Harbour - John Ajvide Lindqvist
John Ajvide Lindqvist is probably best know for his vampire novel Let The Right One In. The tale was set in the Stockholm suburb of Blackeberg. The main underlying theme is using force against others. This takes the form of paedophilia and bullying in the book. It was a welcome change from the teen twee Twilight series.
His 2008 novel Harbor (orig. Swedish title: Människohamn) is still part of the Horror genre, but without a stock, traditional monster. The story is fairly simple, at least at the beginning. A girl and her parents are visiting a family cottage on the fictional island of Domaro, located in the Stockholm Archipelago. The family skis out across the ice to a nearby lighthouse. They explore the interior of the lamproom, when the daughter spies something out on the empty sheet of ice, next to the lighthouse. She goes out to investigate. Her parents look away for a moment and the child is gone. The area is searched by locals but the girl is never found.
As the story progresses, the lost girl's father (Anders) has returned to the Island, after the collapse of his marriage and subsequent Alcoholism. He wants to find out what happened to his daughter. Still in a grieving state, after an extended period, he surrounds himself with his daughter's things. Her room is still as it was when she disappeared. He is drawn to a bucket of beads and a mysterious pattern begins to emerge.
Also part of the story are his adopted grandfather Simon, a former stage magician, and his grandmother Anna-Greta. Henrik and Bjorn, two "friends" from Anders' old gang, appear as two ghostls riding a moped, spouting The Smiths lyrics and spreading various kinds of malicious chaos. The island Gavesten, where Maja disappeared, in a way, is also a character.
The story unfolds with local mailboxes destroyed and mysterious fires being set. Murderous fights break out amongst normally friendly villagers. The island has a history of strange happenings. Meanwhile Anders becomess gradualy posessed by the spirit of his dead daughter, or is he?
This novel is very approachable. Lindqvist has a way of drawing the reader in with his blend of mysterious happenings and his carefully drawn character portraits. There are parts of the book that drag on, but if you push past them, the rewards are worth waiting for. The ending is stunning.
Happy reading!
His 2008 novel Harbor (orig. Swedish title: Människohamn) is still part of the Horror genre, but without a stock, traditional monster. The story is fairly simple, at least at the beginning. A girl and her parents are visiting a family cottage on the fictional island of Domaro, located in the Stockholm Archipelago. The family skis out across the ice to a nearby lighthouse. They explore the interior of the lamproom, when the daughter spies something out on the empty sheet of ice, next to the lighthouse. She goes out to investigate. Her parents look away for a moment and the child is gone. The area is searched by locals but the girl is never found.
As the story progresses, the lost girl's father (Anders) has returned to the Island, after the collapse of his marriage and subsequent Alcoholism. He wants to find out what happened to his daughter. Still in a grieving state, after an extended period, he surrounds himself with his daughter's things. Her room is still as it was when she disappeared. He is drawn to a bucket of beads and a mysterious pattern begins to emerge.
Also part of the story are his adopted grandfather Simon, a former stage magician, and his grandmother Anna-Greta. Henrik and Bjorn, two "friends" from Anders' old gang, appear as two ghostls riding a moped, spouting The Smiths lyrics and spreading various kinds of malicious chaos. The island Gavesten, where Maja disappeared, in a way, is also a character.
The story unfolds with local mailboxes destroyed and mysterious fires being set. Murderous fights break out amongst normally friendly villagers. The island has a history of strange happenings. Meanwhile Anders becomess gradualy posessed by the spirit of his dead daughter, or is he?
This novel is very approachable. Lindqvist has a way of drawing the reader in with his blend of mysterious happenings and his carefully drawn character portraits. There are parts of the book that drag on, but if you push past them, the rewards are worth waiting for. The ending is stunning.
Happy reading!
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