Young Vampires in Love: A Review of TWILIGHT

One of the things that I do when I am supposed to be finishing my own books is read fun novels by other people.  It’s a whole evil ritual now.  See, first I go to the bookstore (usually Joseph-Beth, one of the best indy bookstores of all time) a couple of weeks before my own deadline.  I salivate over some novels and then choose two or three that I plan to read once my own deadline is finished.  The trouble is, I never seem to be able to wait until then to read them.  This is what happened with Twilight, a can’t-put-downable YA novel about vampires and the girls who love them.  My friend Donna Freitas recommended it to me because I’m a sucker, no pun intended, for a good vampire story.  So I alternated a couple of hours of work on my own book with downing a chapter or two or three from Twilight.

For a first novel, the story is amazingly well-plotted.  Stephenie Meyer seems to have an instinctive sense for how to entice the reader into turning those pages, revealing just enough to keep us absorbed.  Without leaking too much of the plot, let me just say that a 17-year-old girl moves from Phoenix to a small town in Washington state, where she discovers true love in the marble-cold arms of a vampire who happens to be a fellow high school student.  (He chose Washington state for its rainy, sunless climate, and he’s been in high school for a LOOOOOONG time.)  Edward and his “family” of assorted vampires have made a pact that they will not feed off humans, a temptation they withstand by hunting for grizzly bears near Mount Rainier.  Delicious.

What ensues has many of the elements of the timeless classic: forbidden, all-consuming love; the struggle between good and evil; the secrets lurking in the past.  It’s a profoundly moral tale of choosing goodness and light when you have every reason to follow a more selfish and destructive path. 

Meyer takes traditional vampire lore and adds her own unique grace notes.  Her vampires aren’t just eternally young, supernaturally strong, and impossibly beautiful, cause that’s obviously not enough to impress folks nowadays.  Many of her vamps also have unusual psychic powers like mind-reading, empathy, and clairvoyance (shades of Drusilla on Buffy, only without the utter barminess).  I took great delight in both the vampiric and human worlds Meyer created.  Some of the scenes are achingly beautiful and poignant.  I truly look forward to what happens next in what I presume will be a series; Meyer leaves the ending wide open for a sequel.

So why does this not get a full complement of stars?  Well, the feminist in me hated it, to put it bluntly.  I haven’t read such a retrogressive book in a long time.  Bella, our heroine (the name means beautiful, and it becomes clear in the book that this is what is most valued in Bella), is consistently described as perceptive, observant, clever, etc.  But what comes across loud and clear through Bella’s actions is that she is weak, unobservant, and almost ridiculously dependent.  By the end of the novel, after Bella has been saved from certain death for the third time by her vampire hero, I wanted to throw the book.  (I refrained from this, as the novel is a 500-odd-page hardcover, and could hurt someone.) 

It’s fine to make it a part of Bella’s character that she’s uncoordinated in gym class, but does she need to trip over her own feet all the time, drop her keys, and faint repeatedly?  She sometimes comes across as one of those female slapstick characters from the 1930s genre films, and that’s unfortunately not a compliment. 

(And don’t even get me started about why Edward had to save her that third time in the first place; basically, she places herself in danger by making a colossally stupid decision that I don’t find plausible if she’s nearly as smart and perceptive as the author keeps insisting she is.)

Also disturbing are Edward’s controlling nature and almost abusively mercurial personality.  Granted, he’s a vampire, so naturally he’s going to be on edge.  ;-)  But Edward is also always dictating the terms of their relationship; Bella is not allowed to express herself physically.  When she responds to his kiss with passion, he puts the brakes on immediately.  It boils down to the old stereotype of women being sexual temptresses to men, who must make heroic efforts to control their appetites.  Bella is sexual object.  When she naturally expresses her own desire, it’s anathema and is instantly suppressed.

Bella is a more interesting character in the first half of the novel than in the second, when she loses a good portion of her identity in the relationship, even to the point of wanting to become a vampire herself.  The Little Mermaid’s got nothing on this chick.  It’s not just her voice she’s willing to trade in to snare a man, but her whole identity as a human being.  And this is romantic?

This thought came home to me when I was trying to cast the film version of this in my mind.  (And it should be a film; it would translate beautifully to the screen, and much of the novel consists of dialogue anyway.)  I realized that any one of a number of young actresses could make a wonderful Bella: Scarlett Johansson, Claire Danes, or Alexis Bledel, for example.  But I was having a much harder time thinking of someone to play Edward.  That actor would need to embody polar opposites: youth and maturity, moral courage and believable darkness, beauty and an animalistic ugliness.  That’s a tall order.  Meyer seems to throw all of her energy into Edward’s character, despite the fact that the novel is told in the first person from Bella’s POV. 

So those were the things that bugged me.  But I loved the world that Meyer created, and the whole tension of this ad hoc vampire family trying to be noble and good.  The love story was often beautiful despite the aforementioned gender issues. (Who could resist lines like “You are my life now”?)  I loved Meyer’s sense of humor and witty observations about teen life. The pacing was particularly excellent; I couldn’t put it down and wound up staying up pretty late to finish it.  As I said, I look forward to seeing what Meyer comes up with next.  But I do hope she makes Bella a much stronger character, or I’ll have to stand in line to be the next person trying to do Bella in.

 

Comments

[Susan Elia MacNeal]

If you love the vampire genre, try the novel SUNSHINE by Robin McKinley. So, so wonderful, and a much more empowered heroine, too.

[Brooke Griffith]

How could you not love this book! I may only be 12 but the simple intense moments made me more and more eager to turn the pages, and yet I didn't want it to end. I may have had classes to atend but I still finished the book in a small 2 days. I loved it, even though I have to admit, i thought a vampire love story was kind of corny, but once my friend let me read a page, I couldn't live without reading the rest myself!!! It was the greatest thing I have ever read, and I have to say I am kind of a book worm. I am only mad now though, because I happend to finish today, Friday, and I have to wait untill MONDAY to get New Moon. I just can't stop typing................

[Brooke Griffith]

To be honest thins book inspired me to try and finish my own novel, so far only 158 pages, but I am not even near the middle. I already Know that I will fall far short of any book writen by Stephenie Meyere. I am really only on the internet to see if i could read the book for free and sadly, I got this review instead. But it is good to take a beak from my non-stop reading. This book truely made me swell with emotion like no other book has ever done. I can't believe I finaly found a book (s) that I really wanted to read and just couldn't put down.

[Brooke Griffith]

... and yet I am very mad at the person to make such a review, Being able to say you couldn't put it down and yet giving the book a low rating, it needs 5 stars. I have a thought though, perhaps it is because you are writer as well and can't stand the thought of her being soooooooooooooooooo much better and I say this with a smug feeling. I don;t think I lick you too much, but remember, im only 12... YTFYTFY

[Summer]

LOL to the three previous comments!

Nice review. I just finished this book and found it to be very enjoyable, but I agree with your assessment. I think the characters (especially Bella) convey the dramatic emotions of teenagers perfectly, which is why this book is so well loved by teens. Teens can completely identify with Bella's all consuming love (or lust, as it seems to me). Either way I definitely want to know what happens next and for an author that is the supreme accomplishment.

[Christy]

I agree with Susan . . . SUNSHINE has to be the best vampire book I've read yet. Jana, thanks for articulating so well what it is about Bella's relationship with Edward that bothers me--I find that a truly healthy relationship never requires that someone give up the inner core things that make them them. Hopefully Bella will move on from infatuation to a more mature view of love in Breaking Dawn . . .

[Rebecca]

I think all this analysis is ridiculous. Bella is a character in a book who is obviously not perfect and who is on a path to self discovery... She's definitely not flawless, but aren't we all like that in our own ways? I find that Bella portrays reality a little more than most would like to admit. She has human appetites. And I find that some who have commented are wishing that Bella's character portrayed the ideal, when, in fact, we can probably all relate to her more easily in her imperfection. Edward, an immortal, has a better grasp on his own limits only because of his years of experience and selfdenial... something that Bella is ready to embark on. And his example helps Bella to see things as they should be. She learns in her own way and in her own time the wisdom behind what some see as Edward's "controlling nature." Yet, consumed by her passion, she wants to be with him. I admire her for knowing what she wants and being willing to sacrifice to get it. If only I could be a little bit more like Bella in this way... Just because Edward is a male and he is setting boundaries, doesn't mean he isn't right most of the time... and he soon learns for himself how to let Bella have her own wings. I think it's amazing to see Bella stick to her guns and not allow Edward to control her like he feels like he needs to for her own safety.

[Kim]

I love this book. I love all 3 of the books, but I think Twilight would have to be my fav. I can't wait until the 4th book comes out. And then now there's a movie coming which I can't wait to see. But I don't know if I will like it to much because no movie is ever like the book but Stephenie Meyere is helping so it should be great. I wish that Edward was real. He is the perfect guy even if he's not human, I would so date him lol. That sounds kind of funny. But any ways I think this book should be given 5 starts. Because it is the best book ever!!

[Jessica]

Oh, thank god I'm not the only one who found something wrong with this book. You know, I've spent weeks trying to figure out why I hated the book so much and you just summed it up in a few short paragraphs. I also found her willingness to sacrifice her relationship with her mother and father just for Edward, pretty awful. There are all types of love worth living for in the world and to discount them all out to me was a bad idea to flaunt to teenage girls (who so often mistake lust for love or who are blinded by love) I read through the first one in a day but that's pretty much my average speed for a new book. It would have to be pretty awful for me not to fly through it. Did you read the second one? Awful. I'm not even bothering with the third.

[New Balance 574]

this is the most beautiful fashion blog i've ever come across! thank you for your inspiration. what a great idea to look for shirts in the children's department. yellow + polka dots = a very shiny day!