Little Great Ending [spoilers]

For discussion of John Ajvide Lindqvist's short story collection Låt de gamla drömmarna dö
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Suibhne
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Re: Little Great Ending [spoilers]

Post by Suibhne » Thu Oct 23, 2014 10:42 am

Just finished reading it, my gosh was that surprise! I got so sucked into it thinking it was a love story until it got intimate... smacked me right in the face, then I realized oh yeah that's right I'm reading a horror novella. Still not quite sure what to make of it.
Peace x

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drakkar
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Re: Little Great Ending [spoilers]

Post by drakkar » Thu Oct 23, 2014 12:21 pm

Border uses Scandinavian folklore in much the same way as LTROI uses vampires, incorporating it into the society so well you think it's real. Then JAL uses the supernatural element as a tool to get through his message, which isn't so very different from LTROI, actually. I find the story more uplifting than harsh, just like with LTROI. Border was written before LTROI, and Iirc it was with this story JAL understood he really could write.
For the heart life is simple. It beats as long as it can.
- Karl Ove Knausgård

Suibhne
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Re: Little Great Ending [spoilers]

Post by Suibhne » Thu Oct 23, 2014 12:42 pm

Could you please tell me what folklore that would be? I'm very curious to look more into it. I really loved the whole naturist thing, and also the references to Sweden's history of eugenics.
Peace x

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intrige
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Re: Little Great Ending [spoilers]

Post by intrige » Thu Oct 23, 2014 12:57 pm

The folklore is of the hulder people, or, the ones who live underground. It was rumoured, from old thimes that if something was wrong with the baby, like as if it was disabled in some way. The ones from under the ground had come and switched their babies. The hulder people, the female ones at that, aquipt with a cow tail and long braids would lure the men into the village and either drown them or bring them underground. Where they would never be seen again. The hulder females are often very beautiful with long blond hair in their long nice braid. And wear long dresses so their tale stays hidden. The men who get lured into the wood notice the tail eventually but then it os too late.

The re many different stories of these. Like in one story a man found a hulder woman in his barn and had sex with her many times, she was so good his body got hurt. He could barley stand on his legs. Some old woman in the village gave him advice on how to rid her, but she did not take it well and hurt his eye, somehow.. Don't remember, so now he had one eye of a hulder, and saw the hulder people all around him. Only with one eye.. Weird XD
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Suibhne
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Re: Little Great Ending [spoilers]

Post by Suibhne » Thu Oct 23, 2014 1:30 pm

Thanks that puts a lot into perspective for me. I must say the whole penile thing shocked me more than zombie harkan! Being from Australia I'm not very familiar with a lot of JAL's references... but I am familiar with the Swedes good looks ;) at least the ones that come here anyway haha!
Peace x

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intrige
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Re: Little Great Ending [spoilers]

Post by intrige » Thu Oct 23, 2014 2:06 pm

Oh please, most of the nordic looks pretty darn good ;)
It is Håkan or, hakan, not harkan. :)
You don't have to know what his works are based upon to enjoy them! And you are not stupid if you do not know. I for one still haven't read Carmille. One of the books JAL read before he wrote LTROI. The bathtub filled with blood comes from there. Still haven't read it :D No shame
Bulleri bulleri buck, hur många horn står upp

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drakkar
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Re: Little Great Ending [spoilers]

Post by drakkar » Thu Oct 23, 2014 2:20 pm

And trolls, don't forget the trolls! :D Living in the forests and mountains, being a supernatural part of nature. JAL rewrites the Scandinavian folklore in an ingenious way. If you've seen films like Trollhunter or Thale, it's a bit of the same thing.

Image
For the heart life is simple. It beats as long as it can.
- Karl Ove Knausgård

Suibhne
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Re: Little Great Ending [spoilers]

Post by Suibhne » Thu Oct 23, 2014 2:39 pm

And you all seem to know and flaunt it ;) but hey can't say a blame you, haha.

Of course not but it helps to get a better idea of things. I actually just read Carmilla the other week. After reading LTROI I've hit up my local library for all its victorian gothic stories. It was beautiful, I can see why JAL read it before he wrote LTROI, but it was more about being lonely and falling in love with the wrong kind of people because your desperate to have some company, compared to Eli and Oskar finding a kindred spirit in each other. It was quite a good reflective read.
Peace x

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drakkar
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Re: Little Great Ending [spoilers]

Post by drakkar » Thu Oct 23, 2014 3:54 pm

Suibhne wrote:And you all seem to know and flaunt it ;)
Nooo! :lol: But seriously Tina is a troll, taken away from her parents as a kid, attempted to rise him as a human. They didn't even get his gender right (heard that one before? :lol: ).

I got it JAL used Carmilla to "learn" about vampires, the blood filled bathtub in the LTROI novel is a direct homage to Carmilla.
For the heart life is simple. It beats as long as it can.
- Karl Ove Knausgård

Suibhne
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Re: Little Great Ending [spoilers]

Post by Suibhne » Fri Oct 24, 2014 1:44 am

Just read village on the hill, that was freakin' awesome the suspense was just perfect. I got the whole Kraken reference too. Now I think about it the troll reference in Borders was pretty dam obvious! "This particular troll didn't collect treasures"
Peace x

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