Lilla Stjärna is here!

[drakkar]

Lilla Stjärna dropped into my mailbox yesterday!!

I pre-ordered it, expecting it to arrive in late May, but Thursday I got an message from Bokus.com that my "item" was shipped, and here it is!

[Tom]

Lilla Stjärna dropped into my mailbox yesterday!!

I pre-ordered it, expecting it to arrive in late May, but Thursday I got an message from Bokus.com that my "item" was shipped, and here it is!

Congrats! Was the epilogue of Let The Right One In included in the book?

BTW, you can actually read some of it here. http://www.smakprov.se/smakprov/Lilla-S ... 9170374036

[drakkar]

No, it isn't. No Let the Old Dreams Die.
(But Lilla Stjärna has both a prologue and an epilogue.)

[N.R. Gasan]

Lilla Stjärna dropped into my mailbox yesterday!!

Thanks for the update, drakkar.

And thanks to Tom for the link to the website.

Well, if anyone has any doubts about whether or not it was JAL who made a couple of visits to "We, The Infected," all doubts can be put to rest: I immediately went to the website and compared the prolouge posted here back in Dec. with the official prolouge; there are a few minor differences (last-minute editing, I'm sure), but otherwise it is word-for-word.

So...JAL really was here. And he really is a class act. Very refreshing and uplifting to know. :)

[a_contemplative_life]

Came across this website tonight and thought it might be of interest...

http://www.leonhardt-hoier.dk/authors/11

[drakkar]

This is the most comprehensive review I've seen so far.
I'm a few pages into the novel now. So far it's mean, in a strangely decent way. And very well written. I rarely come across characters and the situations pinpointed after so few words.

[PeteMork]

This is the most comprehensive review I've seen so far.
I'm a few pages into the novel now. So far it's mean, in a strangely decent way. And very well written. I rarely come across characters and the situations pinpointed after so few words.

You lucky dog! Us monolingual (for the most part) Americans are going to have to wait to see if JAL is even going to publish this in English! (My high-school French, college scientific German, and work-related Russian are of absolutely no use to me in this context)

[moonvibe34]

This is the most comprehensive review I've seen so far.
I'm a few pages into the novel now. So far it's mean, in a strangely decent way. And very well written. I rarely come across characters and the situations pinpointed after so few words.

oh just pour some salt on the wound and rub it in why don't ya.
it's great that you have the book. i just got my copy of Handling the Undead and am absolutely loving it.
i guess if i wanna read Lilla Stjarna any time soon i'll have to pick up the pace on those Rosetta Stone lessons.
anyway, thanks for the update and info.

[drakkar]

Edited 11 May: Impressions of the book.

John talks about Lilla Stjärna on Swedish TV, while walking around Skansen, where the book is ending.

He talks about walking around Skansen for a whole day, getting all the details (camera angles, light etc.) right.
They sit down by the wolves' den, right where the girls were sitting, having a pick-nick, just like the girls. John talks a bit about how wolves participates in the book, and how the blood stain on the front cover is shaped as a wolf silhouette. The book is his darkest and bloodiest so far, and also the one he is most pleased with.


My impression of the book:
First, I'm astonished by how few words he actually needs to pinpoint a family and their entire history relevant for the plot.
Again, the story deals with outsiders of the society, bringing their actions to the very extreme. This time, the supernatural elements are used only sparingly. As in the prologue posted by johnajvide on the board, where Lennart finds Theres (Lilla Stjärna's name) in the woods. Weird, OK, but you keep thinking; Could this really happen? Is this totally impossible? Elements like Theres' ability to sing absolutely pure sinus tones as a baby, and the red smoke emerging from people as they die (which happens a lot), points towards something supernatural, but it is kept very low key, so I keep having doubt about it throughout the book.

The entire novel is like this - John balancing on a razor edge between supernatural fantasy and brutal realism. Even when I sum up the almost-impossible incidents - trying to relax thinking "this couldn't happen in real life" - even then I'm left with a tiny doubt. Here is no 200 years old vampire or zombies to save you from reality. Only hints. And even the hints are made in such a way they could be part of someone's imagination.

This novel has hit me hard, just like LdRKI. It is so dark, and the only hope I can find lies in the supernatural. If I choose to view the story realistically, it is a deep tragedy, nothing less. The story is harsh social criticism, kept in a low key language - close to the characters - creating a roaring silence emphasizing the criticism even more. If the supernatural elements are included, he can hide himself behind the horror label, but this time it won't cover him at all. His portrayal of the society is just too penetrating.

John's genius strikes again when he uses the ambiguity of the supernatural presence or not as another turn on the screw. By making the horror story perhaps possible in real life, he penetrates deeper in his social criticism, and adds immense suspense to the story.

I'm having problems getting past Eli and Oskar as the perhaps strongest characters I've ever encountered, but all in all, I regard Lilla Stjärna as his best book, but certainly not the most pleasant. By far.

[danielma]

See now that just makes me want to read this even more then I already did...damn times like this I wish I could read other languages besides English...thanks for the impressions drakkar