Hello, Friends. I created this blog almost a month ago, and have since failed to give it more than a passing thought. I beg your indulgence. I am, you see, one of those people who find it easier to begin an endeavor than to faithfully follow through and bring all my ideas to fruition. I am afraid that if I continue in this vein of lackadaisical procrastination I will never be pleased with my accomplishments, and therefore as of today I am renewing my efforts to be responsible and faithful in all my communications and efforts. If all this sounds overly formal, please be advised that I began reading Wuthering Heights (by Emily Bronte) yesterday evening and my mind is somewhat lodged in a form of speech and phrasing long out of date in our modern era. And why, you ask, have I developed this sudden interest in the classics? There's a question that brings us back to our main topic. I am, you see, reading Wuthering Heights as a direct result of reading Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer.
So let's talk about Twilight. I'll be surprised if you haven't heard of it, as it's actually something of a phenomena in YA literature right now. I was first introduced this August, on the first or second day of my acquaintance with my roommate-to-be. Upon discovering that I had not read the series she disappeared into her room and came back with a stack of three books, which she deposited into my hands and commanded me to read. My first week of college was spent in reading these books (Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse) They spared me any depression I may have felt about that awkward stage where I didn't have anyone to sit with in the cafeteria; a good book gave me something to do.
(The following may contain small spoilers)
The Twilight Saga is about vampires and romance. There are even werewolves, an added bonus:-p. I'm actually not a connoisseur of the whole vampire-romance genre, and this may have been the first book I read which treated vampires in a serious manner. The reason I am not a reader of vampire literature is that, well, I don't really want to hear about biting people and sucking their blood. It's never been one of the myths that particularly appealed to me. Any books that treated vampires as the good guys must have something of a skewed morality, and, well, reading about struggles against the damned just never really appealed to me. So why is Twilight different? The Vampires are vegetarians, for one thing. The vampire family in Twilight, the Cullens, have agreed to live by hunting animals instead of humans. They pretend to be humans, even going to high school. This, of course, is where Edward met Bella.
Bella is the hero of the story. She moves to live with her dad in a small town in Washington called Forks. She is determined she will hate the rainy town, until she meets the Cullens. They are all pale and beautiul, and Edward the most beautiful of all. But Edward seems to have a strange aversion to her. This is the complication in their relationship: Edward thirsts for her blood more than for that of any other human he has ever encountered. As the story progresses, however, his love for her becomes stronger than his other inclinations. Bella becomes the first human to discover the Cullen's secret, and her love for Edward grows even as their relationship puts her in ever greater danger.
Enough plot summary. Go read the book.
The more I think about it, the more impressed I am with what Meyer has done with these books. She has taken a very old idea (vampires) and made it completely her own, with enough twists on the original concept to keep readers engaged and guessing. The two aspects of the plot are A.) a modern fantasy thriller and B.) a teen prince-charming style romance. The romance is handled very well. So sweet and gentle it is almost too much to bear, but with enough tension and insecurities on both sides that it is believable, and one does not tire of it all the way through. As for the thriller bit... I must warn you, these books are addictive. Each book is over 500 pages (Eclipse is 640) and yet I finished each book in one day earlier this week. Granted it's summer and I had the time, but still.
On the subject of Stephenie Meyer, I just discovered something fun. Further down on the Twilight page is an interview with Meyer labeled Amazon.com's Significant Seven. In answering these questions she makes it clear that Orson Scott Card is one of her most admired authors. It's nice to know that my favorite authors like each other. On an even more sidetracked note, both Orson Scott Card and Stephenie Meyer are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Somehow I had always thought of Card as some other denomination, so that was something of a surprise. I know, religion doesn't matter in terms of good writing. It can, however, be an interesting lens through which to view their work.
And while we're on religion, I do appreciate the high morality that is present in the Twilight Saga. It's done very sneakily, too, with Bella herself having no religion and she and Edward working through temptations and tension to arrive at the right conclusion. It's nice to read a book for teens that's against pre-marital sex while taking the issue seriously and not sounding preachy.
So, do I have any crit? Well, the one part of the books that I find difficult to reconcile is Jacob. He is Edward's rival for Bella's affections. For some time, he annoyed me. I wished he would go away and stop complicating things. Werewolves, also, struck me as a bit of overkill. Right now, however, I'm inclined to let all that go. Jacob... well, he adds a whole something else to the books. Perhaps they would have been fine without him, but having him balance out Edward adds so much tension and plot. If this was my story he would not have existed, but this is Stephenie's story and he definitely has a part to play. I didn't like how so much of New Moon happened while Edward was away; but Stephenie is sneaky. It kept me reading until Edward entered the story again. ... Obviously I am too enamored of these books just now to serve as a harsh critic.
I'm not the only one. Many of my friends have read Twilight, and some are much more obsessed than I. Facebook applications are filled with Twilight related stuff. (My favorite is a piece of flair that reads, "Edward Cullen: Raising the stakes for boyfriends everywhere.") There's a movie coming out in December (does anyone else think the trailer looks crappy? I don't think this will translate to film very well) and August 2nd (the release date for Breaking Dawn, the final book) is marked on many calendars.
I'm in a praising mood, so let's all hail Stephenie Meyer and her beautiful, addictive books. I can't wait to see how this ride ends.
P.S. Did I say Eclipse is the reason I'm reading Wuthering Heights? It is indeed. Meyer references Wuthering Heights all through Eclipse. Bella and Edward discuss it on several occasions, and compare their relationships and troubles to those in Wuthering Heights. So not only is Meyer giving us good stuff to read today, she's also getting us to read the classics. Sneaky!
P.P.S. One more thought- I've yet to meet a male fan of Twilight. Do they exist, or does this sort of thing appeal only to the ladies?
