Same universe?

For discussion of John Ajvide Lindqvist's short story collection Låt de gamla drömmarna dö
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BravoHotel
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Same universe?

Post by BravoHotel » Tue Jul 15, 2014 11:17 am

In "village on the hill" Joel walks past the Blackeberg swimming pool and the book makes a reference to the pool incident of LTROI.
I was wondering if anyone knew or had an opinion whether or not all of the stories in LTODD, or all of Jals books for that matter are set in the same "universe".
(To note I've only read these two of his books)
BTW does anyone else think whatever the creature in village on the hill is has anything to do with the tadpole that Oskar washed away, because that was my immeadiate thought upon finding out it had been living and growing in the sewers.
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metoo
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Re: Same universe?

Post by metoo » Tue Jul 15, 2014 2:35 pm

The tadpole was just a small clot of blood, which looked alive for a brief moment because of turbulence in the water as it was flushed out the drain.
It has nothing to do with the sewer monster, if you ask me.

By the way, the English title "Village on the hill" is misleading. The Swedish original "By på höjden" could indeed be translated thus, but "Vertical village" would be much more to the point.
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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Re: Same universe?

Post by BravoHotel » Tue Jul 15, 2014 3:40 pm

The tadpole was just a small clot of blood, which looked alive for a brief moment because of turbulence in the water as it was flushed out the drain.
That was my original thought but I'm sure I'd read somewhere on the forum it was something, which lead me to think it was :think: oh well.
If I happen to find it again I'll quote it, what is your take on the stories of LTODD being in the same world as LTROI all of them or just "vertical village"?
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metoo
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Re: Same universe?

Post by metoo » Tue Jul 15, 2014 4:27 pm

BravoHotel wrote:That was my original thought but I'm sure I'd read somewhere on the forum it was something, which lead me to think it was :think: oh well.
If I happen to find it again I'll quote it,
The subject has been discussed. Oskar's observation joined with Virginia's experience of a shoal of sticklebacks swimming in her veins, has led some to come to the conclusion that the blood clot was alive. But it wasn't, that was just something Oskar thought he saw, for a brief moment. However, when the tadpole stopped swimming at the bottom of the wash basin, Oskar realised he had mistaken himself. It was just an inanimate blood clot.
BravoHotel wrote:what is your take on the stories of LTODD being in the same world as LTROI all of them or just "vertical village"?
I think this is an exception to the rule that all of John Ajvide Lindqvist's stories take place in their own unique universes. All of which have very strong similarities to the one where the author lives, or has formerly lived.
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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BravoHotel
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Re: Same universe?

Post by BravoHotel » Tue Jul 15, 2014 4:55 pm

I think this is an exception to the rule that all of John Ajvide Lindqvist's stories take place in their own unique universes.
But that does mean there are other supernatural thins besides Eli in the LTROI universe.
I wonder if JAL ever were to decide to write another book about Oskar and Eli or one in the same universe, if E&O or the squid thing might make a cameo.
"He's got a cracking smile but he can't dive for toffee."

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Re: Same universe?

Post by sauvin » Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:14 pm

BravoHotel wrote:
I think this is an exception to the rule that all of John Ajvide Lindqvist's stories take place in their own unique universes.
But that does mean there are other supernatural thins besides Eli in the LTROI universe.
I wonder if JAL ever were to decide to write another book about Oskar and Eli or one in the same universe, if E&O or the squid thing might make a cameo.
Are there indeed beyond that which is like Eli unquiet undead nasties that go bump quietly in the night to colour the nightmares of the grey, blighted denizens of the Eliverse (where all the colours are black), or sleek, slimy, slithering things leaving slow, shallow ripples almost unseen swimming with obscene sinuosity just below the surfaces of their unsleeping streams?

Or perhaps these stories, they're all of exactly the same universe, but seen prismatically through different facets of a brilliantly cut crystal, but rife with subtly shifting nebulae?
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Re: Same universe?

Post by BravoHotel » Tue Jul 15, 2014 5:46 pm

I like the idea of the second option more, although knowing what I do of Handling the undead and a little of JALs other stories, without having read them I don't think they would be able to exist in the "Eliverse" without having to trip over each other constantly.
"Eliverse" by the way is brilliant sauvin.
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Re: Same universe?

Post by sauvin » Tue Jul 15, 2014 6:02 pm

BravoHotel wrote:I like the idea of the second option more, although knowing what I do of Handling the undead and a little of JALs other stories, without having read them I don't think they would be able to exist in the "Eliverse" without having to trip over each other constantly.
"Eliverse" by the way is brilliant sauvin.
A coined phrase, to contain another, "Eliform". The modern archetype for what we call a "vampire" is presented to us wearing Bela Lugosi's face, but apart from a few superficial details (!?), Eli doesn't actually resemble him. Also unlike the Dracula canon, which seems predominantly to concern people of means and privilege, Eli's universe is in housing projects and in the streets. I coined the term "Eliform" to distinguish between Eli's brand of vampirism (and its consequences) from Dracula's, and "Eliverse" to distance Eli's reality from Dracula's.

There's another Eli-term you'll sometimes see on this board, sometimes with tongue firmly in cheek and sometimes with barely suppressed titters: "Eliolatry", an imperfect transmutation of the term "hagiolatry". We accuse each other of this... um... "proclivity"... from time to time.
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Re: Same universe?

Post by dongregg » Tue Jul 15, 2014 6:16 pm

sauvin wrote:Are there indeed beyond that which is like Eli unquiet undead nasties that go bump quietly in the night to colour the nightmares of the grey, blighted denizens of the Eliverse (where all the colours are black), or sleek, slimy, slithering things leaving slow, shallow ripples almost unseen swimming with obscene sinuosity just below the surfaces of their unsleeping streams?

Or perhaps these stories, they're all of exactly the same universe, but seen prismatically through different facets of a brilliantly cut crystal, but rife with subtly shifting nebulae?
Oh you! :D
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Re: Same universe?

Post by metoo » Tue Jul 15, 2014 6:18 pm

metoo wrote:I think this is an exception to the rule that all of John Ajvide Lindqvist's stories take place in their own unique universes.
BravoHotel wrote:But that does mean there are other supernatural thins besides Eli in the LTROI universe.
It seems I did not make myself sufficiently clear.
Next try: I think each story lives in its own unique universe. As a rule, that is, with a few exceptions.
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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