“Twilight” (book) review
by V.E. on July 3rd, 2008
filed under beauty, recap/review, writing
So, um… I just finished reading (well, “listening to” is more apt, as it was an audiobook) Twilight. And—I have to say this, though anyone who has already read the book will already know it—there was a lot of sparkling and beauty and perfection. About half way through, I was sort of like, “Come on, Bella, enough with the perfection in Edward’s face/eyes/body/character.” (Bella is the narrator.)
[1] I’m purposefully writing this review before I continue on to New Moon and Eclipse so that I don’t get them mixed up. [2] Also, it’s to pass the time until the fourth one (and, I’m told, final one, if you don’t count Midnight Sun, which is a retelling of Twilight from Edward’s perspective) comes out on August 2. That’s only a month away, but the hype surrounding the first three makes me wonder if I can wait long for its publication once I’ve finished the ones I have. [3] ALSO, I’m pretty sure that, if Twilight had flopped, it would be the only one and its end would’ve been The End, if you know what I mean. So, I want to take it on its own merits and weaknesses.
First, it’s totally “for girls.” That is, it goes on and on about how beautiful/amazing/exquisite Edward is in every possible way. …That is, Bella keeps looking at him and describing his perfection and cold (but perfect) skin and amazing (perfect) knowledge and (perfect) tolerance/patience—and did I mention perfection? She even says this near the end, that Edward can do anything and does everything he tries perfectly. And not in a mocking tone, either, though she’s somewhat irritated by the idea by that time. I was irritated much sooner than she was. Maybe it’s different when you’re sitting in the room with perfection, but I’m just reading about it and I frikin’ know already, thank you.
Second, it’s comparatively tame which—if you’re the mother of a tween—could be a good thing, I guess. I think the book was marketed as a young adult book, but it’s unclear because the cover isn’t all that revealing one way or the other. However, as I am not the mother of a tween, I want the sex! Not sex, if that’s too obvious, but something more for me to go on than Edward retreating every time Bella becomes passionate. And trust me, he does. Every time. It’s such a tease.
Third, the story is old. That’s not in and of itself a bad thing, since there are no new stories in the world, but there’s not enough changed for me to really enjoy the page turns, as it were. I mean, it feels old, and not in a good way. It’s predictable. Girl falls for boy; boy falls for girl. Yay. And, the not-so-new twist is that boy is vampire, so boy wants girl and girl’s blood. And, if that wasn’t enough, girl is chased by other vamps who want her just because boy wants her. That could be really exciting, but I wasn’t surprised by any of the… surprises.
Fourth, Meyers did two things my professors have told me over and over not to do when writing. That is, she added characters (most notably James) and sent the main characters on a trip—within the last 5 chapters. Those two things are a collective sign that the plot is weak. When the characters need a new face to create more tension, something is wrong. Or, if they can’t end the story in roughly the same (physical) place as when they started it, there’s something wrong. The latter doesn’t apply as much to travel stories or to stories in which the precedent is travel, but in this case… Bella arrives in Forks, Washington, right as the novel begins, and the story is in Forks. Technically, it ends there, too, but at the end the whole entourage heads down to Phoenix for a lovely ballet lesson and hospital visit. (I don’t want to completely give things away here, but just know that if you read it, you’ll know to what I’m referring.) I hope it’s not as bad as I’m making it sound, but…
I was disappointed in Twilight. After hearing that it was a great book, “You must read this book!”, and how amazing and clever the writing was, I read it and was… disappointed. I feel like I’m wearily scolding a bad child after I thought he was doing something worthwhile with his time but was instead out in the back smoking homemade cigarettes. It’s sorta pathetic. I mean, it’s not a bad book, per se, but it’s not a really great one, either. I’m reading (listening to, actually, via audiobook) the next one, New Moon, because I have a weakness for vampires, but otherwise… I don’t think I would bother.
PS: Edward sparkles. Literally. He literally sparkles in the sun. As if he wasn’t perfect enough without looking like a walking diamond. [facepalm]
I totally agree with your comment. I think the over use of adjectives kind of turned me off the whole book. Sort of “I get it with the whole adoration!”. I found the book shallow hitting intense moments with the feeling of ‘that’s it? that’s how she knew he was a vampire?’. I realize that the book is for teens, young adults to be politically correct, but I found more mature use of words in Harry Potter which is a children’s book. Like you, I was peer pressured into getting the book by someone over raving about it. The hype gave me high expectations on the book. I’m still in chapter 21, but my interest is dwindling. Maybe there is a surprise ending and my review is premature.
[...] listening to New Moon (an audiobook courtesy of Audible.com) on Friday evening. It was better than Twilight, which is unfortunate; many people won’t even get to New Moon because of how mediocre [...]
Just a little comment about the section where you talk about the plot..
I understand what your saying, since ive been taught the same things. But there are three books after twilight, all that are meant to be read one after the other, so the appearance of the characters shouldnt be that wierd if you knew that the plot is only going to thicken, and become more interesting. I dont know if my point is coming accross very strongly, it makes sense to me. Have you read the other books?
Great review! I agree with a lot of your ideas. I did like some of the newer twists (vegetarian vampires, lol!) on the old story. Have you read the rest? Have you seen the movie? And have you had the chance to talk to some teens about it? If not, I have, and here are the first of many posts on what I am learning about teens high on Twilight: http://saharsblog.wordpress.com/2008/11/27/the-puzzle-that-are-obsessions-or-wow-how-teenagers-love-edward-cullen/
Thanks for writing your thoughts on the Twilight novel. I haven’t read the books, any of them, but I did see the movie recently. I liked the movie. A few things I was a little confused about and a friend who read the book raved about it, so I thought maybe I’ll read the book. Got a few pages of sneak peek on Amazon and my first impression is, the writing style is a bit young for me, which makes sense since the books seem to be geared towards teenagers.
Your thoughts give me a cue that it’s not that I don’t appreciate a good book, b/c I know I do, but that I just don’t plug into it. Even in the movie, I was thinking, why is she acting like he’s some kind of Greek god or something? Eh, maybe I’ll just wait for the next movie to come out.
[...] reviewed Twilight after I read it in early July and today I got the chance to pay $11 to see it in theaters. Aside [...]
[...] http://duncanheights.com/blog/?p=1582 – “PS: Edward sparkles. Literally. He literally sparkles in the sun. As if he wasn’t perfect enough without looking like a walking diamond.” [...]
Really loved the review, its very honest.I cant wait for the eclipse movie to come out.
[...] me of how Twilight was written. That is, poorly. ‘A’ for effort, I guess, right? That being said, it was a [...]
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Twilight makes me yearn for learning how to live forever. I can’t wait for the next story.