Monday, December 8, 2008

My Twilight

I think the last thing I expected was to get all caught up in the Twilight furor, but that is exactly where I find myself a month after starting this series.  I read Twilight during a rainy weekend in Florida, bought the next three, and have been hooked ever since.  

From the days of Danny Glick in Stephen King's Salem's Lot to Anne Rice's collection, I have been a closet vampireholic.  I even loved Quentin in Dark Shadows--that's how far back this obsession goes with me.  And now that I have completely dated myself, I'll get back to Forks--back to the theme of goodness that I see throughout the entire book.  It comes not from stereotypical human heroes, but the "bloodsuckers," who have worked to fit in with the regular folks in this Washington town, and many other towns before this for centuries.  I am not fearful of the Cullen clan--well maybe Jasper a little bit--I am afraid of the humans who threaten each other in their depravity (such as the thugs chasing Bella in Port Angeles) or the careless ones. 

The theme of opposites runs through almost every aspect of this book.  Not only the obvious good versus not-so-good, I particularly found it interesting that Forks was too green for Bella who was used to living in the desert climate and brown colors of Arizona.  Another opposite that actually annoyed me was that Bella was essentially the parent to both her mother and her father.  She frets and worries over them the way a parent does over a child.  I think the care and concern Edward shows her is another endearing quality he has that makes him so appealing.  Sometimes hard to remember that he is a vampire....

There is also an undercurrent of prejudice and fear that I think Twilight treats with interesting respect.  The Quilheute know what the Cullen secret is, and they avoid them.  But Bella's ability to take what she knows, and continue to pursue a relationship with Edward is brave both emotionally and physically.   Since we don't know Edward's thoughts in this published version, all we come away with is Bellavision--she is able to see only the good in him.  Again, a juxtaposition in our preconceived notion of what is good versus what is evil.  Even the encounters with the rogue hunters serve only to prove that Edward and his family care deeply not only for Bella, but all the residents of Forks as well.

I have also heard some rumbles from those that think the Mormon Meyer intended this as a lesson in abstinence, but I disagree with that.  I think it is a lesson in healthy trust and love--it is the sparkly, beautiful goodness of our favorite vampire Edward Cullen who perseveres and gives us all a tutorial in unconditional love.

I am almost finished with the third book, Eclipse, and I have not seen the movie yet because I didn't want these characters to be spoiled for me.  Post-book movies have a way of doing that.  But I hear good things, so we'll see.

It took very little time for Edward to put me at ease.  Both with his care for Bella's well-being and his history, the character of Edward is completely that of an innocent--the very antithesis of what a stereotypical vampire was to me before this.  And his breath?  Sweet is the last adjective I would have connected with a vampire's breath.  Until last month.

I have not been a fan of fiction for many years, much less, science fiction, but that is the most the wonderful thing about these books.  They have made me think.  Not only did I buy into this whole scenario, I have begun looking around on cloudy or rainy days to see if I can find an Edward of my own.

Please link up to your own post with Mr. Linky below and leave a comment to let us know you have posted.  Also, I need suggestions on what our next book should be!  If you don't have a blog, please just leave your impression of Twilight in a comment.  I am excited to see everyone's thoughts and opinions!   Lauren


27 comments:

Debra (a/k/a Doris, Mimi) said...

Oops! Being unaccustomed to Linky, I inadvertantly left two links instead of one. Well, Twilight was THAT good and deserves two comments. I loved the series and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I was not disappointed in the movie adaptation and the characters were exactly as I imagined them to be. You summed up the series better than any review I've read. Bravo!

If you enjoyed the Twilight series and the writing talent of Stephanie Meyer, I highly recommend her most recent novel - The Host - for your book club.

brneyedgal967 said...

I understand the whole good vs. not so good theme in this book - we were force fed it on every page. I just didn't buy it. Gah - am I becoming that cynical? Although, I have to admit, I loved the book - it definitely pulled me in and I read the entire series AND saw the movie. The movie doesn't disappoint.

I recommend Where The Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald for your book club.

http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780676974096

imbeingheldhostage said...

Brilliant review MP! Of course anything positive about T. makes me happy, but I am so tired of the critics trying to pull the Mormon card out-- NEVER would you see an author's religion pulled into a book critique any other time-- so thank you for seeing what really was a LOVELY romance and not a brainwashing by an LDS author. How's that for a run-on?
I can hum the Dark Shadows theme song-- it was an afternoon treat for me when I was little :-)

Debbie said...

Wow, you've done this before! Wonderful review and mine are never going to be this good. I admit, this is my first ever Book Club...but I think I'll enjoy it :)

Patty said...

Good evening, thanks for your comment. I didn't write the article, I only wish I could write something that reads that well.

As for Twilight, we have two grown daughters that love the books and really enjoyed the movie. In fact our youngest daughter 35, went back and saw it the second time alone. First time was with her older sister and two of her sister's friends from work. Apparently they only saw about three men in the audience. Only women and teenage girls oohing and aahing through the whole movie.

Again thanks for stopping by, and again, I didn't write the article, someone sent it to me in my e-mail. That's where I get most of my material.

abb said...

Can't participate...haven't read it yet....POOH!

shrink on the couch said...

I think this is only my second stab at Linky. I hope I did it right.

Great review. And yes, Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows. I hadn't thought of it until you mentioned it.

Deb said...

You are so good. I, on the other hand, will not be writing a report because..."the dog ate my homework"...:)

Anonymous said...

I'm back to being unable to comment, I've lost two already!

Anonymous said...

What fun! I am not good at writing reports. I believe that a teacher would call my essay, disjointed and run on. TeeHee...just like me!
But, write it I did!

Anonymous said...

Me LUVS Edward and Twilight. I agree with your review completely! Oh and if you do decide to see the movie, be prepared a lot was changed for the big screen, but it was still fun for a girl's matinee!

Anonymous said...

Do you think I should read this? I think it's time.

Big Hair Envy said...

Unfortunately, I will be a day late with my review. Typical of me these days!!!

I have not been to see the movie for the very reasons you mentioned. I LOVED the book!!! My review will look like a second-grader's compared to yours, but it's going up anyway:)

Bear Naked said...

Your report is wonderful.
Makes me want to read the series now.

Bear((( )))

Joanie said...

Loved it...you can read my post on it on my blog. It's also fun to know someone else who watched "Dark Shadows"....:-)

Anonymous said...

I found you from Asthmagirl's site. Great idea for the book club. I didn't really like Twilight, but I'd love to stick around and see what book is next!

Miss K said...

AWESOME review, Mental Mama! I'll never come close to writing like that!

I loved Twilight! I enjoyed the simplicity of young love. I am living vicariously through Bella...waiting for my handsome vampire to come along. (JK...love my hubby!) The book makes Bella seem so average that I'm anxious to see what they did with her in the movie...we have to go, Mental Mama!!

Ahhh...Dark Shadows...great memories!!

Snooty Primadona said...

I'm going to bookmark this for a later time, as I'm awaiting the arrival of my first book from Amazon, as we speak.

Daryl said...

Great reviews so far .. all very interesting insightful POVs

:-Daryl

tj said...

...Wow! What a review MPM, such superb writing! :o)

...And I think it's safe to say that you are now "out of the closet"...lol... ;o)

...Blessings...

Anonymous said...

okay, I had a very hard time getting into this book. I'm just not that into a high school girl's mindset. All the teen angst just didn't do it for me. Maybe because I have all boys? I really didn't even enjoy the book until halfway into the book...which usually means I would have already quit reading. But because of the bookclub I plowed on.

I don't read science fiction..vampires or otherwise, so it wasn't my normal type of read. I thought it was okay. The action in the last 1/3 of the book kept me going. I do like series books though, so maybe I'll pick up the next one.

I do admire any author who can get this many kids/teens interested in reading (not to mention all the adults who read it).

brneyedgal967 said...

That is true - it's amazing the wide diversity of people who are reading this book!

* There's a guy on my paranormal team - an electrician in his 30's - he's reading this series.

* Harley Guy says there's tons of redneck, oilfield guys on his offshore rig who are reading and swapping these books.

Amazing. To see grown men reading a teenage love story featuring vampires and werewolves. Whowouldathunkit?

Mental P Mama said...

Miss K!!!! It was because of you that I read this book! And I hope everyone that is thinking about it will actually read it...no teenaged angst for me. No none of that! Interesting scenarios is all I ask you to look for....

Cupcake Blonde said...

Hello! A friend of mine gave me the link to your site since she knows how much I love Twilight and finding new people to talk about these amazing books with. I included the link to my first post about Twilight way back last January when I first read them. Twilight is amazing and I try to make everyone I know read them. I just love to share a good story with people. And if you love Stephenie Meyer I second the recommendation of her adult novel The Host. After you are done with all the Twilight books of course. :)

Big Hair Envy said...

My review is FINALLY up - with a few technical difficulties:)

Can't wait to find out what we are reading next!

Anonymous said...

ok finished it last night...
Book one that is.

Ill get my review up next week if Im not too late...but I warn you in advance that Im not nearly as good a reviewer as some Ive read.

Anonymous said...

ok I tried...and I just can't do it. Part of the reason is because I liked Twilight so much that I jumped immediately into the second book and finished it in two days, and am now halfway through the third one. And as I wrote my review, I realized I was writing stuff that I couldnt possibly have insight into based on the first book alone. Ive hopelessly intermingled the two.