Reading Twilight, part I
Yes, I am reading Twilight. I am attempting to have a worthwhile opinion about it, rather than basing my opinion on others' opinions. Doug threw the gauntlet, and I have picked it up. I am currently about a third of the way through. Here's what I have to say about it so far:
For all the criticisms that people have about it's content, the greatest offense to me is that it's boring, it reads like all the images are in black and white. It seems that Stephenie Meyer needs some help getting the good old "show don't tell" thing down, the pacing is so far, molasses-like.
Perhaps the biggest reason the plot bores me is that Bella is not the first person narrator type. She has no friends, she has people she doesn't really like that she calls friends, and you, dear reader, are certainly not her friend. She will not tell you about a possibly interesting past, which is severed neatly from her current reality. She keeps herself emotionally isolated, especially from you. What is that little bird? Yes, she may be an unreliable narrator, but she lacks the zest and complication that they normally have.
It's like this: imagine the most drab and depressing year of high school for you. Imagine if someone wrote a book about it, and not a short one. Imagine it's from your point of view, especially if you don't like literary word play or fanciful description. Now add vampires and werewolves. Yeah, it's like that.
As for Edward Cullen, he is the only character that Bella bothers having anything close to a relationship with. The most interesting parts of the book is when that pretty freak shows up. He does sound more like a psychopath than a mystery man, but he gets Bella out of her cold-fish paper-doll state. He is her only hobby, and she only starts acting like a warm-blooded human when he's around.
I haven't gotten far enough to pass judgment on Edward yet, but he seems like a prick teenager with some hidden problems. Some criticisms of Twilight note that he is terribly controlling of Bella. The only instance of this so far, is that he part-physically forces Bella to get into his car so he can drive her home after she faints at school. My first thoughts were, "He's taking her to the second location! Why isn't she screaming?" But Bella likes him, so she begrudgingly obliges. (Never mind how many women have been killed by someone they liked. That is, however, the point of their relationship, or so I'm told.)
That's all for now, folks. Perhaps when or if I finish, I will layout a neater analysis of my thoughts and we shall discuss.
For all the criticisms that people have about it's content, the greatest offense to me is that it's boring, it reads like all the images are in black and white. It seems that Stephenie Meyer needs some help getting the good old "show don't tell" thing down, the pacing is so far, molasses-like.
Perhaps the biggest reason the plot bores me is that Bella is not the first person narrator type. She has no friends, she has people she doesn't really like that she calls friends, and you, dear reader, are certainly not her friend. She will not tell you about a possibly interesting past, which is severed neatly from her current reality. She keeps herself emotionally isolated, especially from you. What is that little bird? Yes, she may be an unreliable narrator, but she lacks the zest and complication that they normally have.
It's like this: imagine the most drab and depressing year of high school for you. Imagine if someone wrote a book about it, and not a short one. Imagine it's from your point of view, especially if you don't like literary word play or fanciful description. Now add vampires and werewolves. Yeah, it's like that.
As for Edward Cullen, he is the only character that Bella bothers having anything close to a relationship with. The most interesting parts of the book is when that pretty freak shows up. He does sound more like a psychopath than a mystery man, but he gets Bella out of her cold-fish paper-doll state. He is her only hobby, and she only starts acting like a warm-blooded human when he's around.
I haven't gotten far enough to pass judgment on Edward yet, but he seems like a prick teenager with some hidden problems. Some criticisms of Twilight note that he is terribly controlling of Bella. The only instance of this so far, is that he part-physically forces Bella to get into his car so he can drive her home after she faints at school. My first thoughts were, "He's taking her to the second location! Why isn't she screaming?" But Bella likes him, so she begrudgingly obliges. (Never mind how many women have been killed by someone they liked. That is, however, the point of their relationship, or so I'm told.)
That's all for now, folks. Perhaps when or if I finish, I will layout a neater analysis of my thoughts and we shall discuss.