Twilight is Less Entertaining than I Expected

[4thofeleven]

Alright, so it seems everyone on earth is familiar with the Twilight series except me. There’s four books and a movie already – how did this completely escape my notice until now?

Anyway, a friend of mine has the whole series, so I borrowed the first book to read. Hey, vampires, right? How bad can it be?

Here’s the thing – Twilight isn’t actually that bad, but only in so far as not enough actually happens to criticise. The book is bizarrely slow-paced. Out of five hundred pages, more than two hundred pass before it’s revealed that, yes, the mysteriously handsome young man who appears to have superpowers is, in fact, a vampire, a shocking twist to everyone who hadn’t read the back cover blurb. We then continue for another two hundred pages before we get anything resembling an antagonist, an evil vampire who rather ineffectually menaces our heroine for the remaining couple of chapters until he’s dispatched off-stage.

Padding out the book are detailed descriptions of the logistics of how various characters are getting to school, which car they’re taking, how fast the car can go, and how the protagonist is going to retrieve her jacket after accidently leaving it in a friend’s cars. (Spoiler: She gets her jacket back!)

This isn’t too bad, because it means less time being devoted to the least menacing vampires in literary history. I say with no exaggeration that I find the Count from Sesame Street infinitely more terrifying than any of these losers. How un-menacing are they? Well, they don’t drink human blood, instead hunting animals to survive. Well, sure, I hear you say, lots of vampires survive off animal blood, but surely they’re still tempted by human blood? Yeah, not so much here. The head vampire here? He works as a surgeon. I mean, yeah, you get a few lines here and there about how the heroine’s boyfriend is scared of losing control – but he never actually seems in any particular danger of doing so. He is, apparently, especially tempted by her scent when he first meets her, but then he spends a few days alone in Alaska, and after that he seems fine. These guys seem to be less "Terrifying predators of an ignorant humanity" and more "Like a good steak every now and then."

Oh, and they can walk around in daylight, cross running water, eat food if necessary, and don't have to hide from the sign of the cross. Being a vampire always sounds like more fun than being a regular human, but in this case there doesn’t even seem to be a token downside to becoming one of the undead. Being Superman seems to have more drawbacks than being a Twilight vampire.

And on that subject? Isn’t the main thing about vampires that they’re soulless living corpses, returned from the grave in a blasphemous parody of the resurrection of Christ? Sure, you can write a vampire novel without assuming an explicitly Christian cosmology, but shouldn’t the religious issue come up sometime? Vampires are, traditionally, a violation of the natural order. You leave that aspect out, and you’ve pretty much written out the ‘supernatural’ from your supernatural romance.

Granted, the main vampire character does come across as kind of creepy – I’m not sure it’s intentional though. The author doesn’t seem to have actually considered the implications of a ninety-year old vampire masquerading as a seventeen year old high school student and dating a teenage girl. Oh, and he’s got supernatural seduction powers. It’s unclear if the protagonist falls in love with him purely because of his sparkly beauty, or because of the effects of his vampire seduction power, but this seems to be less of an intentional ambiguity so much as due to the characterisations being paper thin, and therefore determining motivations being an exercise in futility.

So yeah. Not recommended.

Comments

[kycoo.livejournal.com]

Hm, I just finished the first book, too, since a few of my friends are obsessed with it and I was wondering why. I can't say that I share their enthusiasm about sparkly Edward. I think he's supposed to come across as mysteriously and dangerously romantic, but he just exuded a lot of creepiness for me.

And yes. The lack of plot was very disappointing, as was the "climax." I was actually getting sort of intrigued, and then I didn't even get to see how the antagonist was finished off. Jeez.

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

The thing is, if you ignore the creepy aspects - and I think most of them aren't intentional - Edward doesn't actually have anything mysterious or dangerous about him. Mystery? He's a bloody vampire, it says so on the back cover! That's why I read the damn book! Dangerous? Him and his bloodsucking buddies get their sustenance from hunting deer in between playing baseball! At least Sesame Street's Count summons thunder and lightning from time to time...

[nic]

This book has been on my reading list for a while, given the hype. I'm going to severely lower my expectations!

[emavalexis.livejournal.com]

I've not read any of the books or watched the movie yet, either, so you are not alone (or were not alone, considering you've now read the first book - hehe). My sister has the first book and she wants me to read it, so I'll probably do that at some point, but it's nothing pressing. She has said that it's very middle of the road-ish: not terribly exciting but not terrible either.

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

That'd be pretty much how I'd rate it; the story never really seems to get any momentum - I guess part of it is that it's setting up characters and plot points for later in the series, but on the other hand, there's nothing there where I'm thinking "Huh, I wonder what (character)'s deal is; I bet (plot point) will be important later." - it all feels like padding.

[sunnyskywalker]

I feel I should read what all the kids are reading, since I work in a school library, but we can't keep these books on the shelves long enough for me to check one out. Considering that I know the series ends with [highlight for spoiler] the leads getting married and popping out a perfect half-undead baby who soul-bonds with the werewolf boy, I can't bring myself to be disappointed about not getting this chance.

On the other hand, the idea put forth on Feminist SF - The Blog! that the story is essentially about negotiating with the patriarchy is interesting.

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting! Link?

[sunnyskywalker]

Here. It's by someone who hasn't read it either, but it's just an interpretation of the basic premise which may or may not hold up with the details. Let me know! The first half of the entry is actually a review of a Swedish vampire movie, which sounds interesting.

There's another analysis here which has different ideas - but compatible, I think.

My ranty-rant

[sirhenryjones.livejournal.com]

Well, I think the only way to enjoy this book is to use it as a way to remember meeting your true love as a young girl. If you didn’t ,(for some people obvious reasons apply) then I’m not sure it can be enjoyed at all. Unless you are currently a mindless female teenager that dreams of meeting her true love of course. Basically if you remember what happened to you it fills in the blanks and makes for a refresher course in young love-lust. This way what’s his face has a personality and looks better, also is not so sparkly. Thus giving an impression of a hot leading man not a placid/flaccid, non-descript, creepy paedophile. Saying that it’s not creepy for someone you love to watch you sleep. Or maybe I like the wrong type of things.

I might add that the ridiculousness of Edwardo being able to restrain himself from any sexual contact with Bella is retarded. If he has so much self control as to do no more than kiss her why can’t he go to third base and stop. Maybe some action would fix the empty story?

Random note: I despise people without self control.

And another thing

[sirhenryjones.livejournal.com]

The Edward in the movie was disgusting and disturbing! And not in the good way. I couldn't stop staring at the absence in the middle of his face. It looked like the void-stick slapped him in the face obliterating his features namely nose and cheeks. It could have been the hard-core pale make up or white washed lighting but even so the boy has no face. I guess that compliments his lack of personality.

Re: And another thing

[4thofeleven.livejournal.com]

I mentioned somewhere else that I suspect the real reason Meyer abandoned Midnight Sun (Twilight from Edward's point of view) was less due to the draft being leaked online, and more coming to the realisation that not only doesn't Edward have a personality - he *can't* have a personality if he's to fulfill the role of "[Reader]'s perfect guy"; you start giving him personality traits and goals of his own, and he can't be the perfect cypher anymore.

And I suspected the movie would have the same problems; you can get away with that kind of thing a lot more easily in a novel, especially one with first person narration, than you can in a visual medium.