::: Twilight (Meyers)

[delphipsmith]

(continuing to try to get caught up with books read this year)  This, apparently, is THE must-read book if you're a thirteen-year-old girl, or so I heard.  Which didn't inspire me to want to read it.  But then my colleagues -- one in her 20s, one in her 30s -- started talking it up, so I caved.  On the whole, glad I did.  The writing is a bit uneven and it irks me that Meyers dumps any part of traditional vampire lore that's inconvenient for her plot, but the characters are excellent and the writing has moments of true excellence.  Best bits: dialog, description, both of which are consistently good and sometimes really extraordinary.  Biggest beef: the excessively angsty nature of the vampire boy/human girl relationship.  OK, he's trying to restrain himself from biting her but why not go ahead and sleep with her?  What's the holdup?  Their arguments over her wanting him to change her into a vampire center around his not wanting her to lose her soul (yet Edward's not religious nor is Bella, and it doesn't seem to occur to him that if all the other vampire lore is wrong this one might be too) and her desire not to get old and ugly while he stays young because then he'll leave her (an understandable motive for a 17-year-old girl but a bit thin, really). 

Also, it's hard to see why he needed to be a vampire other than to sex up the storyline.  He can go around in daylight, he's not bothered by garlic or running water, he can choose not to bite her -- oh, but they have to be really careful because a) his teeth are coated in poisonous venom (and yet they kiss A LOT) and b) he's a lot stronger and might accidentally hurt her (yet they do all kinds of things together and he rescues her from imminent death at least once without hurting her).   He gets turned on by the way she smells and has to control himself all the time -- he could be HIV positive and it would have had a lot of the same issues, but not been nearly as sexy.  (I get annoyed by the current trend of inserting mythical creatures into all genres left, right, and center.  I mean, who would have thought there was a market for wolf porn (romance novels in which one party is a werewolf) ??)

All things considered I really enjoyed the book, though; it's a great read and if you can ignore the manufactured nature of some of the issues between them and the occasional SOC (Stupid On Cue) action it's a lot of fun.  I've read the second one but will save that for another entry...

Comments

[nursedarry.livejournal.com]

So, with all that contrivance, when will the film version of HSU come out? We're more contrived than all of that and with a much better plot.

Er...

Film version of HSU

[delphipsmith]

Well, Emmy's got the video camera and I'm sure I can find some editing software, so I'd say you write the script, Dande can do the costumes, Ellie can get the PETA/ASPCA certification ("No dragons were harmed during the making of this film"), Dor can do the reference/continuity/research work ("I think Lupin is supposed to dress left"), Judy can handl the on-set catering (mind you don't forget my Chex Mix), and Laure can make sure the bar is stocked at all times. I think we're good to go -- roll 'em!!

[kilter.livejournal.com]

Bring on the wolf porn! LOL I don't want my porn based in any sort of reality whatsoever.

You're spot on with this. I really enjoyed Twilight. The subsequent books in this series not so much, and progressively less so as they went on.

But Meyer's explanations for everything are ridiculous. She even fell all over herself to explain that their kissing was VERY chaste when someone questioned her about the poison, no tongues, no nuthin'. Yeah, right. Teengers + chaste kissing = I don't think so.

Chaste teens

[delphipsmith]

Um, yeah, I'm guessing NOT. She also harps on Edward's lack of body warmth (which is weird, because he's still a mammal, right? Or she's implying vampires are some kind of reptile?), so it occurred to me that if Edward is icy cold, er, ALL OVER, then sex with him might not be all that pleasureable LOL!!