It's Friday!

Wait, actually it's Wednesday in my world. Yep. I'm preposting.

I've been hanging onto this post topic for a few weeks actually. You all know I'm a huge horror fan: My rental queue is packed with zombies, slashers, ghosts, etc. So it wouldn't come as any surprise that I was stoked to see John Lindqvist's Let Me In coming out back in 2007. A Scandinavian vampire book. What could be better?

I've never reviewed the book here (I mentioned earlier this week - and you can see by the sidebar - that I'd started blogging in Feb '08 so the book had already been out a few months at that point), though I did review it for Bookbitch.com and you can see that I liked the book alright. I thought the translation was great and that Lindqvist was an obvious talent. What I didn't mention was the fact that I didn't find the book to be that much of a horror. Certainly horrific and graphically violent with some really twisted and perverse characters, but not true horror. I felt it was more of a dramatic piece.

I've seen the 2008 Swedish film, screenplay by Lindqvist himself, and I saw the American remake opening week. I did make a few observations. First, while both movies make a valiant effort at following the book, and do so quite effectively, the book is much more disturbing. And the American version of the film is slightly more appealing to me than the Swedish in terms of movies in general.

It's interesting, because I find that where books can be very graphic, movies tend to be on the safer side here in the States. (Not the case in Sweden where they definitely don't pull the punches.) I think seeing some of these things on the big screen is still very taboo for American audiences and as someone who watches a lot of violent films, I still kind of agree that some aspects of the book weren't necessary for the feature film. When you're editing for time, certain side stories and elements have to be cut. But I thought it was interesting that Eli's partner is toned down in the Swedish film as well. His story is pretty much cut. And his story is one of the most disturbing parts of the book.

Another interesting change was in the character of Oskar/Owen. The Swedish actor plays the part closer to what I imagined in the book -- a boy with some pretty twisted psychological tendencies. The actor in the US version was easier to sympathize with.

While I don't find it necessary to remake every popular foreign film for American audiences -- I'm perfectly happy seeing foreign films -- from a cultural standpoint, I do find it really interesting to compare and contrast the various versions. If you've seen the Swedish Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for example, there are some very violently graphic scenes in the film -- again, they don't pull punches, these scenes are straight from the book -- and I'm very curious to see how they'll be treated in the upcoming US film.

I am also curious to see the characters as they're portrayed by different actors. The boys in the two versions of Let the Right One In aka Let Me In, effectively changed the tone of the story in my eyes. Noomi Rapace, who plays Lisbeth in the Swedish versions of Larsson's films, owns that character. To see her in real life is to see a completely different person. I'm not certain that will be replicated in a way that really works on screen here. We'll have to wait and see, though. I have a much easier time picturing Daniel Craig as Michael Nyqvist. Rooney Mara has big shoes to fill, though.

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. A couple of other comparisons you can make, if you're interested:

Germany's 2001 Das Experiment starring the amazing Moritz Bleibtreu was recently adapted in the US (The Experiment) with Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker starring. I'm a huge fan of the German film, but haven't seen the US version just yet.

The US version of The Eye was a throwaway in my opinion.

The Vanishing from 1993 with Kiefer Sutherland is a pretty good adaptation of the Dutch, 1988 Spoorloos, if I recall correctly. Worth seeing both.

There's more on Wikipedia here.

Translated Works and the Scandinavian Trend

I'm not sure, but I think I may have touched on translated works here before. At any rate, it would have been back in the beginning and the current rising trend in Scandinavian thrillers/mysteries prompts me to talk about it again.

First let me say that I'm a huge fan of translated works. Seeing the international bestsellers lists in PW always has a sense of excitement and frustration for me because I always have to wonder when or if we'll be getting our chance at some of the books that are doing well internationally.

I've heard complaints amongst the publishing industry that translated works just don't do very well. In the grand scheme of things, statistics and all, this is probably still true. All it really takes, though, is for one book to generate a lot of buzz and a new trend is kicked off. And this is what we're seeing right now thanks to Stieg Larsson's popularity.

A couple of notes on that, though. This is not the first time that Scandinavian thrillers have had marked popularity in the States. I can name plenty of authors (Henning Mankell, Peter Hoeg, Jo Nesbo) who have been around in the US market for quite some time.

Another note is the fact that Larsson's debut in the States was accompanied by a HUGE marketing campaign, something many foreign authors don't receive here. One example (France this time) is Jean Christophe-Grange, an author I've talked about here before who's translated work is hard to come by in the US. His last release here was the grossly under-adverstised Empire of Wolves. Grange has had four new releases in France since Wolves came out here and none (to my knowledge) has been translated for an English speaking audience.

So there's two sides to that coin. I think Larsson's work proves a. that there is a viable market for translated works here (as evidence by others such as Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Natsuo Kirino, Ohran Pamuk, Isabel Allende and so many more) and b. a great marketing plan goes a long way in introducing readers to these works.

Now everyone's looking for the next Larsson along with the next Twilight. A slew of new foreign fiction is set to hit markets in the coming months:

• Liza Marklund, already a bestseller overseas, made her US debut co-authoring James Patterson's The Postcard Killers. Her latest solo novel, Red Wolf, is due out here in the States in Feb.
• Another one getting lots of buzz lately is Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom's Three Seconds, set for release in January, one of the first releases in Sterling's new fiction imprint, Silver Oak.

Others on my "To Read" Scandinavian list include Camilla Lackberg, who's The Ice Princess was released here this summer, Johan Theorin, Jo Nesbo, and Lars Kepler -- just to name a few.

If you're interested in seeing what's on the horizon in Scandinavian translated fiction here in the States, check out ScandinavianBooks.com. They've got news, reviews, and profiles of both crime and fiction authors.

The Immortals

Ah, this was to be one of my Halloween reads. With the wedding, though, I ended up on something of a self-imposed reading fast. So much to do, so many people to visit with, and ending just about each night passing out from sheer exhaustion. And so I dove into JT Ellison's fifth Taylor Jackson book last week. And guess what arrived on the doorstep that week as well? Book six! Yep. I'm a lucky girl. So Close the Hand of Death is not due out until March of next year. Consider it a fabulous wedding gift from the publisher (I do)!

With The Immortals, Taylor Jackson is on her own (sans Baldwin, I mean) to solve a multiple homicide on Halloween. Seven teenagers have been brutally murdered and an eighth lies in critical condition after what can only be called a massive ritualistic killing spree. With murmurings of witches and vampires, Taylor is certain there is a more logical solution to such a horrible crime, but the killers have so far evaded capture. Meanwhile, Baldwin is facing a disciplinary hearing regarding a case from 2004 and a secret he's been carrying with him for the past six years.

Ah, JT! The emotional torture she puts Taylor and Baldwin through... And there is something of a cliffhanger ending here. I know from blog posts that Memphis comes back in book seven (from The Cold Room), which is a little teaser to be expecting when I finish reading So Close the Hand of Death now as well. I can only imagine the tension he's going to bring with him. I will have to hold off just a little on diving into book six, but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to resist the pull!

The Cold Room

Alright, catching up on JT Ellison for you guys. I actually read The Cold Room just last month, in anticipation of the release of Ellison's latest title, The Immortals. I'd fallen just one book behind and was damn sure not going to let it go any further than that!

What probably gets me most about Ellison is the fact that she hasn't seemed to run out of any steam. Not everyone can be a winner with every reader every time. Ellison has not let me down, though. With each new title, she takes the series further, letting readers see more and more into the lives of her two characters (and side characters as well). I feel connected to them. When I read one of Ellison's books, I get immersed in Taylor and Baldwin's world. This is, to me, a sign of a really great author, and the goal with any book that I read: I want to leave behind the everyday and get caught up, just for a little while, in a world that's not my own.

NOTE: Possible spoilers if you haven't read the rest of the series.

In The Cold Room, Taylor Jackson has been demoted to detective. Forced to answer to someone else, forced apart from her team, she's finding it a bit difficult to bite her tongue and let someone else be in charge. And rightfully so. But she has no other choice. And with the Pretender still out there taunting her, the pressure is mounting. Her latest case involves the murder of a young woman, seemingly starved to death and posed in a grotesque homage to Picasso. The scene is strikingly similar to a string of murders in Italy and England that Baldwin has been investigating. The killer reporters are calling The Conductor, may be one and the same, but minute differences and the trans-continental killing spree would have Baldwin and Taylor believe, or perhaps hope, otherwise. As the killer searches out his newest victim, the two investigators uncover disturbing clues to the motivations behind these crimes.

I never want to give too much away, but you simply must read Ellison's Authors Note when you finish this one. Her inspiration for this one and the research that is out there is fascinating, and disturbing.

A JT Ellison Post

Sometimes I get caught up in my reading only to realize that I'm not totally caught up in posting. Hm. For the record, most everything I read is reviewed first for Bookbitch.com. I also post Shelfari reviews and then a third separate review here. Yep, that's three blurbs per book, unless I poach an old backlist one from the BB archives or, as with the Pre Pub posts, they're publisher's or PW reviews. I think you'll forgive me if I neglect a title here or there, won't you? But as I'm trying to catch up from a couple of months of neglectful posting anyway, I feel I need to make it up to you.

Well, such is the case with one of my favorite must-read authors, JT Ellison. See, back when I started this blog, in Feb of '08, Ellison's series was already running. Her debut, All the Pretty Girls had been out since November of '07 and I think I ended up posting about that title here right around the release date of book two, 14. Apparently, I missed the boat on posting a review of 14 here on the blog, though, because my next post was book three, Judas Kiss, which can be found here.

So to remedy that (because I'm a bit anal), here is my Bookbitch review of 14. Tomorrow I'll review The Cold Room and Wednesday I'll post a review of Ellison's latest entry in the series, The Immortals. It may be a bit unnecessary, since I hope you're all reading this series already (have I mentioned that they're packed with suspense, usually a little shocking, and full of I can't believe it moments where Ellison pushes her characters to the brink and beyond in each new book?!), but it's the least I can do.

Enjoy!

Lieutenant Taylor Jackson is just days from walking down the aisle when she’s called to the scene of a gruesome murder. Strangely, the MO resembles that of a serial killer who struck Tennessee in the early 80’s. Dubbed the Snow White Killer thanks to his dark haired, pale skinned victims, and his penchant for smearing bright red lipstick across their faces, he left behind ten victims before apparently throwing in the towel; he was never caught. Has Snow White reemerged after such a long break or are they facing a copycat. Then new evidence is found to support the copycat theory and Jackson and her team are faced with uncovering both of the killers’ identities in order to solve the case. With just two titles released, J.T. Ellison has proven herself to be one of the best new thriller authors out there. Her characters are solid and her plots are refreshingly original - and what a great ending.

New Releases 11/09/10

Some of the new titles hitting shelves this week are:

Ghosting by David Poyer

Lipstick in Afghanistan by Roberta Gately

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg

Bitten in Two by Jennifer Rardin -- Jaz Parks #7

The Pericles Commission by Gary Corby

The Wolves of Andover by Kathleen Kent -- prequel to The Heretic's Daughter

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

Hell's Corner by David Baldacci

A Deadman's Tale by James Doss

New on DVD:

Charlie St. Cloud

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Grown Ups

Ramona and Beezus

Sherlock Season 1

New reviews at Bookbitch.com:

Lipstick in Afghanistan

Frostbite by David Wellington

Dark Echo by F.G. Cottam

Pre Pub Book Buzz -- The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Tuesday (11/09) sees the release of Kate Morton's latest, The Distant Hours. Morton, whose debut, The House at Riverton (The Shifting Fog), captivated readers - including myself - has made a name for herself with her gothically toned fiction. I've been salivating over The Distant Hours for a couple weeks now, since the massive ARC landed on my doorstep. Unfortunately, I knew that this one would take a little more attention that I could devote before now. Never fear! I'm diving in this weekend. For now, here's the PW review so you can share my excitement:

A letter posted in 1941 finally reaches its destination in 1992 with powerful repercussions for Edie Burchill, a London book editor, in this enthralling romantic thriller from Australian author Morton (The Forgotten Garden). At crumbling Milderhurst Castle live elderly twins Persephone and Seraphina and their younger half-sister, Juniper, the three eccentric spinster daughters of the late Raymond Blythe, author of The True History of the Mud Man, a children's classic Edie adores. Juniper addressed the letter to Meredith, Edie's mother, then a young teen evacuated to Milderhurst during the Blitz. Edie, who's later invited to write an introduction to a reprint of Raymond's masterpiece, visits the seedily alluring castle in search of answers. Why was her mother so shattered by the contents of a letter sent 51 years earlier? And what happened to soldier Thomas Cavill, Juniper's long-missing fiancé and Meredith's former teacher? Despite the many competing narratives, the answers will stun readers.

I'm thinking a nice relaxing weekend indoors (with the exception of some yoga), curled up with some hot tea and The Distant Hours is the perfect way to spend the next two days.