Let the Old Dreams Die
Let the Old Dreams Die is a short story collection by John Ajvide Lindqvist. The bulk of the stories were originally published in Sweden in 2005 under the title Pappersväggar (Paper Walls). Quercus published the first English-language release in 2011, with the addition of the title story "Let the Old Dreams Die". [1]
Swedish book cover for Låt de gamla drömmarna dö | |
Author | John Ajvide Lindqvist |
---|---|
Original title | Pappersväggar (Paper Walls) Låt de gamla drömmarna dö |
Country | Sweden |
Language | Swedish |
Genre | Horror |
Publisher | Quercus Publishing |
The title story is a sequel to Lindqvist's novel Let the Right One In. Also included is "The Final Processing", a sequel to Lindqvist's Handling the Undead. In 2018 the story "Border" was adapted into a feature film.
Contents
- "Border"
- "A Village in the Sky"
- "Equinox"
- "Itsy Bitsy"
- "The Substitute"
- "Eternal/Love"
- "To Put My Arms Around You, to Music"
- "Majken"
- "Final Processing"
- "Tindalos" (included only in the US edition)
- "Let the Old Dreams Die" (included in the UK and US editions, published separately in Sweden)
Reception
Terrence Rafferty of The New York Times wrote:
It's a good thing Lindqvist is such a lively, observant writer because, despite the relative paucity of evil, the themes of his fiction can be mighty grim: his characters spend an inordinate amount of time negotiating with the Reaper, in his various forms. Maybe it's a Swedish thing. But his touch is a good deal lighter than that of his great, gloomy compatriot Ingmar Bergman. A Seventh Seal by Lindqvist would have plenty of jokes and perhaps even a sliver of hope. He tends to write about people who don't take themselves, or life, too seriously – until they're forced to, by love or fear or (most often) both.[2]
References
- Costello, John (2009-03-12). "Let the Old Dreams Die". This is Horror. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
- Rafferty, Terrence (2013-10-18). "Sunday Book Review". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-11-15.