Virtual Book Club

[a_contemplative_life]

Hakan at the library is one of my least favorite parts of the book. But that part works since we learn more about Hakan's past and how far he will go to obtain that love.

I have to say that the more I read JAL's passages about Hakan, the more impressed I am with his skill in bringing us such a complex character. It can't be an easy task to create feelings of sympathy for a pedophile, but somehow JAL manages. Hakan is truly a person with a tragic flaw. He wants to be loved fully and completely, and he constantly tries to see the beautiful things in life, but he knows he's carrying around this ugly/dark side, and his sexual urges toward children color all of his thoughts. The whole section describing his encounter with a child prostitute in the library illustrates this brilliantly, IMO. There is a strange passivity in Hakan as well, which reminds me of Meursault in Camu's The Stranger. There is a sense that things just sort of happen to him, that he's really not in control. He goes to the library ostensibly to save a child's life with a big wad of cash, but also because he's heard from his former friends that the library is a place where you can buy sex. His actions in the library lead to the encounter with the pimp, which is presumably what he thought he wanted, but once the encounter occurs, he is reluctant, seeming to find it distasteful. It's not, apparently, what he imagined it would be. Yet, he dutifully goes to the bathroom stall as he's told, even though he recognizes that he is running the risk of being arrested and jeopardizing Eli. In fact, there is some part of Hakan that wants to be stopped ("Something in him hoped it was a policeman. A large male policeman who would kick open the door to the booth and beat him up with the baton before he arrested him.")

Even after the child is brought before him, Hakan is the passive partner in what's going on. The child has to instruct him to unzip his fly, etc. By slipping into passivity, Hakan avoids confronting the truth about what he's doing, or maybe one could say, what he is. He's not in charge; things are being done to him.

The worst part is when he narrows his eyes and tries to impose a vision of Eli on the boy as the latter seeks to fellate him. This is apparently the ugly truth about his earlier thoughts at the library that he no longer wanted his armchair and books because he had "found love." Hakan cannot seem to escape a notion of love that is tied up to sexual gratification. Conversely, he cannot seem to enjoy sex by itself if it does not occur in an imagined, "beautiful" encounter with Eli. He is not aroused by what is happening with the child prostitute in a bathroom stall, with the pimp waiting outside.

It is also very tragic that he is prepared to deny the humanity of other persons to attain his vision of true love. His effort to replace the child prostitute with an imagined Eli is a softer, smaller form of his slaying of the young boy earlier in the novel. It is monstrous in its negation of another human being, an abused boy who has now been reduced to a tool to gratify Hakan. But Hakan can never bring himself to confront this ugly fact about himself.

Ironically, it is Hakan's recognition of the ugliness of the tableau that finally drives him to do the right thing. He realizes that the boy's teeth have been knocked out to make him better at fellatio, and this triggers his impulse to stop everything and give the money to the boy. ("Håkan tucked his penis back into his pants, zipped them, and stared onto the floor. Not like this. Never like this.") So, although he ends up doing the good deed that he set out to do, his altruism is tainted by the ugliness of his sexual desire.

Hakan's problem is neatly summed up by the writing on the wall that he reads after the child prostitute has left:

Whoever you are. I love you.

And right underneath it someone had written,

Do you want some cock?

I like the section of this chapter where we are introduced to the Chinese restaurant gang. There's a fair amount of subtle humor in their conversation, e.g., when Morgan says that the school principal in the newspaper article about the murder "Looks like a murderer to me. Just the type"; then when Jocke remarks that the principal "Looks like a conservative politician," Morgan replies, "That's what I'm talking about." And when Morgan replies to Lacke's suggestion that they invite Hakan to their table: "What's the use? His wife has left him, the cat is dead and life is hell. I know it all already." Or when Lacke and Jocke are talking, and Jocke starts in "on the whole cod thing." It's a warm feeling that comes from being in the presence of someone who's like a comfortable old shoe--a good friend that you know so well, you know what they are going to say before they say it.

Hakan is clearly not feeling too well about his relationship with Eli. Drowning his sorrows of not being fully loved, perhaps feeling a bit trapped by the thought that he's going to have to kill again to win Eli's affection.

I also liked how JAL has Lacke swipe some of the money that Hakan left for the waiter, and even take the rest of the whiskey from Hakan's glass. Lacke living like a pauper.

I enjoyed the way Eli and Oskar are measuring each other and how they are curious about each other. Is a good thing Oskar brought out the Rubik's Cube.

I do too. I have to wonder whether Eli's thoughts paralleled Oskar's, in terms of hoping to encounter him again in the courtyard. Eli is very enigmatic, and we'll probably never know, but it's fun to speculate.

Eli really comes across as a little monster in this chapter, what with her BO problem, unkept hair with something stuck in it, and a baseline attitude of indifference. It's obvious she is living a very impoverished existence.

[a_contemplative_life]

October 24 by next weekend work for everyone?

[EEA]

Ok.

[gattoparde59]

I'll be there.

[a_contemplative_life]

Here's my comments about this week's chapter...

I like how Oskar makes a game out of delivering the advertising flyers. Typical kid thing to do to make a lot of drudgery go a little easier. I wonder if this represents a little slice of JAL's childhood.

I also think it's interesting how Oskar restlessly searches his apartment for secret things. The opening quote for the chapter is "The suburban mystique is the absence of riddles." JAL seems to be saying that growing up in a modern apartment can be a rather dull experience. I think Oskar would have had a much more engaging experience had he grown up in a very old house full of junk. He seems to constantly be searching for things that are hidden or mysterious.

I also wonder what Oskar's feelings are about the fact that his parents are no longer together. The novel doesn't really make it clear. Since they split up when he was two, he probably can't remember a time when they were a family. That actually might be less traumatic than had it occurred when he was older.

Who hasn't experienced what Oskar goes through, filling out the names of cities on a continental map? JAL hits it on the head in terms of the seeming pointlessness of the exercise.

This was cute:

Oskar climbed up onto the structure until he was next to her, discreetly drawing air into his nose. She didn't stink anymore.

"Do I smell better today?"

Oskar blushed.

I like how Oskar comes near to dying without even being aware of it when he meets Eli in this chapter. Completely unaware of Eli's priorities, his solitary, innocent gesture changes everything. Only after this do they share their names. And clearly, Oskar is quite smitten with her:

Now the wall had developed another significance. On the other side, on the other side of the forest, there was . . . Eli. Oskar lay there with his hand pressed against the green surface and tried to imagine what the other side looked like. Was the room on the other side her bedroom? Was she also lying in her bed right now? He transformed the wall into Eli's cheek, stroked the green leaves, her soft skin.

and

Eli, Eli. I know how it is for you. I'm going to help you. I'm going to save you.
Eli...

Makes you wonder what he would've done had he learned, right at that instant, exactly what Eli was, and what she and Hakan were arguing about. That would have been quite the splash of cold water.

[metoo]

[...]
Makes you wonder what he would've done had he learned, right at that instant, exactly what Eli was, and what she and Hakan were arguing about. That would have been quite the splash of cold water.

I guess he would had ran away, like he did later, after the basement mishap.

Eli, obviously, went out to find dinner.

[Daniel Ether]

Here's my comments about this week's chapter...

I like how Oskar makes a game out of delivering the advertising flyers. Typical kid thing to do to make a lot of drudgery go a little easier. I wonder if this represents a little slice of JAL's childhood.

I also think it's interesting how Oskar restlessly searches his apartment for secret things. The opening quote for the chapter is "The suburban mystique is the absence of riddles." JAL seems to be saying that growing up in a modern apartment can be a rather dull experience. I think Oskar would have had a much more engaging experience had he grown up in a very old house full of junk. He seems to constantly be searching for things that are hidden or mysterious.

This are exactly the kind of games i can remeber i also played when i had to do work like this. i can remeber how i liked it the first time i read it... For me these are the littel things in the book that made the main different to how the story is told in the film. this little things brings you, the reader back in our own childhood even when it was totaly different to Oskars and so you can releat to him and Eli. While writing now about it i just realize that i can't think of a book and its movieversion where one thing makes you enjoy the other even more and conversely

The examples of things Oskar is looking for, a junk of rotten flesh or a ballon, are highly creepy to me... finding something like this would not only be mysterious, it would be kind of disturbing... but everything seems to be better then this boredom

I also wonder what Oskar's feelings are about the fact that his parents are no longer together. The novel doesn't really make it clear. Since they split up when he was two, he probably can't remember a time when they were a family. That actually might be less traumatic than had it occurred when he was older.

Since his feelings about the fact that his parents are no longer together are not clear its quite interesting to hear his thoughts about his dad when he watches the photo! maybe i'm wrong but don't you think its interesting how often ,along the whole book, Oskar is analyzing and describing situations and circumstances not directly but via the persons who take part in said settings?

This was cute:

Oskar climbed up onto the structure until he was next to her, discreetly drawing air into his nose. She didn't stink anymore.

"Do I smell better today?"

Oskar blushed.

I like how Oskar comes near to dying without even being aware of it when he meets Eli in this chapter. Completely unaware of Eli's priorities, his solitary, innocent gesture changes everything. Only after this do they share their names. And clearly, Oskar is quite smitten with her:

Now the wall had developed another significance. On the other side, on the other side of the forest, there was . . . Eli. Oskar lay there with his hand pressed against the green surface and tried to imagine what the other side looked like. Was the room on the other side her bedroom? Was she also lying in her bed right now? He transformed the wall into Eli's cheek, stroked the green leaves, her soft skin.

hmmm... Why did Eli take a shower? because she wants to please Oskar because this boy seemed already interesting to her? Did she already think about how nice it would be to have only one friend some day? Or because she wants to please Oskar so it would be easyer to get his blood ? or non of the above... maybe the conversasion with oskar just reminded her on what 'humans' do normaly ?

[...]
Makes you wonder what he would've done had he learned, right at that instant, exactly what Eli was, and what she and Hakan were arguing about. That would have been quite the splash of cold water.

I guess he would had ran away, like he did later, after the basement mishap.

Eli, obviously, went out to find dinner.

That would have been quite more than the Mystery he was looking for

[EEA]

That part where he is looking around the kitchen cabinets for something unfamiliar remained me about my childhood. I also lived on an apartment complex and during school vacations it was pretty boring since there was nothing to do. I used to look around the apartment for anything that I had not encounter before.
By this point I think both Eli and Oskar are beginning to be more interested in each other. Eli probably wants to enjoy her time with Oskar since who knows when was the last time she had spend with a kid her own age. Oskar I feel believes that he has finally found someone that could like him for himself.
Well if Oskar had decided to follow Eli or Hakan he would have been in for a terrible surprise.

[a_contemplative_life]

[...]
Makes you wonder what he would've done had he learned, right at that instant, exactly what Eli was, and what she and Hakan were arguing about. That would have been quite the splash of cold water.

I guess he would had ran away, like he did later, after the basement mishap.

Agreed, but would he have come back? And would the nature of his attraction for her have changed? The way the story is written, Oskar's mindset is to view Eli as a girlfriend (or just "friend," if you prefer). Could that still work, if he knew from the start--i.e., before he had established a friendship with her--that she was a vampire? And if he was willing to attempt a relationship with her after knowing that, would his attraction to her be because she is a vampire? Given his unhealthy preoccupation with violent murder and his attraction to mystery and magic, I think it's likely that it might, and that that would be something they would need to somehow break through to reach true friendship. Anyway, it's fun to think about.

[a_contemplative_life]

That part where he is looking around the kitchen cabinets for something unfamiliar remained me about my childhood. I also lived on an apartment complex and during school vacations it was pretty boring since there was nothing to do. I used to look around the apartment for anything that I had not encounter before.

I had a very different experience because I grew up in an old house that was built in the 1800's. It was rumored in the family that there was a back staircase that had been walled off, and I was always curious to know whether that was true or not. We always had cats as pets growing up, and I can remember as a young child being fascinated by a little door built into the door leading to the basement that the cats used to get in and out. (There was a place they could exit the basement by the coal chute.) There were all kinds of old tools and things in the basement and in the garage and shed out back.

By this point I think both Eli and Oskar are beginning to be more interested in each other. Eli probably wants to enjoy her time with Oskar since who knows when was the last time she had spend with a kid her own age. Oskar I feel believes that he has finally found someone that could like him for himself.

Yes, Eli seems to pass some threshold moment when Oskar is no longer viewed as a potential snack.