death, as matters turned out.

So, some hours on the train in peace to think matters over could be just what Oskar needed to make up his mind.
For the heart life is simple. It beats as long as it can.
- Karl Ove Knausgård

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PeteMork
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Re: Thoughts about Let The Old Dreams Die !!!SPOILERS!!!

Post by PeteMork » Sat Apr 23, 2011 4:26 am

drakkar wrote:The end of the novel came in a clearer light after reading LTODD. The parting - seen with love - for a few seconds.
And the aftermath: Oskar seems to shut the world out. Nothing seems to matter anymore. In the pool he even seems to be sort of content with death, as matters turned out.

So, some hours on the train in peace to think matters over could be just what Oskar needed to make up his mind.
I think you're right. Oskar's total lack of resistance to Tommy says as much. Nothing matters but Eli, making his final decision that much more inevitable. It's the only way he can be sure he'll not lose her.
We never stop reading, although every book comes to an end, just as we never stop living, although death is certain. (Roberto Bolaño)

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metoo
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Re: Thoughts about Let The Old Dreams Die !!!SPOILERS!!!

Post by metoo » Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:04 pm

drakkar wrote:The end of the novel came in a clearer light after reading LTODD. The parting - seen with love - for a few seconds.
And the aftermath: Oskar seems to shut the world out. Nothing seems to matter anymore. In the pool he even seems to be sort of content with death, as matters turned out.

So, some hours on the train in peace to think matters over could be just what Oskar needed to make up his mind.
Yes, certainly. I, however, think he had made his mind up already before stepping on that train (see below).
PeteMork wrote:... Nothing matters but Eli, making his final decision that much more inevitable. It's the only way he can be sure he'll not lose her.
1 When Oskar realised that he hadn't been infected by handling Eli's clothes, he (to his own surprise) found that he was disappointed.
2 When Eli asks him about being like Eli, (in my reading) he seems undecided, then Eli very quickly drops the issue. Maybe Eli could have persuaded him at this point already?
3 At the end, Oskar has the feeling that there is something he has to do, he just doesn't know what it is. My guess is that it's going away with Eli, as Eli's peer, he just hasn't made it clear to himself yet. Maybe he blocks out the idea, because he thinks the opportunity is lost, with Eli being gone (forever).
4 As of drakkar's and Pete Mork's quotes.
5 So when he gets a second chance, he grabs it right away!
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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drakkar
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Re: Thoughts about Let The Old Dreams Die !!!SPOILERS!!!

Post by drakkar » Mon Apr 25, 2011 6:29 pm

metoo wrote:2 When Eli asks him about being like Eli, (in my reading) he seems undecided, then Eli very quickly drops the issue. Maybe Eli could have persuaded him at this point already?
Eli might have done that, but I felt Eli's character came through when he didn't. It also might be a little early for Oskar - I felt he wasn't quite there yet, and hat he got there at 4) - seen with love.
metoo wrote:5 So when he gets a second chance, he grabs it right away!
Fully agreed - but the swiftness surprised me a bit. :)
For the heart life is simple. It beats as long as it can.
- Karl Ove Knausgård

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metoo
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Re: Thoughts about Let The Old Dreams Die !!!SPOILERS!!!

Post by metoo » Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:17 am

drakkar wrote:
metoo wrote:2 When Eli asks him about being like Eli, (in my reading) he seems undecided, then Eli very quickly drops the issue. Maybe Eli could have persuaded him at this point already?
Eli might have done that, but I felt Eli's character came through when he didn't. ...
I believe this scene reveals a lot about Eli's thoughts, between the lines. My take is that Eli doesn't believe that any sane person wants to be with a vampire, not to say to be one. Then he meets Oskar, who still wants to be with him, even when finally having witnessed Eli's vampiric activities first hand.

Since Oskar apparently is so unconcerned about Eli's vampirism, he might even want to be one, how perplexing this yet is to Eli. So Eli has to ask, the possibility is too valuable to let go, but he didn't really believe that Oskar would say yes. Thus he drops the question quickly, when Oskar is reluctant.

After Eli has left, Oskar goes into a depression, because of his lost love. For all he knows, Eli is gone, forever. He gets a feeling that there is something he should do, he just doesn't know what. He gets ideas, and tries them, but the feeling isn't resolved. He wants to go, not to somewhere, just go. Then, when Eli reappears, everything fall into place, he realises what he wants, and what he needs to do to get it. Although not in the novel, Oskar's/Kåre's smile at the movie pool scene is very telling.
drakkar wrote:
metoo wrote:5 So when he gets a second chance, he grabs it right away!
Fully agreed - but the swiftness surprised me a bit. :)
Although I think the decision was rather instant, there actually was quite a lot of time. The training would start at seven, thus the pool event would have been at eight. The train to Karlstad left at noon, earliest. That would give Oskar as much as 15 hours to make his decision, he even would have had the time to get a good night's sleep. (He doesn't seem sleepy at the train, does he?)
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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drakkar
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Re: Thoughts about Let The Old Dreams Die !!!SPOILERS!!!

Post by drakkar » Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:49 am

metoo wrote:I believe this scene reveals a lot about Eli's thoughts, between the lines. My take is that Eli doesn't believe that any sane person wants to be with a vampire, not to say to be one. Then he meets Oskar, who still wants to be with him, even when finally having witnessed Eli's vampiric activities first hand.

Since Oskar apparently is so unconcerned about Eli's vampirism, he might even want to be one, how perplexing this yet is to Eli. So Eli has to ask, the possibility is too valuable to let go, but he didn't really believe that Oskar would say yes. Thus he drops the question quickly, when Oskar is reluctant.
Yes, and in addition Oskar now has got a confirmation that he was welcome.

metoo wrote:Although I think the decision was rather instant, there actually was quite a lot of time. The training would start at seven, thus the pool event would have been at eight. The train to Karlstad left at noon, earliest. That would give Oskar as much as 15 hours to make his decision, he even would have had the time to get a good night's sleep. (He doesn't seem sleepy at the train, does he?)
I was thinking of days! :D
For the heart life is simple. It beats as long as it can.
- Karl Ove Knausgård

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