So what about the other stories?

For discussion of John Ajvide Lindqvist's short story collection Låt de gamla drömmarna dö
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StefL
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So what about the other stories?

Post by StefL » Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:01 pm

I realise that the English release is still fresh on the shelves, and that most readers are most eager to read the title story (LTODD) but having read all the stories since long in Swedish I'm extremely eager to hear what you all think of the other stories in the book. Don't forget for instance that there's one more epilogue, the story I've gotten used to call The Final Handling but which I've learned is called The Final Processing in the English release, which is an epilogue to Handling the Undead. More than a short story it's really a short novel at nearly a hundred pages, a story that had me really moved - and I'm anxious to hear what everyone thinks.

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Re: So what about the other stories?

Post by danielma » Tue Sep 11, 2012 12:07 pm

I admit my attention went straight to LTODD - Afterall, it is the the story I've been waiting to read for quite some time (so much so that I avoided the discussions in this board for a long time)...I plan to start cracking into the rest of the book, one story at a time each night before I go to bed.

Going in linear order...figure I will write up my thoughts on each story as I go...so should we just make this the official thread for that?
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Re: So what about the other stories?

Post by EEA » Tue Sep 11, 2012 8:21 pm

I am also looking forward to commenting about the other stories. I should get the book by this week. :)

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Re: So what about the other stories?

Post by Nightrider » Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:30 am

SPOILER FREE

So far I've read four stories. "Border", "Equinox", "Let The Old Dreams Die" and "The Final Processing".
Out of these "Equinox" is the weakest one. While the writing creates a nice slow burn, the story ultimately succumbs to meandering narrative and anemic climax.
"Let The Old Dreams Die" is brilliant in it's economy. JAL is at the top of his game here, showing only what the reader needs to see and saving the rest for the imagination.
Great story.
"The Final Processing" is welcomed conclusion to "Handling the Undead". Might not be for every taste, especially the "Raiders of the Lost Ark"like finale, but I completely got the significance of the story and was thoroughly entertained by it.
"Border" was a really cool story full of mystery and seemingly dead ends. Storyline twisted and twisted until a worthy payoff made me smile. That's always a good thing. I totally fell for all the characters hook, line and sinker and ultimately grasped their pain. Beautiful tale that would be perfect for a short film or live action made for TV anthology. Recommended.
I skipped "Can't see It! It doesn't exist!" since it's previous incarnation "Itsy Bitsy" did not work for me at all.
More to come.
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Re: So what about the other stories?

Post by Nightrider » Thu Sep 13, 2012 2:15 am

"Paper Walls"
Nice, little tale about growing up. Feels like a page from the book of someone's childhood.
Everybody has a story like that from their past and if they do not, then they should.
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Re: So what about the other stories?

Post by danielma » Thu Sep 13, 2012 2:28 am

30 pages into Border before my eyes eventually gave up on me...it's been a LONG TIRING week here at work so I gathered my eyes would give up on me last night.

I got to the first reveal...Tina finding out the man is not actually a man....colour me intrigued...I have no idea where this is going nor do I want to know :) I plan to finish it tonight...so long as my eyes don't give up on me again...but I am very intrigued as to where this is going? It's safe to say that right now, I'm not too sure where it's going. But I'm interested
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Re: So what about the other stories?

Post by a_contemplative_life » Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:45 am

I am still in the midst of The Final Processing, so I can't comment yet...
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Re: So what about the other stories?

Post by Nightrider » Thu Sep 13, 2012 11:26 pm

"To hold you while the music plays"
It appears to be an idea in search of a story...a snippet, a seed, a thought...An element of something that never materialized....or a writing excercise to avoid writer's block. In any case there's simply not enough meat here for discussion.
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Re: So what about the other stories?

Post by Nightrider » Fri Sep 14, 2012 11:32 pm

"Substitute"
A good narrative depicting the passage of time and it's impact on relationships between people. The story also touches on the process of growing up,(one of JAL's favorite themes), mental illness and living with a loss. Some of these topics have shown up in previous novels by the author. Specifically "Handling the Undead" and "Harbour". Being proficient at depicting dialogues between garrulous characters JAL's writing is at it's best in "Substitute" creating more of an atmospheric situation than a fully fleshed out tale which will eventually lead somewhere. It's not about that this time. Somehow story's logical conclusion isn't as important as the central conflict between two main leads and the strange fable(which may be an invention) that connects them.
Good stuff.
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Re: So what about the other stories?

Post by Zeb » Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:13 pm

I've only read LTODD and Border so far-been too busy to pick the book up!

I loved Border.Reading this was like watching the movie 'The sixth sense' with twists,turns and 3/4 of the way through a huge bombshell!!! Rate this 10/10
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