flyinghigh's Blog

Yes, I read Twilight
Date: Dec 7th, 2008 6:38:52 pm - Subscribe
Mood: drowsy
Book Currently Reading: The Tipping Point

I was extremely skeptical about reading "Twilight." There seems to be this huge mass of female readers who are completely obsessed with that book/series, and I didn't really understand why. So I decided that I would attempt a read through of that book, to see what all the hype was about.

To be fair, it is an engaging book. Total it probably took me about 6-7 hours to read over the course of one night and the following day. It was written in a way that I wanted to keep reading. I also didn't have anything else to do on Friday. But the way the words are situated on the page and the size of the print makes the reading fast for any experienced reader.

But I did have a problem with the book. To me, it felt like one long, really bad chick flick. And trust me, I like chick flicks. To me, nothing exciting happens in the book. Even at the end I found myself closing the book more than in other parts of the book.

The reason I found the "suspenseful" part of the book boring was because no one was in any real danger. Sure there were times when the vampires really weren't sure about what was going to happen, and Bella got the shit kicked out of her, but everything turned out bright and happy in the end. I think I would have found it more compelling if someone died or there was some real danger. Especially finding out that Bella's mother was safe all along and Jason only tricked Bella into thinking he had her mother. What's the danger and excitement in that?

The other problem I had was with Bella's character. I liked her in the beginning. She seemed like an independent teenage girl, who had to grow up quicker than she may have liked. She made an important decision to move all the way north away from her mother and from Phoenix, just to see if she could live in Forks and not hate it so much. One of my favorite parts was when Edward had his car in front of hers and wouldn't let anyone out of the parking lot. Her thoughts about smashing into the back of his car with her monster truck were so funny. She was sure of herself and I liked that.

But then she and Edward fell in love, and Bella turned into a weak character. She needed Edward for everything. And Edward just couldn't keep his nose out of her business. Personally, I would have been pissed if I found out someone was watching me sleep. It's creepy. Bella ceased to be an independent teenage girl, and I found myself greatly disliking her.

And I don't want to hear anything about "but they were in love." In my cynical age and personality, they're too young to be in love. They're too young to know what any of that is about.

And while Edward seems like such an amazing guy... ladies, he is only a fictional character, and I have my doubts as to real men like that actually existing. If they do, they are rare.

So my advice is to get out there and read something with some literary merit. Trust me, characters with flaws are much more interesting that absolutely perfect characters.
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