First let me start with these Disclaimers: 1) These are my Opinions. Please add comments, but no Haters please. That is what your own Blog is for. 2)There will be spoilers, so if you've never read the series, stop here or if you want to hear the obsessive rant of a new Twilight convert, then please keep on reading. 3) I had absolutely no one to freakin' talk too about the books!!
My introduction into the world of Twilight literally started about two weeks ago. I picked up the first book on a Tuesday, four days before book 4 was due to come out. I had just finished the San Diego Comic Con the week before, and it was quite a shock to see all of these people, teenagers and adults at what was lovingly referred to as the Twilight booth.
Apparently, while I skipped over this book countless times at the bookstore, (I refused to actually look it, though I actually never heard anything about the book per se, it just never occurred to me that it was a Vamp book!!) there was also a movie being made as well as book 2 and 3 were already out. And book 4 was only days away!
My God how did I miss this?!! I try to read as much supernatural/paranormal books I can get my hands on, though the things I read are definitely Adult material. Examples would be Laurell K Hamilton, L.A. Banks, as well as other various paranormal Erotica romance.
As I have no teenage daughter (as I assume this is how other adults got into the series) to introduce me to the series, it is perhaps why I missed this. I say this because my teenage son (who absolutely does not understand my recent obsession with this series, as I had a tearful moment, lol) introduced me to Harry Potter. I actually never heard of this series until Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire when my 5th grade son came home with this ginormus tome. He was kind of shocked that I never heard of this apparent phenomenon. Well once I checked out the series I devoured it, quite not understanding why it was a young adult novel, when it clearly held my interest as an adult.
This is how I feel about the Twilight series. Once I picked up the first book, it "opened" my eyes to this world and I have become quite taken with the story of Edward and Bella. You know when you get a new car and all of sudden you see your car everywhere? Well that is how I feel about this series. All of a sudden "I get it" and I see Twilight everywhere.
But the thing I keep asking myself (see this is why I had to write a damn blog. I have no one to talk to about this!), is why is this particular story so strong, so powerful that people across the world are waiting with bated breath for the movie, have read the series over and over (yea I've read the Twilight fan sites) and all seem to truly be in love with the world Stephanie Meyers create? What is about Bella that resonates with so many readers, teenagers and adults alike? And more importantly: Why in the HELL am I so obsessed with this story??!
So here is my analysis of the series and why, I think, it works.Book 1 Twilight In this book we meet Isabella Swan, Bella as she continues to correct people. Since this story is from her point of view, I was seeing this dreary little town with her eyes. Bella is a quiet girl, who is a bit clumsy, lived in Arizona before the start of the book. She makes a decision that will forever alter her course in life. The thing about Bella, as I came to understand, is that she never saw herself as anything other than just an ordinary girl, who was pale, even in the Arizona sun, who mostly kept to herself. Instantly I get loner. Or someone whose goes through life not really living for themselves but for others. But when she makes the decision to move to Forks, WA to live with her father because she no longer feels needed by her mother, she does it in a moment of what I believe is her first act as a teenager. If you've read this book you might get how I got this. Here she meets the most fascinating boy ever to live, and yet he is more.
After reading this book, I felt as if each and every character truly "breathed". I could actually "see" Forks and its majestic forests. This book also had unbelievable passion. The passion between Edward and Bella left me practically breathless, and the closet they ever get to each other was chaste kisses. How in holy heck did Stephanie Meyers do it? I mean from the time Edward and Bella meet, there was this slow build up, this conflagration that kept getting hotter and hotter, until they finally come together and stay together. It is as if Stephanie Meyers read all of these great classic literature pieces and meshed them together to create this new idea! How do I know? Oh because I love the classics. While I don't read some of them I have seen enough movies from the 40's on that were close to the books. Some that come to mind are Pride and Prejudice. My heart sighs at this majestic yet funny story. The two main characters that make the story are Mr. Darcy (sigh) and Elizabeth. And of course Gone with the Wind, that Grand Passion between Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara. I compare because during the time these stories came out, the passion for the main characters were so strong, their love was all that sustained them, that there was no need for "intercourse" written.
And I think that is what amazes me the most, again as I read adult novels and of course every little detail of intercourse is written basically telling me that this is the characters grand passion. And that is fine. But with what Stephanie Meyers has done is taken a step back and actually "shown" me Edward and Bella's grand passion. How does she do it? With active description. With a look. With a touch. And without words as my imagination takes over and I become Bella. This is why I think this first story in the series touches so many people. And keep in mind that Bella is the "real" girl. Not superficial. Actually cooks and keeps house, first for her mother, then for her father. And not once does she ask for anything for herself. How many of us can say that about ourselves? She is clumsy and in her mind not attractive enough to be with Edward. He is part of the beautiful people, a higher echelon that Bella herself can never place herself.
Even after Edward falls for her, Bella throughout the book refuses to believe he can even like her. She constantly questions her self worth. In her eyes she is to0 ordinary to his extraordinary presence. And yet by the end of the book, she finally starts to get it that Edward does love her. That she is worthy. Though she has self-doubts, what girl wouldn't? How many can relate to Bella's story whether you're a teenage girl or full grown woman? We all self-doubts about ourselves, and this make Bella very relatable.
And the nice twist of this story is that Edward is a Vampire. But with a variation on the "normal" theme. His kind never sleep. There saliva actually is a venom that creates vampires. They can go out in the Sun, but the reason they don't is because their skin shine like a many faceted diamond. And Bella's blood is a siren's song to Edward. Every time he is with her, he has to be careful with her.
The other twist to the vampire lore is that in Stephanie Meyer's world Edward's family are "vegetarian" meaning they take no human blood, but actually that of animals! That is what I call amazing. That is by far the best new idea on a tired Vamp theme.
**Update 02/23/09**
The funny thing is that so many people bash on Stephanie Meyers and say how poor her writing is. Then of course those same haters then bash on the young teens who get so caught up in a fictional boy (Which I find hilarious as there are many grown women who are obsessed with the story as well).
But what people fail to realize is that it is not the sentence structure that holds people interest, it is the story of a girl, an awkard girl falling for a boy who, in her mind, is out of her league. How many girls and women can relate? Apparently millions. So why she may not win literary awards for well-written literature in the eyes of many, she has done something that only a few authors have done; is bring people together from all walks of life. It has opened up dialogue, and while it may be about who's team your on (Team Edward or Team Jacob), it is getting complete strangers talking about their passion and all things Twilight!
Ok part two of my obsession will continue later!
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