I am not a vampire fan, so my comments are not likely to be as positive as those of many others. I have read all of Anne Rice's vampire books, however, and I liked them a lot, so it isn't that I can't like a book with vampires in it.
This one, though, is not even close to Rice's standard. A fairly thick book (my copy is 472 pages), it is more a series of events than an exploration of character or a way of life. Several characters are sketched here, yet we get to know only one, Oskar, in any kind of detail. Even the main source of interest, Eli, is a bit of a mystery.
Eli is vampirish. I say this because this small childlike person has characteristics of vampires yet fiercely says no, it's a disease. So this is a slightly different take on the vampire mythology, to have it be a thing that takes over the "real" self and to live independently of the self. There's no denying that Eli sucks blood out of people and to me that does define vampire.
Oskar is a 12-year-old boy, nearly 13, when he first meets Eli. He is a bit pudgy and some of his class mates make cruel fun of him. He is used to being bullied and generally puts up with it, however awful it gets. His position as pariah, of course, means he doesn't have friends any more. Nobody is going to associate with him and be tainted. He is therefore ripe for friendship when the sylphlike Eli arrives on the playground in his development. Little by little, the two strike up a friendship, and when the chips are down we can see that they will do what they can to help the other.
Meanwhile, other dramas are taking place on the fringes. Tommy, who lives in the apartment house next door, is putting up with his mother's suitor, a policeman who thinks he has the answers for this trouble-maker boy. A group of alcoholics get together and trade stories and drinks, and one of them is involved off and on with a woman who clearly cares a lot about him. These peripheral characters enter Oskar and Eli's lives when a man who lives with Eli kills a boy for his blood and the hunt for a "ritual killer" is on.
The book is written simply and little time is given to creating a scene carefully or providing the details of a character. Much of the story is predictable. I found myself yawning when I turned the page and there was an attack or a description of how the vampire couldn't come inside without being invited. No surprises.
The writing reminds me of "young adult" novels in the scarcity of detail, the emphasis on plot, the simple terminology. If it weren't for the gorey details and some sexual imagery it might be found in that section of the library. I found it singularly unfulfilling.
This one, though, is not even close to Rice's standard. A fairly thick book (my copy is 472 pages), it is more a series of events than an exploration of character or a way of life. Several characters are sketched here, yet we get to know only one, Oskar, in any kind of detail. Even the main source of interest, Eli, is a bit of a mystery.
Eli is vampirish. I say this because this small childlike person has characteristics of vampires yet fiercely says no, it's a disease. So this is a slightly different take on the vampire mythology, to have it be a thing that takes over the "real" self and to live independently of the self. There's no denying that Eli sucks blood out of people and to me that does define vampire.
Oskar is a 12-year-old boy, nearly 13, when he first meets Eli. He is a bit pudgy and some of his class mates make cruel fun of him. He is used to being bullied and generally puts up with it, however awful it gets. His position as pariah, of course, means he doesn't have friends any more. Nobody is going to associate with him and be tainted. He is therefore ripe for friendship when the sylphlike Eli arrives on the playground in his development. Little by little, the two strike up a friendship, and when the chips are down we can see that they will do what they can to help the other.
Meanwhile, other dramas are taking place on the fringes. Tommy, who lives in the apartment house next door, is putting up with his mother's suitor, a policeman who thinks he has the answers for this trouble-maker boy. A group of alcoholics get together and trade stories and drinks, and one of them is involved off and on with a woman who clearly cares a lot about him. These peripheral characters enter Oskar and Eli's lives when a man who lives with Eli kills a boy for his blood and the hunt for a "ritual killer" is on.
The book is written simply and little time is given to creating a scene carefully or providing the details of a character. Much of the story is predictable. I found myself yawning when I turned the page and there was an attack or a description of how the vampire couldn't come inside without being invited. No surprises.
The writing reminds me of "young adult" novels in the scarcity of detail, the emphasis on plot, the simple terminology. If it weren't for the gorey details and some sexual imagery it might be found in that section of the library. I found it singularly unfulfilling.
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