This Ain't no Harry Potter

When I originally heard about this series, I was like cool another Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But instead there is this insipid girl risking her life for so called love. The casual way she risk her life is misleading and dangerous, I was totally underwhelmed. I literally read the book out of stubborness and boredom but I was repulsed by the simpleness of Bella. To me it seems to encourage suicide.

[Wednesday, August 20, 2008]

I Loved It, Here's Why You May Not...

This book is not a lot of things: linguistically complex, rich in description, full of well-developed characters. Lovers of vampire lore will find that it is not particularly dark or detailed - Meyer seems more interested in the way being a vampire might affect your relationships than any other aspect of the myth. On the other hand, it's very fun to read.

This book might not meet any definition of masterpiece: it would be fair to call the narrative simplistic and the style is meant for teenagers, and it's meant to entertain, not to challenge. The plot is not hard to follow or hard to predict. The characters are fairly one-dimensional, especially the minor characters such as the mother and father and the "ordinary" friends at school.

And yet, this is one of the literary confections I have most enjoyed in recent years. The metaphor for teenage love is apt: what teenager has not fallen recklessly for someone who clearly might hurt her? What teenager doesn't seem, at times, ravenous for destruction and a risk to himself and those he loves the most? As metaphors for different kinds of transformation, vampires and werewolves are very powerful.

It's light reading, to be sure, five hundred pages of Meyer's book fly by faster than fifty of a Jane Austen novel I recently read. More story could have been condensed into the pages, but to what end? I enjoyed how she lingered indulgently on moments that are meant to be satisfying and titillating.

Is this about inspiring young women? Does it need to be? The protagonist of this book is caught up in the events around her: rather than seeking adventure, she finds she has attracted it. She rises to the occasion in a believable way for a teenager, but she's not meant to be exceptionally gifted. She's good at biology and she's a loner, but she's not a hero figure. Her talent if any, is balancing two realities - something many infantren from divorced families know how to do well.

And that should be enough. There is something very pleasurable about the idea that you might be whisked away from ordinary life by coincidence or destiny. Having a heroine who is outspoken or remarkable shouldn't be a requirement for young adult reading. Some characters get to stumble into great lives, just like in adult fiction.

The character of Edward is more extraordinary and more noteworthy both - and for good reason - the revelation of his existence and the unraveling of his mystery are the real drivers of the plot. Full of self-restraint, he harkens back to characters in 19th-century novels. He is in control and represents the ideal of a man who can act for selfless reasons even while racked with selfish desires.

Is this an exaggeration? Of course. But it's a brilliant insight into a teenage (and adult) fantasy: to have a lover both young (seventeen) and mature (he's been alive for a lot longer); someone who is passionately in love with you and yet must express himself in the quaintest, most innocent ways. It may be ground well-covered, but it's ground that has been well-covered for a reason: it's a very appealing fantasy. Meyer picked an excellent and evocative premise when she chose the idea of a teenage vampire in love with a human girl, and she deserves credit for making the most of that premise.

With all this having been said, I feel obligated to note, I am a reader of romance novels and a lover of romantic comedies who enjoys stories that strike an emotional nerve and fulfill a fanstasy even if they do so at expense of realism, artistic vision, or meaningful depth. I know that it matters more, in some cases, how well a story meets my expectations for it than how well it is written. Great prose can also disappoint you with an usatisfying ending and still be worth reading. Really masterful prose can lack a beginning or ending and still be worth reading. But sometimes as readers, we'll trade a certain amount of quality for a happy ending.

As a fulfillment of a fantasy of being considered mysterious by someone mysterious, being drawn into a world that is unique and apart from the banal, being singled out as special - this book is magnificent.

[Wednesday, August 20, 2008]

Chill out and dream a little! Good book for people who LOVE details!

When I first heard of the book Twilight, I read the plot and found myself not as interested so I let it go. Before long, I heard the movie was coming out and I knew I had to get myself to read the book before seeing the movie, knowing I would end up watching it.
So when my book finally came in the mail, it took me awhile to actually sit down and get myself to read it knowing that I mostly knew the outline of the story because it was a bit obvious with the movie coming out and all.
When I started it went pretty good, I read a few chapters without stopping and I was able to put the book down. When I decided I wanted to start again, I couldn't stop reading it.
I had to know what was going through Bella's mind as she fell in love with the vampire, Edward. I could imagine what they look looked like, every scene, and every detail. I loved how detail oriented she was, like myself I can't help, but explain every detail because it only added to the importance of the story! I was so intrigued with every word and scene, I found it very hard to put down the book, but I had to sleep being in college summer school and all, plus work! I was already half way through the book and decided to buy New Moon the second book to the saga, hoping it would come before i finished.
Then it hit me when I continued to read, I was going to finish this book today, in a short few hours. I wanted to stop so I would be able to continue with New Moon, but knowing myself, once intrigued by a book, there was NO stopping and that was exactly what happened, I couldn't believe it, I finished it all in approximately a day, a new recored for such a big book. I was upset, I had to wait for my next book to be shipped, so I canceled my book and got the ebook (reading it this way was hard because its not as easy to lounge around with a laptop on your lap and according to my friends it was harder for them to concentrate looking at a bright screen, but I was fine and brave through it) and I also found myself not being able to stop and I had to get Eclipse (3rd book) and Breaking Dawn (4th book) ebook style.
So in other words, I LOVED all four books, some a little less, but nonetheless extremely satisfied with Stephenie Meyer and her imagination. I was an immediate fan for LIFE for Bella and Edward! Also I could understand why some people found the last book disappointing because they had to wait and anticipated and assume what would happen, but because I read all 4 in four days ( I know, I'm crazy =]) I knew exactly where she was going at and know finding myself wanting to re-read every book, but maybe the old fashion way, on paper!
For people who felt she was giving young girls a wrong impression, I got none and I'm 20 years old, I knew this was fantasy and imagined myself within that fantasy and not relating to the real world about the ideas, except I wouldn't mine finding myself a vampire like Edward, but we all know this isn't true and just for fun. So live a little and just let yourself get lost in this world. (well try not to be like me, I'm sure it's not healthy to read all 4 books in short periods of time since they are long!) I never write book reviews, and I found it within myself, that I MUST back up Stephenie Meyer and all her fans, and I'm glad I did. Hate all you want (bad reviewers, 1 star? come on!), but I am utterly in LOVE with this WHOLE saga and world!

[Wednesday, August 20, 2008]

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