Virtual Book Club

[metoo]

Well, Eli of course is Oskar's darker half made manifest, or at least his fantasies.

Anyway, I think that Oskar's display with the knife was what made Eli curious. If Oskar hadn't stabbed the air in his bedroom, and later the tree, Eli wouldn't have showed himself, I think. But what did Eli see? Something of himself?

[a_contemplative_life]

So . . . can we manage 23 October (Chp. 3) by next weekend, or do we need more time to accommodate the holidays?

[gattoparde59]

I'll be reading.

[EEA]

I will be reading too.

[Daniel Ether]

so i'm a little late in all the christmas buzz i just read the discussion that is really interesting.

To Elis behavior:

The people who like to think about Eli as Oskar's dark half made manifest can, I think, point to the interesting coincidence that Eli just happens to materialize right as Oskar is using his knife against the tree in his courtyard while he fantasizes about murder. It's also cool that he first sees Eli as a reflection on the knife.

I think it would be interesting to know what impressions, if any, Eli had made about Oskar just from watching him through his bedroom window. We know that Oskar didn't hear the door open just before Eli showed up, so there's a fair chance she was outside before they first meet. From that, one can infer that she might have seen him thrusting the knife around in his bedroom. Maybe that piqued her interest...

"I can't be friends with you. Just so you know."
Oskar folded his hands over his chest. He could feel the contours of the knife through his jacket.
"What?"
One corner of the girl's mouth pulled up in a half-smile.
"Do you need a reason? I'm just telling you how it is. So you know."

Why does Eli smile at this juncture? Does she enjoy the thought that she's made Oskar feel a bit defensive?

Maybe at this point Eli, at least unknowingly, is interested in Oskar in such a way that the she spoke the phrase "i can't be friends with you" only because she thought it has to be, while she knows who and what she is. I think at that point Eli is already more child than vampire and maybe that makes her smile.

I just recognised something funny...Tommy and Robban dresed themselfs als "zombies" and scared Lasse... Isn't this kind of a prieview what whill happen to Tommy whit Hakan?

[a_contemplative_life]

Maybe at this point Eli, at least unknowingly, is interested in Oskar in such a way that the she spoke the phrase "i can't be friends with you" only because she thought it has to be, while she knows who and what she is. I think at that point Eli is already more child than vampire and maybe that makes her smile.

I think Eli has an aggressive side to her nature that shows itself from time to time in the novel. This may be an example of that, where she secretly knows exactly why she can't be friends, but enjoys seeing Oskar, who (incorrectly) takes her comment as a suggestion that perhaps he is not good enough to be friends with her, get a bit defensive.

I just recognised something funny...Tommy and Robban dresed themselfs als "zombies" and scared Lasse... Isn't this kind of a prieview what whill happen to Tommy whit Hakan?

I think you may be onto something here...

[a_contemplative_life]

Well, Eli of course is Oskar's darker half made manifest, or at least his fantasies.

Anyway, I think that Oskar's display with the knife was what made Eli curious. If Oskar hadn't stabbed the air in his bedroom, and later the tree, Eli wouldn't have showed himself, I think. But what did Eli see? Something of himself?

I think you're right. Who knows what her initial reaction might have been, but no doubt his playing with the knife would have drawn her attention.

[a_contemplative_life]

I will start discussion of the next chapter with a few pictures of the Stockholm Public Library, where Hakan goes with about $1,500 to "save a life" in exchange for something he can't articulate very well . . . some kind of "beautiful" encounter with a child, which presumably is the next best thing to "true love," in his mind.

[a_contemplative_life]

Here is a link to the old thread on Tintomara, a fictional character that may lie at the heart of Hakan's wish to check out "The Queen's Diadem."

http://www.let-the-right-one-in.com/for ... iadem#p470

[EEA]

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 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.