When I borrowed Twilight from a friend, I did so because I wanted to know what all the hullabaloo was about. My friend from work who lent me the book didn’t always seem to be the most voracious reader, but yet here she was pouring through book after book and finishing the hefty series in about a week.
She gushed and gushed about it’s merits, but after hearing otherwise from a source whose opinion I likened more to my own, I wasn’t so sure about it.
And then one night at a bar, yeah…at a bar, I was surrounded by a group of women I truly like and respect. My friends found themselves in a thirty-minute discussion of the Twilight saga. I had nothing to add except the devil’s advocate opinion of the source I mentioned earlier. They went on to discuss Edward versus Jacob, how sexy they thought vampires were, the Cullen family in general, but no one could really repudiate the one opinion that I regurgitated from a friend: Bella is boring and lifeless.
So I decided that I would borrow the book from my work friend if not simply to give me something to do after I completed National Novel Writing Month. I convinced myself that after such a grueling month and after producing 50,000 words of my own drivel that I deserved a book I could read like a teenager and perhaps intensely criticize the writing (as I am now a veteran of NaNoWriMo with a novice amount of knowledge on the act of writing a novel). This surely gives me enough cred, right?
And so I read. And I read it quickly. I consumed it faster than books that I liked much more. It is important to note that I don’t read quickly. I’ve never been very good at skimming because I’m always afraid I’ll miss that one detail that will be important later. It’s the same reason I can’t crochet, craft or be in the same room with a loud breather during shows like Lost or Battlestar Galactica.
Being on the tail end of this phenomenon I tried to read Twilight with an open yet critical mind. I wanted to make up my mind for myself. And so I tried to ignore the positive and the negative I had heard. I think I did this with a moderate amount of success and here’s what I garnered:
If there is ever a book to skim, it’s this one. Trust me, you won’t miss a detail. In fact, I read every single word and what you will miss by reading every single word is well-crafted writing from the other novels that you’ve read. You’ll miss and want to reach for a thesaurus every time you read the word “icy,” especially in relation to Edward’s fingers. You’ll miss a protagonist you can care about, because you won’t find one here.
This is the biggest downfall to Twilight. Bella is boring. And while I like the alliteration, I think it is actually the most accurate way to describe her. She’s clumsy, quiet, socially inept, but she’s not so much one of these things that you feel bad for her. The author, Stephenie Meyer, writes her to be attractive, although I’m not led to believe she’s beautiful. She’s smart, but according to Bella her success in school as more to do with the fact that her last school was ahead of her new school in Forks, Washington. She’s awkward, but not so awkward that you feel embarrassed or sorry for her like you might for someone like Michael Scott on The Office.
And even though she likes to think that she doesn’t fit in, people, nay teenagers, actually want to be her friend. Normal teenagers (if those exist). The only really interesting thing about her is that the most interesting person in the book can’t hear her thoughts.
It’s not to say that Meyer wasn’t on the right track…I think she was. But she missed the target. Bella could have been a relatable or more likeable social reject that Edward falls in love with. She could have been a bookworm who wishes life or people were more like the ones she read about in books, but she doesn’t. She’s just insecure and oblivious that she does in fact fit in. And this is not even a bad trait. A good character always has his or her flaws and being insecure is not an uninteresting one. Meyer’s could have used this insecurity to make her angrier, bitter, or sassier towards her classmates (although they way her classmates are written they are really way too nice for her to be mean to them). But she doesn’t. Instead Bella exists under a pretense of social awkwardness because she thinks people don't like her, even though they do.
Meyer gets close to making Bella more remarkable in making her self-sacrificing by leaving her mom to live her life with her new husband. I mean…WOW! What a nice thing to do for your mom! If only she acted as though she actually chose that destiny when she got to Forks. Instead she acts like the martyr she is and refuses to make the best of it. Who likes a martyr who says, “Can someone at least say ‘thank you’ for God’s sake?!” The answer is no one. Because it’s annoying. Then again, Jesus kind of does it too with the whole “I died for your sins so now you need to live life they way I tell you to.” Come to think of it, he’s kind of a big deal, so perhaps that’s the same reason Twilight has developed into a phenomenon.
Bella goes on to like Forks, but only because she’s in love with a boy there. As a feminist, I have to say this was the most appealing character trait of all…or do I mean disgusting? Even after she decides she doesn’t hate Forks she mostly just stomps about the pages pouting or sulking about something Edward has said. And while she is but sixteen or seventeen in the book, so the stomping is somewhat expected, it just proved that she’s not an unusual or different person and therefore not a very noteworthy character. Of all the ways that Meyer could have gone with Bella, I think the role of petulant child makes her neither interesting nor likeable.
Don’t get me wrong. Bella is tolerable…when she’s in a scene with Edward. Even her brief time batting her eyes at Jacob to manipulate him is more interesting than her miming her way through the rest of the book.
What makes Twilight such a page -turner is the story between Edward and Bella. But their intense connection is mostly compelling because of the pains and sacrifices that Edward makes. I wanted more of the clenched jaw and hand in fists during Biology than I did of Edward saving Bella from creepy people in an alley. The scenes from Biology were great because they showed the complexity and restraint of his character. The smell of her shampoo and his guarded body language that sent her into a tailspin of anger and uneasiness was so enjoyable. And this is a book that you read not for it’s literary contributions but for how enjoyable it is.
So Bella is boring and Edward is the only exciting thing that has ever happened to her. As you can probably tell from above Edward is a character I can get behind. He has self-control that is literally inhuman. He’s practically perfect in every way, as Mary Poppins would say. He's a bad boy because he's dark, mysterious, brooding, and, oh yeah, a vampire. But he's good because he's not the kind of vampire that will kill you (unless you mess with his blah girlfriend). He also saves lives, does the right thing at every turn, and shows ridiculous amounts of physical restraint when his petulant child of a girlfriend can’t control herself. And have I mentioned that he sparkles in the sun?!
Having said this, I must mention a striking similarity between Edward and another famous vampire I am becoming more familiar with. I have recently started watching the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on recommendation of that friend I told you about whose opinion is very much like mine. And from the moment that Angel steps out of the shadows, it’s hard to know if you’re looking at David Boreanaz or Robert Pattinson. Although I suppose the similarity isn't quite that striking when you consider most vampires are written to be pale an beautiful. I don’t really mind either way.
If you can get past the boring protagonist and the repetitive writing then Twilight is a great read. Just remember that if you get sick of Edward being described as a Greek god or you get ill just thinking about how many times Meyer’s talks about his icy fingers, don’t say I didn’t warn you. In spite of it’s negatives, Twilight is a very compelling read. It is such a compelling read that it leaves me grappling with the ultimate question: Can I really stomach Bella for three more books?
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