Twilight has raped the minds of teenage girls everywhere…
Please don't tell me brooding is back in style...ugh
(So this doesn’t really fall under the topic of “political discourse” but I think the fact that this piece of crap has such a high number of fans and so permeated our cultural consciousness, it might just be worth talking about. Plus its been bugging me.)
Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga has stormed onto the national scene drawing streams of female fans, ranging from pre-teens to adults and has spurred a blockbuster movie…and has just reiterated the same concept illustrated to me by Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code: most people have no idea what composes good storytelling or literature.
During my Thanksgiving break, I read all four books, one of which totals over 700 pages, in order to figure out why exactly these books have risen in such popularity (I am still completely baffled). Just the simple fact that I was able to breeze through these books indicates the serious amount of editing needed by these pieces of literary dogshit. The author is extremely overindulgent in describing the day to day romances and conversations between not only her two “star crossed” lovers but everyone else around them. It is seriously like listening to a 12 year old talk about her day and who said what in gym class, biology and OMG do you think he likes me.
With this, there is the issue of just way too many undeveloped characters quickly summarized even though they are supposed to have some significance. It seems as if the editor said “you need to explain this or leave it out” and Meyers lazily put in one or two lines to describe a character rather than actually develop them with any sort of sense. It is a commonly used phrase in writing classes “SHOW DON”T TELL” and I was screaming it throughout this entire saga. I’ve never seen so much summary in 700 pages as I did in the final book itself “Breaking Dawn,” a book so lacking in action with such a disappointing ending it crossed into a new level of the pathetic.
Although Meyer’s story line had the potential to excite, she followed the paths of the wrong characters, leaving the most suspenseful stories to the imagination and instead following the characters who were just waiting.
The saga whined out, rather than exploded with the potential the author had set up throughout the rest of the summary. But alas, as the author refused to permanently injure any of her beloved characters, there could not be the final battle she set up throughout the story. Instead. Alice ex Machina came back from South America and diffused the situation as the Vampire armies lined up, leaving everyone at their status quo. What was the point? Quite clearly, Meyers either doesn’t know or doesn’t want to tell us. It’s one thing to only show the plan as it unfolds but its another to leave all the action and none of the wait up to the imagination.
While I primarily just discussed the problems I had with this series on an literary and intellectual level, next is the little problem of the “romance” itself. I swear if this were a Lifetime Original, the guy would have killed her and she would be a warning as to what constitutes stalking (at least in the first book, the others are not as bad when it comes to this). Listen up ladies, if a guy is following you without your knowledge, telling you constantly how it difficult it is not to kill you, and sneaking into your window to watch you sleep, it is NOT romantic. That is creepy. Very creepy and you will probably be stabbed to death in a “if I can’t have you no one else will” moment down the road. Next, if a friend of yours keeps having accidents and blames it on her clumsiness at the same time she has just started dating someone who looks like a frequent drug user, she probably didn’t just “fall” down the stairs through a window. At least with Disney Princess Movies, the unrealistic depictions of love didn’t picture potentially abusive relationships as the ideal.
Then there is the assertion that the books are really about the dangers of teenage sex (read the NYTimes Movie review) and again how men can’t control themselves. Yes, that is exactly what we need: more reiteration that it is difficult for men to control their sexual appetites while girls are innocently passive and if they happen to say they want sex, they don’t really know what they’re asking for.
So what do these books have to offer that draws in teenage girls? I’m seriously asking because I don’t see a single redeeming quality in this smut, only an indication of how easy it is to get something worthless published and publicized.
–Kate
(edit 6/15/09: If you want to know more about domestic violence statistics, which is slightly related to this post, please click here. If you like what I’ve written or the slideshow I’ve just linked to, please vote for it at slideshare.net by June 22, 2009. Thanks!)
I’m impressed you got through over a thousand pages in one Thanksgiving weekend! Though maybe my perspective on reading speed is skewed because I’m slogging my way through the long middle section of Gravity’s Rainbow and understanding 10-page chunks feels like a victory.
It would seriously seem as if I had no life as it was probably over 2000 pages that I read, but that is just a testament to the uselessness of every other paragraph in these books. I actually hung out with family, watched movies, ran a 5k and helped cook Thanksgiving dinner, so it’s really more of a testament to the shoddy writing than my reading abilities.
I am SO with you. I only read the first one and I was in shock and awe over how bad it was. Wow. What are kids today thinking????
A book written by a Mormon for teenage girls. Romance, no sex. Vampires lose their sexy quality then.
They are what they are. You don’t have to like them. Neither do I, but people do, so sod off.
Michael -
I don’t mind that that there’s no premarital sex. That is completely fine with me. What I do mind is not only the unrealistic portrayal of love but the portrayal of romance as something that needs to be dangerous in order to be truly satisfying. I think the depiction of the “romantic” relationship between Bella and Edward undermines the warning signs of potentially abusive relationships.
I also hate sloppy writing.
You don’t have to care about my opinion either. You can sod off as well and have a pleasant evening.
I absolutely agree with you. I see middle-aged women on the subway with this trash (pardon my language) in their hands; it’s absurd. I do not understand what is so special about these books, and what makes them different from third-rate vampires novels like, say, Anne Rice’s books (which were also, sadly enough, turned in to movies). It is a pity this passes for literature nowadays.
At least Anne Rice could write…I don’t mind vampire/werewolf movies and books as a concept and I actually enjoy a lot of fantasy and mythology driven literature, but only when properly executed.
@jackson:
I just did that with Anathem. The ones that take the most effort tend to be worth it…
I enjoyed them in the same way I would enjoy reading a comic book. Not the most mentally challenging reading but I guess it also has a place in this world.
I saw the movie today with a friend who absolutely loved the book (i think she`s insane, but i love her so whatever makes her happy) and even though i never read the books, i could predict every cheesy, lame, retarded, detail. It was sad. I spent the entire time trying not to laugh at it`s stupidity. Then my friend and I came out of the movie, she was disappointed it was not more like the books. When i told her that i thought the movie was lame, and just as stupid as i thought it was BEFORE from her in depth summary, she couldn`t believe it. It`s sad that girls AND women actually find this romantic. More so for the older ones. You`d think they wouldn`t read teenage novels about 17 year old girls and their unrealistic, and semi-abusive relationships, but i guess that`s just what the world has come to.
I’m surprised you’re finding it difficult to figure out the key behind their popularity – you already used a key word…”overindulgent”. Forget interpreting the books as some sort of allegory, they are nothing but a giant wish-fulfillment fantasy for the author, of the quality of a poorly written “Mary Sue Fanfic” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Sue just in case you’re not familiar with the term).
What do teenage girls find there? Books about a girl who is just SO SPECIAL that she has a huge vampire romance with a man who is both the most powerful AND the most sensitive AND totally devoted to her? Seems like an irresistible treat for the gaping maw of insecurity that is the modern American teenage girl!
I suppose that in the long run it’s not really worse than any other sort of escapist fantasy, although I’d worry that girls who dive into this sort of thing are going to end up with pretty unrealistic expectations of relationships. But can’t we just say what we always say when some hackneyed, poorly-written book makes a big splash? “Hey, at least they’re reading, right?”
I haven’t read Twilight (and it sounds bad enough that I’m not going to read it), but I think you need to know that you’re not a very careful writer yourself.
“as I did in the final book itself “Breaking Dawn,” a book so lacking in action with such a disappointing ending”
This doesn’t flow. Consider removing the word “itself”.
“Instead. Alice ex Machina came back from South America and diffused the situation as the Vampire armies lined up, leaving everyone at their status quo.”
I’ll assume you made “instead” into a sentence fragment for effect. Fine, but you used “diffused” when you should have used “defused”. Also, the status quo is a state of affairs. I’ve never seen it used with a possessive pronoun.
Ta!
Hey, it’s girl-porn.
Personally, I’m astonished at Jackson. I only made it through 64 pages of Gravity’s Rainbow (which is about 60 pages more than it took to realize it was crap). If that’s considered good literature, maybe girl-porn isn’t so bad after all.
I’ve read all the novels and didn’t think they were amazing.
Still, I think what qualifies a good story is one that people enjoy.
The appeal to teenage girls is the idea that you can be completely normal and still attract adventure/romance. Similar to the appeal Harry Potter has.
I think people need to keep in mind that it’s aimed at tween girls and not people with a masters in literature. While they’re not the best novels, Meyer definitely knows her audience.
I recently had a discussion about these books with a female friend of mine, she told me that I don´t “get them(the books) because i’m not a chick.” I left it at that.
I’m a struggling horror writer and find it sad that in order to have any mainstream success in fiction literature you have to write childish books. But I find it sadder that it’s the grown-ups who mostly read them and tell me how good they are, when there is no depth, no character development and ultimately no true internal struggle.
“Delicacy – a sad, sad false delicacy – robs literature of the two best things among its belongings: Family-circle narratives & obscene stories.” Mark Twain
Unfortunately, these things have crossed the threshhold and are now resident in my house – my wife invited them in and they have sucked all the fun out of her…
What is it with ‘vampire romance’ literature anyway..? Vampires aren’t supposed to brood and whine and break your heart, they’re supposed to rip your heart out and gorge on the still warm blood.
These novels seem to be as much about castration as anything else – castration of the vampire myth and by extension castration of the male role model.
As for poor writing, I couldn’t fathom the success of The Da Vinci Code (ho-hum, here comes another twelve paragraphs of poorly written infodumping) nor can I stand to be in the same room as the bloody awful Harry Potter books (he said excitedly…)
That’s all – I’m off to teach myself Medieval Spanish, so I can read Don Quixote without all that translation nonsense.
I saw the movie at a preview a week or two ago and reviewed it here:
http://watchwithmothers.wordpress.com/2008/11/24/twilight/
My other half has just finished the book and says it’s very lazy writing and filled with exposition, as you mention here.
For my part, I found the film a lazy allegory pertaining to sexual abstinence. As you say – it’s not like we need another spokesman for that.
I’m sure Vampires used to be sexy.
I haven’t read the book yet, but from what I’ve summarized in the movie, there are indeed many parts that were too quick or missing. I still have to read the book to properly say that it is indeed a good or bad read. Not sure if I’m looking forward to read the book.
The way you put it though, the book seems to be more of a fanfiction novel than a best-selling novel.
I don’t want to jump to any conclusions though, since I haven’t read any of the books yet, and I have only watched the movie.
Thanks for your thoughts though. It gives me something to think about.
i actually haven’t read that stuff… but now that you’ve told us how bad it is….second thoughts;)
You are too old to appreciate. Not all people think alike, yes. It’s a matter of respect.
LOL didn’t like the synopsis of the book enough for me to read!
I guess i’m not into shojo books after all.
The media–slick magazines, movies, music. lifestyles of movie stars and singers–all these make promiscuity appear enticing to young women and this fallacy has been perpetrated against them for at least two generations.
Young women who don’t value their personhood seek that validation through sexual encounters but the reality is that they are being exploited. The self-esteem that they lose, the responsibilities of babies that they take on require them to settle for a future that is far less than they could have achieved had they recognized how wonderful they really are!
It’s never too late to regain that selfhood, but it does become difficult when the individual has broken her heart into little pieces and given it away to men who never intended to give their hearts in return.
To compound this fragmentation with the dark world of the occult is to propell the girls involved further into the tunnel of despair and hopelessness that promiscuity caused them to enter.
It is difficult to value light above darkness when the whole of ones life has been steeped in the darkness of false perception and self delusion.
It may sound quaint and old-fashioned–even irrelevent in today’s age of skepticism and faithlessness, but there is a Christ who died to release women–and men–from the bondage to destructive behaviors.
He is still the only One who can make a real difference in any person’s distorted perception of himself. And He still has the power to dspell the storms that all the negativity in a life has generated.
His own assessment of His power is, “I, with the finger of God, cast out evil.” He doesn’t need a legion of angels to get the evil out of your life. He doesn’t need to ball His mighty fist and wrestle evil from your life. He needs only point and the evil entity that would destroy you is ushered away from you.
The catch? You must ask Him to enter your life and become your Advocate, your Savior, your Lord, the Lover of your soul.
In Jesus Christ, you will, young ladies and gentlemen, experience cleansing, freedom, real love, a fresh start.
May you decide to give Him a chance.
That was wonderfully informative as I have largely gleaned information about this phenomena through the gushy coverage on cable news, and there was the recent South Park episode.
For me, the lesson is if you want to make a kabillion dollars, you write racy vehicles for teenage girls, but you cannot be a heterosexual middle aged man while doing this. It’s all a part of a cynical media-teen diva industrial complex that offers up tarted gals who must pass that litmus test of- does she make the daddies nervous?
And then we eat up the girls twice over when they do erupt with: babies, drugs, licentiousness, chain smoking, new found religion as they atone for their ascenine behavior.
Sarah Palin was just a spinoff of Zoey 101 for the exurban megachurch going set.
If this story is really trash, then there is no need to make a big fuss about it. So what if every other girl has a crush on the fictional vampire and religiously re-reads all the novels every night? You are above that, don’t burden yourself with thrashing a novel that was written only to get a profit. Nevertheless this is a great analysis and I have to agree with you on many points, especially the absurd portrayal of “relationships.” But again, just take it at face value. Enjoy it for whatever it is worth and have fun watching the fans go crazy. Peace Kate, and good job.
Hey, I’m 14 and was told several times about how amazing the Twilight saga was and decided to find out for myself. And still can’t see why people want to read it; it’s crap to put it bluntly. There’s no real story line, it was over the top and not believable.
When I asked my friend what all the fuss was about she told me it was Edwards mysterious, moody and dangerous character. She said the connection between Bella and Edward is what every girl wants…
Why can’t they get over it and date a guy on a motorbike?
My bad on the last comment, good work Marc and Mike.
I’m convinced that this is only a popular series because it fulfills every teenage girl’s dream – somebody incredibly attractive and powerful actually gives a damn about them and wants to live the rest of their life with them.
How sad.
I kind of agree with you. The book is so surreal. But i think that’s just it, girls want it so bad because of the very unreal and ideal relationship between Bella and Edward. The love is beyond reality and is what every girl hopes for. Well, so much for the dreaming, they’ll have a hard time finding a thing like that nowadays.
I attempted these, then gave up. I’m afraid I struggle to name a succesful American author whose work isn’t complete drivel. Dan Brown, Michael Crichton, Stephen King (with the notable exception of his Dark Tower cycle)… Honestly, it’s sad to say, but America just doesn’t seem to produce decent books. By the way, if anybody thinks that Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gatsby or Huckleberry Finn are good books – you really need to read more!
all that entails good storytelling is making people’s fantasies come to life, which is exactly what this movie does for women. in short, you are a jealous nerdvirgin.
dear kate, this has nothing to do with anything but i love what you wrote to michael, you are a champion.
I agree completely, Kate. ’nuff said on that.
I’ve heard a wide range of people denounce these books – since the movie was released, reading blogs and LiveJournals about Twilight’s awfulness has been a source of great amusement for me. Inevitably, however, a vast number of bleating sheep (probably in their tweens) will appear to complain about how such criticism shows a lack of respect for them and their tastes. So this is directed to them. First: No, we do not respect your taste in literature. Since when has that been a trait worthy of deference for anyone? If you like it, go for it – at least you’re reading something, even if it is drivel. I read cheap science fiction and (guiltily) Dan Brown and J. K. Rowling, so trust me, I know where you’re coming from on this. Second: You apparently do not understand the purpose of criticism. Genuine critics (as Kate and many others have shown themselves to be) will highlight the best and worst elements in a book to attempt to understand it and to make judgments about its quality. “OMG Twilight suxx” is not criticism, and you can certainly find that around, but there are a great many honest, legitimate (negative) critiques of these novels out there. You can disagree with them, but you have no right to whine that they’re oppressing you for stating their opinion in an intelligent and cogent manner.
Finally, to anyone who thinks these books are crap purely based on posts like these: go read at least the first one. Trust me, it won’t strain you – I read fast, but I can’t normally burn through 200 pages in an hour as I did with Twilight. They’re incredibly easy reads. You WILL be reading some awful drivel, mind, but it will keep you engaged, and afterward you can attack it from the perspective of knowledge rather than parroting others.
@Michael – I think the real nerdvirgin is someone who needs these books to fulfill the absence of romance in their lives
@Patrick – I am the author, not Mike or Marc so you were right the first time
@thedaythatidie – how old do you think I am? I just turned 23 and I know quite a few women much older than myself wrapped up into this saga
To those who saw the movie – the movie was infinitely better than the book as it cut out most of the useless dribble. This is not to say that the movie was good by any means.
@Matthew Carlin – I should have added a comma in the first sentence you brought up. Who says someone can’t have their own state of affairs/status quo? Language is flexible enough to allow for that. If you read into the sentence more, it is more about how everyone can go back to their own covens/family groups thereby returning to their own status quo. My problem with the sloppiness has more to do with poor story structure and too much exposition, not grammar.
I was told to read it several times by female friends, but I’ve heard even more opinions against the book. I’m the type who doesn’t like the super cheesy romantic movies (romantic comedies, fine, A Walk to Remember, no) because I know too many girls who see that and this that’s what all love is supposed to be like.
I know I should read at least the first book, to form a true opinion…..but I gotta say, just this post alone has really swayed me to just avoid the series altogether.
I read the books and I did like the first one, however the rest completely destroyed the series. It’s not great writing at all, but it was a book that I could just sit back and read and not have to think too much about it. Sometimes I don’t want to have to think too much on a book; other times it’s what I crave.
Anyway, it’s a book that I think people need to realize is fantasy–too many teenage girls (and women for that matter) are becoming obsessed with the Edward-like image portrayed in the book which is simply not realistic. I think the danger in the series is the fact that people are forgetting that it IS fantasy and not to apply it to real life. But I suppose that is the danger with any book, fantasy or not.
Interesting post though
Also, I am curious what kind of books you like–I tend to get too picky with mine at times and won’t finish a book halfway (I couldn’t finish the last of the Twilight saga though I know what happens 
). I’m searching for some decent reading material as I haven’t really been able to find anything lately that’s grabbed my attention enough.
Gatsby’s comment hits it on the head for me.
“I think people need to keep in mind that it’s aimed at tween girls and not people with a masters in literature. While they’re not the best novels, Meyer definitely knows her audience.”
I have a tween and this is definitely aimed at her and I don’t want her to be the target of this kind of crap. She may not have a masters in literature, but I still expect her to read intelligent books.
For me these books were just fun fluff. The teen melodrama got a bit thick and ridiculous at times but I read on anyway and enjoyed the books for what they were. I am a dialysis patient and anything that can make the time fly by is a godsend so I am willing to overlook the glaring flaws in logic and style.
I read the first two books at the request of a friend…and much like you, was able to get through them in mere hours. It’s a bunch of pointless drivel. Entire chapters are dedicated to ONE EMOTION of the main character (longing for Edward, usually).
I’m surprised, truly surprised, by the cult status of these books. While some might say, “Hey, anything to get teenagers reading,” I have to argue that this pointless crap is another sign of the dumbing down of America.
Seriously, the Twilight series makes J.K. Rowling look like Tolkien (which she’s not, for the record!).
I loved your review. It was appropriately scathing.
AMEN.
I tried to write a similarly scathing post, but I think yours really wraps it up.
I’ve read the books as well, and nearly vomited my way through the first two. I must say, you have a very strong constitution. I’m sad to report that the Twilight ‘Saga’ (yeahright) has absolutely no bounds. It extends not only to middle aged women on the subway but I’m in second year university taking English and Literary studies and there are definitely people in my program who are in love with this ‘Saga’.
And let me tell you, as a soon to be ex-teenaged girl, I have read some published crap in my lifetime, but Twilight takes the cake. So I thought I had gone clinically insane when everyone started blathering on about how great it was. My first thought after reading the book was, “Wow, you can get this stuff published.” (I am familiar with fanfic.)
I find it even harder to stomach that there is actually amazing unpublished work that will never be read, and this stuff is getting all of the attention.
“…if a friend of yours keeps having accidents and blames it on her clumsiness at the same time she has just started dating someone who looks like a frequent drug user, she probably didn’t just “fall” down the stairs through a window.”
Best line ever.
your assertion about the books only having female fans is insulting. i am not gay or a female, i have written one novel which is on its way to the publishers and a second which is almost complete and i enjoyed the books. your assault on a literary masterwork is pathetic. The excessive explanation of Bella’s friends mundane romances is done to point out just how mundane and ridiculously boring Bella’s own life is before the arrival of the Cullens. The element of Edward’s inherent thirst for Bella’s blood only highlights Bella’s own love for Edward that she is willing to risk such a danger. This doesn’t promote the creepy stalker guys as Edward can’t exactly control it. Edward himself advises Bella to stay away from him as it is too dangerous. I was slightly disappointed in the end of Breaking Dawn. The book led to a huge battle that never happened. However, on further reflection, this left the mind open to imagine the course the Volturi would take next. Those with enough imagination could follow the idea of the Volturi tracking down the vampire in South America who kept creating half-vampires and destroying his creations to never-ending lengths. The conflict between Volterra and the Forks Coven is far from over at the end of the book, as Alice, Benjamin, Bella, and Edward would still make wonderful additions to their guard that they will continue to pursue. The author likely left the ending open intentionally. The story is not an attack on our lack of control. Edward demonstrates an utter absoluteness of control at the end of the first book when he saves Bella from James venom and doesn’t kill her. Instead, the story demonstrates our capacity for love and how that can overcome even the most animal instincts.
To those reading this crap who haven’t read it: don’t join in the bashing if you haven’t read it. read the books, at the very least Twilight and Eclipse as they are the best of the four. Then decide if you agree with the bashing or not. My opinion remains the same.
P.S. Amen to Dara’s comment. The obsession with Edward HAS gone to ridiculous lengths. Some people DO realize that. I attend a small christian school of 24 students. Five of the students have read Twilight or are in the process of doing so. When the movie was released, for the fun of it, we gave most of the students nicknames from the book of characters that most closely resembled them. No one received the name Edward as no one could ever possibly achieve the level of perfection that Edward is granted. More readers realize that than YOU may realize.
I acknowledge that these books are porn for teenage girls. That is EXACTLY WHY they sell so well: girl-porn is legal to sell in a legitimate bookstore whereas guy-porn… not so much.
But my real complaint is that they use *vampires*. Even more than “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” did with its vampires-keep-falling-for-the-Slayer plotlines, these books have utterly neutered the vampire as a monster. How can anyone scare people with blood-sucking creatures of the night after this?
Kate,
It doesn’t matter why the books are so popular. It just matters that they *are* popular. I teach in an alternative high school, and I’m delighted to see my female students reading anything at all. The aspiring writer and parent in me hates these books and everything they represent.
But I just can’t feel that hatred in my heart.
I do hope in your next post that you combat some other important menace. Like, say, death. Or taxes.
(And @The mother hen, it is possible for your daughter to read a good book… and for you to allow her to be happy and read occasional crap, too. “I still expect her to read intelligent books.” For Pete’s sake… were you ever 14, or did you come out of the womb wearing really uncomfortable shoes?)
Great!! I totally agree with you.
Some of my friends are reading this crap, and I keep telling them some of these arguments you so correctly expose (not concerning the content, because I know very few about it). There’s nothing to do, the book is addictive; a best seller in capital letters. It doesn’t matter if the girl has read good literature before; she’ll be able to accept that the book is terrible, but she won’t burn it as I would like her to do.
I’m sorry for the poor and bad used English… I explain my self a little better in my language.
Greetings.
I read the books a long time ago and took them for what they were – teen lit written for tweens and teens. It’s VERY basic writing. However, despite it’s *many* flaws, the story was enjoyable enough and in the end I liked the books well enough (again, taking into account the fact they were teen novels). I’ve only just started reading “Breaking Dawn.”
The movie? Didn’t like it so much. I laughed in many places I shouldn’t have. However, I have friends that have seen the movie 3-4 times. THAT’S what I don’t get. If it was a really well-done movie (such as the LOTR trilogy which was outstanding), I could see going multiple times. But this movie was more like a made-for-TV Lifetime movie of the week.
Shouldn’t that be “comprises”?
I have friends who absolutely love the book series. I have friends who read it just to kill time.
Most of these friends so far have admitted that this book is not “great,” but just “chick lit.” “Nothing revolutionary, but so what?” seems to be the popular reaction.
I haven’t read any of the books myself. I tried to, actually, but I never got into it. And I don’t think I ever will. It’s just not my type. The hype is ANNOYING as heck, so I’m hoping it’ll die down a little soon.
I did watch the movie to see how it went. (It was… a weird experience. You can just read my review, if you want.)
If people like the series, then fine. I’m just relieved that some of my friends are actually getting into books. Maybe from the Twilight series they can move on to real literature eventually. Who knows?
benjaminvallen1 // December 2, 2008 at 10:36 am
“…your assault on a literary masterwork is pathetic.”
Do you think that this guy is being serious?!
It’s what sells in a market economy. Soap operas in book form.
benjaminvallen – I hope you are not serious and if you are, I cannot wait to read your book. Just the fact that you and your friends have decided to give each other names to live vicariously through the characters takes away all legitimacy you could possibly claim.
Well.. you could be right, you could be wrong.. my only advice, go get yourself published and write a better book…
You’re totally right.
In the eighth grade, I was obsessed with Harry Potter. Literally, obsessed. It was all I could think about until I turned fifteen and then I asked myself: is this what I need? I’m a fifteen year old girl and the only way I would agree to date someone is if he runs around with a wand and shouts avada kedavra?
Anyway, I’m over that now but I actually do read. I refuse to read Twilight and my friends ask me why because I’m big on reading but honestly, why would I? If I want to read romance, I’ll read Jane Eyre. If I want to read fantasy, I’ll read Lord of the Rings. I’ll read Brave New World or the Time Traveller’s Wife or something that is actually meant for me to read. I want an author who wants to challenge me, not one who tries to predict what I want to read.
But that isn’t the worst of it. What I hate more than obsessive Twilight readers is obsessive Twilight movie-goers.
It isn’t bad enough that you read this trash and fall in love with Edward Cullen… instead, you refuse to read it. You’ll sit in a theatre for two hours and then fall in love with Edward Cullen.
Kate, thank you for this. Benjamin – you are terrifying.
~a
this post was awesome. just plain awesome.
I haven’t read them, nor will I see the movie.
It can’t be any worse than the ‘bodice ripper’ romance novels that otherwise perfectly sensible women read, can it?
Those present really unhealthy ideas about love and romance, too.
But I guess they’re marketed at lonely middle aged women and not young girls, so I see your point.
Why don’t you try giving a little more credit to young women? I mean this is a story about vampires… Do you really think that teenage girls think it’s normal for a guy to follow them around, sneak into their bedroom, become obsesed with them, etc? Lighten up a little.
For some reason I’m really glad these books suck, probably because they seem like such a rip-off of Buffy.
(They are, right?)
collegeknowledge – the girls I know who are fans of these books continually tell me how romantic Edward is and look at me with horror on when I say “are you serious, here is what is wrong with it…”. No, these girls do not deserve more credit when their response is “but he loves her.” Gag me.
“Show, don’t tell”, YES! It’s like Meyer slept through the first day of Creative Writing 101.
p.s. I hope you are prepared to deal with hundreds of poorly-spelled whinges from Twatlighters, telling you what a big mean poopiehead you are and that these books are better than unicorn porn.
didn’t really fancy Meyer’s writing. Nothing like Anne Rice at all. But for a brief period, I was gaga over Edward Cullen. Imagine that.
I have been attempting to read this series myself and have struggled to complete just for the sake of finishing them. (which I haven’t and won’t) In the third book I found something close to a rape, in the aggressive force used by Jacob to kiss bella, something like the western film where the rape comes out looking like the girl actually enjoyed herself and No didn’t really mean No. Awful! Young teenage girls need better messages than this book sends about love.
Nothing against you… I’m actually in the first book of the Saga. But I disagree with you about the discriptions in the Story. Ok, She really talks like 12 years old Child, but I really needs to wait this from a 17 years old girl. Have you ever tought about her romance with a 100 year old Character? Maybe it’s a weak argument, but look likes an explanation for me.
i was apprehensive about reading the book, and after i saw the trailer , i totally got grossed out. Until now i still haven’t read it, and i thank you for your review.
I read the first book to see what the big deal was, and decided it was just a great big Mary Sue fanfiction (read: epic fail) and not worth continuing. The only series that has worse prose is Eragon, which in my opinion reads like very bad Mary Sue fanfiction.
*sigh* A mormon writing for teenage girls.
Vampire = the bad boy that everyone wants
Bella fits the classical sense of everything that is right in the Mormon world, falling head over heels almost immediately, trusting indefinitely, and following through completely.
The writing? Elementary, but she was playing to the audience that was reading. JK Rowling wasn’t writing for the millions of adults that read her books, she was writing for the children, and Meyer is doing the same.
I enjoyed the books, and despite how angsty and forgone they were, it was a captivating story. If it was so bad, why finish it? But, perhaps that’s an entirely different story.
I think that like it was said earlier, it’s girl porn. It’s the ultimate fantasy of what love is. None of it’s true, that’s why it’s a book.
In my humble opinion it was a good book, and I was happy for it’s success.
You can’t rape the willing.
~~
The books were easy to read. They are supposed to be easy to read – they are designed for the teenage mind that has not yet been introduced to such things as imagery and literary devices.
~~
I noticed that Stephanie Meyer’s writing did get better as the series progressed – anyone agree?
~~
Calling her work worthless is a pretty harsh statement. This woman makes a living from her work – a pretty good living, at that. Obviously there was a desire for it, look at how many people picked up those harcover editions, let alone waited the couple of weeks for the softcover edition!
~~
By the number of responses you received in regards to your blog post, I bet you are quite pleased. You wanted a response and you sure did get one from a couple of people! yikes
Hehe I agree on some and I disagree on some.It’s really just chick-lit stuff.People likes it because it’s their fantasy.The movies always portrays love like that.Only some aren’t,which often unpopular.I’ve to say that during my schooltime,I do fantasize things like this too but I never want to get too deep into it.Because real life is really the opposite.Not everyday we have a vampire trying not to suck your blood because he loves you.
This is what women/girls who share the same fantasy of the writer.Those who don’t,surely will find this as pure crap.
Kate,if you want to know,this kind of unrealistic love portrayal are very spread out by Korean dramas too(I’ve seen the obsession in my friends).In the end of the day,the women audiences(esp) really buy that idea of love.It all boils down to how far you want your fantasies to be alive.
Great post.
THANK YOU for writing this – you’ve captured my feelings on this series exactly.
I’ve read all 4 books and they are a travesty. I hope the parents of these fangirls read the books and have some serious discussion about the relationships in the series (and about terrible writing).
“The author is extremely overindulgent in describing the day to day romances and conversations between not only her two “star crossed” lovers but everyone else around them. It is seriously like listening to a 12 year old talk about her day and who said what in gym class, biology and OMG do you think he likes me.”
That’s kind of the point: the very reason you hate it, is the reason young girls (primarily) LOVE it – that seemingly unmovable self-importance that the youth possess.
I don’t know how old a woman you are, but either you’ve always been an “old soul” (and by that I mean like, Archie-Bunker-old) or you’ve completely lost your connection as to what it was like – TO be young.
I remember watching David Lee Roth in the “Panama” video on MTV, and thinking to myself “THIS is the epitome of philosophical enlightenment!”
Do I think that way now? No – but I can still relate to the kids who find that same feeling in a song by a band that I have NO idea about and whose music makes my ears hurt – but at the very core, I still take some sense of satisfaction in the feeling that; kids are still kids, and “my boy was just like me”.
Pardon my Harry Chapin.
I think that evryone should read….something. I’m not abig Fan of this series. I’m happy to see tweens curl up with a tale that allows some imagination other than yakkin’ on cell phone or being on myspace
Kate,
I have to tell you how much I adored your blog. When the Twilight books came out I was currently buying and reading books like Life of Pi, Middlesex and the Kite Runner. Say what you will about those books but when I found everyone around me (teenage girls, middle aged women) devouring the Twilight series, I REFUSED to go near them. Why read a trashy vampire novel when you can read about the struggles of a teenage hermaphrodite?
My friend also mentioned to me how hard it was for Meyers to get any respectable actor/actress to be part in the film. Whether that is true or not I’m not sure…but I’ll blindly believe it.
I will not financially support the retarded obsession over such goobledy glop when I can watch Film Movement or other incredible films that never get enough recognition. Readers may be upset that I’m not going to read the books…but that’s okay. I actually would take the negative “read before speaking” feedback over sitting through the 700 pages of blah.
Edward, Bella…sorry for not reading about you.
Meyers…stop milking the fantasies of little girls. It’s gross…
yes my typing sucks.
I haven’t seen anyone mention that Meyers’ books are a modern day play on the Victorian gothic novel. Those novels had characters just like Bella and Edward–the fainting, clumsy, melodramatic heroine and the intense, tormented, anti-hero. This is why we have characters like Dracula. What’s smart about the books is that they capture the absolutely one-tracked perception of a teenager. I’m in my 30s but when I was a teen, I was just as fixated on my one “true love” (at 17–I didn’t know any better) as Bella is fixated on Edward. This is also a twist on the Romeo and Juliet storyline, which is still very popular. While some readers find Meyers’ books weak (and in truth, some editing was in order but she has admitted she wrote the book(s) for herself, not intended for a wide audience before they were picked up for publication), I find the storyline to be compelling. I’d rather my teenaged daughter read the Twilight series than watch (or read) the Gossip Girl series, or watch any of the vacant popular reality series on TV. The Meyers’ books are so far from reality–THAT is what makes it fun and fascinating as a romantic escape for teens. For adults like me, I’m sure it’s just a thrill to remember those days when I was a melodrama queen in love with my high school sweetheart. The same people who criticize Twilight also probably missed the great irony of Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe–that it’s full of allegories from many religions, as C.S. Lewis was an atheist and studied religions. Similarly, Meyers is a morman and yet, the Twilight series does not mention religion at all–this diversion tactic is just as apparent as it was in Rocky Horror Picture Show, and many other “cult” classics.
“It is seriously like listening to a 12 year old talk”
Ive heard this before. I havent read the books and probably never will. I also have no desire to see the movie just for the mere fact it was directed by the same person who directed that “Thirteen” movie bullshit. That was an aweful movie… as I am sure this will be too.
Quick note on the Lewis reference–C.S. Lewis was indeed an atheist for part of his life, but his friend J.R.R. Tolkien introduced him to Christianity. If you read much of Lewis’ works you can see he writes from a Christian wordlview. Try Screwtape Letters or Mere Christianity, along with the obvious ones like Chronicles of Narnia.
Granted the books may be a bore but I think you miss the bigger picture that Tayna began to touch on. The books are intended to be read by teens and that the books aren’t suppose to be read as a piece of literature. They are suppose to be fun to read and they are suppose to make people use their imaginations.
Reading isn’t always about teasing out the next piece of imagery; it’s about enjoying yourself too. If you reviewed the books with the intention of it being a piece literature then of course it fell short of your expectations.
I read the first book and that was enough for me. It’s like any other trashy romance novel – except not as trashy and not as fun.
For me, the most disturbing part of the books (besides what you’ve already mentioned), is the return to an old world belief in the oversexed female body and the need – nay, REQUIREMENT – for a steadfast man to control her base urges. Bella throws herself at Edward constantly. That’s not a joint agreement not to have sex before marriage, that’s a girl saying “omfg please please I need you inside me now now now now” and her knight in shining armor doing what’s best for her by resisting. Because, naturally, she doesn’t think rationally (she’s a girl, y’know) and can’t make good decisions for herself.
I had thought we got away from the myth of the out of control female body. As a healthy woman with a healthy sex life, the return to it disturbs and frightens me. These books are often held up as examples of good messages for young women but if I had daughters there’s no way I’d want that kind of garbage to be pumped into them.
I don’t understand how someone can bash someone else’s opinion’s so much. This is ridiculous.
I don’t care how many of you are sitting there saying that it’s stupid or it’s bad editing. I like the book so you can all shove it for all I care. I think that this blog seems like a cry for attention. I can’t stand it when all people have to do is put down the thoughts of others. There are probably many of books that you like that many think are stupid and do you see them posting horrible things about how stupid they are and how dumb the people who read them must be, I don’t think so.
I’m sorry but I think it is ridiculous that this would even need to be something to complain about. Even if I didn’t like the book I still would never have that many bad things to say about it. Personally I think people should be concentrated on their own lives and not the lives of others. If you dislike something so much than why would you spend so much time talking about it. People are entitled to their own opinions which means those who don’t like it are too but I guess what I am trying to ask is why spend time on talking about it if you hate it so much?
I also agree with sammy25 they are supposed to be fun and they were created to be read by teenagers. I don’t know many teenagers who read extremly insightful and literature articles of work. They are kids let people have fun
WHAT!!
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!!
YOUR SAYING THAT THE WHOLE TWILIGHT SERIES IS LIKE CRAP!!
ARE YOU SAYING LIKE THE BEST BOOK EVER IS SHIT?
WELL ITS NOT YOU HIPERCITE
AUGH…….
I’m a young adult librarian. I read teen books more than I read classic literature, despite having a master’s in English. I’m willing to accept less than stellar writing quality, and I get wrapped up in silly plot lines involving boys and gossip and lip gloss. I read a ton of Meg Cabot and Rachel Cohn, and I love it. But I hated Twilight.
Just because something is written for a teen audience doesn’t mean it has to be terribly written. No, you can’t expect Proust when you open a book that inevitably ends with the Prom, but you should expect a qaulity of writing higher than Meyers’s. The fact that she basically half-assed her way through most of the description, and didn’t bother giving Bella anything so cumbersome as a personality angers me. Writing for a teen audience doesn’t mean quality should suffer.
And I fully agree that Edward is an abusive, creepy sort of boyfriend. I’m all for romanticizing vampires (I was a die-hard Buffy fan back in the day) but there’s a difference between a romanaticized version of a vampire boyfriend and Edward. He crosses the line.
Also, did anyone else find the baseball thing in the first book completely contrived? You’re an all powerful vampire and the sport you decide to play is baseball?
Kate-you missed the point. The point is, you read it, regardless of whether you liked it or not.
And like many of your readers suggest, Twilight is a fantasy-it is completely unrealistic which is why girls like it. Girls get sucked (pardon the pun) into Edward’s persona because he is the ultimate hero-a man that loves a woman so much he is willing to refuse his own desires in order to fulfill hers-hello?-where is your x chromosome?
Twilight has never promised to be anything other than Meyer told us it would be-a story based on one woman’s dream-which is exactly what it has become. I applaud Meyer and her willingness to write something for HERSELF even though literary snobs continue to stick their noses where it doesn’t belong-in literature for the masses. Why be jealous? Honestly, let her have her 15 minutes.
Comparing to many other stories written for teens, Twilight doesn’t even come close to good. Characters are too general, plots are too ambiguous to rouse any excitement. And wait, another story about vampires – a particular race of creatures that many fantasy authors like to write but at the same time, fail miserably. But of course, I shouldn’t judge this book’s literary values because it’s for teens and for sheer moments of fun. But at the same time, I believe it’s necessary to let the teens read intelligently written stories rather than stories like Twilight. Many literature (I exclude Twilight, obviously) are fun and easy to read if the readers don’t want to “read between the lines”. There really is no reason to read Twilight other than the excuse “I like vampires so I will read this” and then be completely disappointed.
Liked this more when it was called Buffy The Vampire Slayer and had Joss Whedon punching it out.
To clarify for those reading and accusing me of being a literary snob, I do actually enjoy some forms of “chicklit” from Bridget Jones’s Diary to Anne of Green Gables and also fantasy lit like The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings and even *gasp* Harry Potter. Books written for teenage girls do not automatically have to be pushed into a “girl porn” category. This series of books were not just awful for literature in general, but awful across the subcategories of fantasy lit and “chick lit.” Yes, I read them out of pure curiosity for a rising trend, the same reason I read Harry Potter. The difference is that Harry Potter was actually interesting.
To the girl writing in all caps – no one will take you seriously until you can formulate a decent sentence. You are exactly the kind of girl whose brain has rotted as evident by your sentence structure.
Samantha – I not only found the baseball scene contrived but the most of the story line and mythology was as well. In the first book, Meyer didn’t even introduce the primary antagonist, James, until the final quarter when she all of a sudden needed a reason to shake things up (the movie, thank the screenwriter, corrected this). Much of the construction of the fantasy world was contrived and there were convenient add-ins whenever the story seemed to deviate from the author’s intent.
Let’s cut to the chase.
These books, and the movie, are evil.
Evil sells.
All this talk about “Well at least kids are reading!” is such nonsense. It’s like saying about Satanists, “Well at least they’re praying.”
For facile critics of critics: No, they’re not evil because they’re about vampires. And they’re not good books because there’s no sex. Better a thousand morally serious, obscenity-riddled and sex-filled books about evil, than one lousy sexless Satanic book that presents evil as normal, reasonable or understandable.
I love it when the bible bashing brigade come out.
In one single swipe they accuse kids as being philistines but ignore the fact there reading and help drive up book readership.
Perhaps the earth is flat too.
I too spent my Thanksgiving weekend reading the series and while Meyer doesn’t hold a candle to some other contemporary authors, the books do have their place. They are quick, fun and have a happy ending. Twilight isn’t supposed to be a literary masterpiece and if you read it with expectations of such of course it’s going fall short. For me, the main point is at least teenagers are reading something. Looking at the youth today I see video games, bad TV shows and even worse movies. Is Edward any worse than the “heroes” and heartthrobs portrayed on Gossip Girl or the OC? Is it worse than silly shows like America’s Next Top Model or Paris Hilton’s New Best Friend? Perhaps after finishing the novels young girls might step back into the book store and pick up something “more worthwhile” by your standards, but at least they’re reading!
I found the movie highly entertaining – like really bad junk food that you just love even though you know wasteful those calories are! And there’s nothing wrong with a little junk food once in a while.
ONCE in a while.
But if this is the standard for good, American literature and clever American romance movies… wow….now that is a little embarrassing!
You brought up a lot of good points though – I especially like the reference to the Lifetime Movies! That was funny!
Bananasfk–don’t base all Christians off of one
I’m a Christian and I read the books. I’m not one to be thinking that this is “satanic” and all of that. I honestly don’t see anything that points to Satan in the series. But perhaps I’m what some Christians would call blind…
Anyway, try to remember that many Christians are not that judgmental.
Kate
Thank you for introducing such a fascinating conversation. It seems your continued input has kept the tone from plunging into a mess. Our culture really is addicted to mediocrity and this has been a stimulating challenge to the usual simplistic rationale offered to allow us to accept something less than better.
The preview for the movie was enough to make me want to run. And your warning to teenage girls is spot on. How many young women will end up beaten or even killed by their partner because they think this kind of behavior is normal?
Your description of books I would never even bother picking up reminds me of my review of the Clan of the Cave Bear books. I’ll admit I enjoyed the first one the first time, but the rest are god awful rambling monstrosities. Pages and pages and pages describing plant life. Obnoxious, over the top sex scenes, and no real conflict whatsoever for the main characters. I am not waiting with bated breath for the last one to come out fourteen years from now (I think her editor can only stand to read a page a week and that is why she takes so long between books).
Re: “Is Edward any worse than the “heroes” and heartthrobs portrayed on Gossip Girl or the OC?”
Edward is less evil than Bella is. He was forced to become a vampire by his doctor [his "father" in the movie -- who is presented as a hero]. Eddie tells Bell that he’s killed people and eaten them, and she says, “I don’t care about that,” and then begs him to make her the same.
Re: “I love it when the bible [sic] bashing [sic] brigade come out. In one single swipe they accuse kids as being philistines [sic] but ignore the fact there [sic] reading and help drive up book readership. Perhaps the earth [sic] is flat too.”
The only mention here of the Bible is by you.
And try learning how to write. I bet your computer even has spell-check.
I haven’t read the books, but I have a friend that loves them. We’re both adults, too. I’ll have to ask her what she really likes about it, because we usually have similar interests.
I’ve also been told by someone who works at a library, that these books, and most other young adult books nowadays, are shallow and dumbed down. You do have to take into account that it was written for young teens. However, most of the books I read at that age had much more depth. Kids are smarter than we give them credit for. They need to be stretched a bit out of their comfort zone. Writing books that don’t challenge them may be profitable, but it will only promote intellectual laziness.
If the book is promoting unhealthy, shallow relationships, then that’s another strike against it. I’ve never been into vampire stories, but I think it’s better left in the horror genre.
Being an aspiring writer of young adult fantasy myself, though, I may read it and other popular books just to learn what not to do.
Take into consideration that she told these as bedtimes stories to her little children, of course they have simple dialog and are juvenile, the demographic she was aiming for is probably between the ages of 8 and 20 which is where they’re thriving. The books are a form of entertainment for the younger masses. I agree that it’s fantastic that kids are reading and even if it’s this I’m fine with it. I by no means think this is an amazing series as I hated the anti-climactic ending and think Meyer’s needs a better editor and better writing. However they are quick and fun, also the whole banning them from high schools because they talk about sex is ridiculous, mainly because Edward is the one saying “No we’re not having sex until we’re married.” If anything they should be allowed for that reason alone, it’s standing up for abstinence until marriage. Hopefully kids will move from this to Harry Potter and then on to even better books with more substance. I read the books because everyone was talking about them and I’m glad I did, I’ll read anything, but then again I know the difference between a classic like “The Picture of Dorian Grey” and this hastily thrown together story. As long as these are used as a stepping stone and the kids know it’s not a literary classic and don’t treat it as such I’m fine with them.
To all those saying “at least the kids are reading” – There are many other books in young adult fiction that are easy to read and romantic, yet do not encourage abusive relationships or are so sloppily written. If a gaggle of teenage girls had not told me ‘but Edward is so romantic,’ I would not care.
Re: Dara: “try to remember that many Christians are not that judgmental”
I wonder, is the following “judgmental”?
“Whoever is not with me is against me! Whoever does not gather with me scatters! Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, neither in this age, nor in the one which is to come.
“Make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by its fruit. You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? Indeed, words flow out of what fills the heart. The good man brings out good things out of his good treasure, and the evil man brings out evil things out of his evil treasure. I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Too judgmental for a Christian?
The way I see it Twilight to teens is what Harlequin romance novels are to an older female audience.
Twilight and the other books in the series are not the best written books out there but they are no worse than all the other romance novels that exist, and it’s just about as realistic as some of those steamy Harlequin novels.
You don’t always have to read heavy in depth literature; sometimes it’s nice to have something light to read to pass the time instead of sitting in front of the TV like a zombie. At least if you are a reading a book you are putting your imagination to good use as you create the characters in your mind when you are introduced to them, I still find that more beneficial than mindlessly staring at the television.
So if you do decide to read Twilight or any of the other books in the series read it for what it is a teen romance novel that’s doing a pretty good job at serving its purpose.
Damn, I read this post yesterday, and I come back to comment and there 105 freaking other comments. Apparently you have struck a nerve amongst people who seek to read more thoughtful and substantive books rather then this piece of garbage.
“At least the kids are reading” Hahaha… If this is the standard we set for kids, then America deserves to be behind other countries in education. I for one think porn has some intrinsic value, but this is crap just ridiculous. Even though Im a girl, I never understood this ridiculous girl-porn thing, maybe Im just not a romantic but this book is ridiculous. What ever happened to more thoughtful readings. When I was little, I used to be fixated on the Clue Jr. books, I even considered being a detective after that and then I wanted to work for the CIA, but now I just want to be a scientist. Now I just have a love of biology textbooks.
Anyways, we need more intriguing books that exciting our curiosity and imagination. With the way society is today, we don’t need to be exciting little girls with faux-porn.
To all those who’re sayng there’s no decent yank literature about – Custador was one I noticed particularly – you’re damn wrong. I’m a Brit who loves Paul Auster’s work, can’t wait for the next Bret Easton Ellis and spent my teens reading Fante, Bukowski and Robert Swindells.
The American literary scene, in this English graduate’s opinion, is far ahead of the British where celebrity autobiographies by 27 year old footballers (I kid you not) are constant bestsellers.
Vampires sell to teen audiences. So do flawed, everyteen central characters and romance. Embellish it with a Christian message and, in America, you have a hit with those who aren’t mature enough in a literary sense to sniff ropey prose.
Lost Boys was fine as it was. Couldn’t Meyer have come up with a nightmare of her own to twist into a Christian shape?
Finally (and sorry for ranting), this sentence:
Better a thousand morally serious, obscenity-riddled and sex-filled books about evil, than one lousy sexless Satanic book that presents evil as normal, reasonable or understandable.
…takes first prize for deluded, unstable thinking. You’re a shining example to the Christian right, you bloody fool.
So “Better a book about evil than an evil book” is deluded, unstable, and foolish?
How so?
Akira, I have to ask first if you’ve read the books and second why you think books talking about vampires are “evil.” I’ve been quite clear about my position about the books but I’m having a difficult time discerning your point of view. I fail to see how the book is Satanic in the way that it promotes Satanism. Is it because it is about vampires? Are you saying that it is ok to have books that promote immorality in that they include/condone premarital sex but once the book crosses into the realm of fantasy, it is evil?
I never said that “books talking about vampires are “evil.””
In fact, I was quite specific about seeing moral worth in works full of all sorts of immoral subject matter.
There are many reasons why this story is evil. The one I gave above is that the heroine is evil: Edward tells her that he’s killed people and eaten them, and she says she doesn’t care. Since he was following his instincts, that were foisetd on him by his “father”, that makes her worse than him.
She compounds her error by begging him to make her the same as him.
An example of a great moral tale full of immorality [swearing, pornography, etc] would be The Shield, especially when you consider the fate of the main characters. (I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen the final episode yet).
As for having premarital sexual content, that’s neither here nor there. Condoning it would be another matter (and a sign of bad writing — does Flaubert “condone” adultery?), but not anywhere near half as immoral as justifying Bella’s attitudes or whitewashing what it is that she wants to become.
Re: “I fail to see how the book is Satanic in the way that it promotes Satanism.”
Surely if something promotes or justifies evil, then it is by definition Satanic, unless, of course, one doesn’t believe in Satan or accept the notion of evil.
As for celebrating a book because “at least it gets kids reading” — the same could be said for “Letters to Penthouse”
While I agree with you on the “letters to Penthouse” point, I also think that your analysis assumes vampirism is evil itself. Meyer actually goes through painstaking steps to show that being a vampire itself is not evil and vampires, like humans, have a choice of being good or bad. Bella does not want to kill anyone, she wants to be immortal with Edward. What she is saying when she says she doesn’t care is that she believes that is the past and she loves him unconditionally. My problem with their relationship is not the fact by not caring of his past sins, she then becomes complicit in his evil acts. When she is turned into a vampire, she takes great strides to prevent the slaying of humans. Meyer provides her vampires with the choice between being good and evil and then portrays the heroes as those who defend humans from the slaughter of other vampires. That is why I’m having a hard time accepting your analysis that the book promotes evil as you define it.
Re: “she loves him unconditionally”
Isn’t that a definition of evil?
Kate,
I see you’ve been sucked into the Twilight worldview. Ha ha. You start out pointing out what rubbish this story is, and end up coming to Meyer’s defense. It’s insidious, no?
Re: “What she is saying when she says she doesn’t care is that she believes that is the past and she loves him unconditionally.”
You mean you believe that’s what she believes.
And wouldn’t a moral person, when informed by someone: “I’ve killed people”, want to know some details before deciding whether it was murder, self-defence etc. Bella’s reaction is basically, “What~Ever!”
I have certainly not been sucked into any “Twilight” worldview; I just want accurate criticisms and I try not to be blinded by my hatred of something, even something as insidious as these books. It’s more a testament to how I think there are more legitimate criticisms other than the fact that these represent Satanism. Satanism or “evil” is not what I see represented the more I think about the stories. I do see a very outdated representation of gender stereotypes and a dangerous idealization of a potentially abusive relationship.
I actually see the interaction in the scene you are speaking of as forgiveness and unconditional love, something that Christianity encourages. I’ve never once heard unconditional love described as evil, however I would describe Bella’s feeling toward Edward as more of an obsession rather than love.
Where, and in what way does Christ teach unconditional love, or forgiveness without confession and repentance?
To be clear on definitions, this:
http://brianakira.wordpress.com/2008/10/22/this-is-why-barack-obama-is-a-satanic-bastard/
is more evil [or ""evil"" as you put it] than this:
http://brianakira.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/pre-teen-killer-nevada-tan-released/
Matthew Carlin=douchebag,
this is the most fantastic review I’ve ever read.
Too funny. Though I have to admit, all of you that hate on it are better than me. I find it nice to read something that is so utterly stupid and mindless. Although it is very poor writing, even worse editing and a lame plot, at least it shows there is hope for all of us to make millions. Plus, Meyers was definitely targeting a young, naive, boy befuddled mind…and it worked! I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have to worry about keeping her job in these economic times.
Akira, the last thing I want to do is get into a discussion of theology with you because I’m sure we will not agree. I understand your point about Edward being much less evil than Bella and you are not the first person I’ve heard make that comment. I’m just always hesitant to label something as “evil” as it can result in censorship or bookbanning. I’m for freedom of speech; this series just demonstrated a ridiculous facet of our culture also occupied by The Hills, etc.
In this day and age, something labeled a “very outdated representation of gender stereotypes and a dangerous idealization of a potentially abusive relationship” is more likely to be censored than something labeled “evil” would be.
In fact a “GUARANTEED EVIL” sticker would surely boost sales.
Very interesting article. And interesting comments on it.
Twilight has always been tough for me, not merely because I’m a guy holding on to the last shreds of his masculinity, but also because I am an English major who should, supposedly, know better. I can certainly recognize, intellectually, that it is bad literature. I believe when I first read the meadow scene about midway through the first book, I thought to myself, “This is getting out of hand, what the hell am I reading?” And, of course, the problems continued (increased?) and there were several “jump the shark” moments over the course of the other books. It is fine for a work to echo other works, but Twilight often pointed directly to its predecessors (Wuthering Heights, Romeo and Juliet, even Merchant of Venice) and used better literature to justify its own shortcomings. Unfortunately for Twilight, the texts it attempts to draw strength and inspiration from only offer a sharp contrast and Twilight is found to be severely lacking.
At the risk of being torn apart, may I suggest Edward as a Byronic hero? The protagonist with a big ol’ chip on his shoulder, skulking about, brooding. It fits. Except his heroine lacks the strength to keep up with him. What would Jane Eyre or Catherine Linton say about Bella?
Not nice things, I’d imagine. I hate to blame Bella’s character for the romance’s problems. But there it is.
And, yes, there is something concerning about their romance and has been since the second book. Bella is clingy and, apparently, can’t function properly without a man to protect her. She is married right out of college and has an unexpected pregnancy soon after. I know that the character deals with some of these issues, but I’m not quite sure what message is being sent here.
So, what’s the draw?
I read once that horror movies have a decidedly male following, except for vampires, where the audience is a mix. (Let’s face it. Vampires are really the ultimate male fantasy. Speed, strength, seduction, sex, violence.) Is it the vampires that hypnotize the audience and keep them coming for more? As literary (and cinema) villains and anti-heroes, they’ve certainly endured and with good reason.
Is it the romance, despite the problems that taint it, despite its execution? This is probably closer to the mark. Where the writing fails, the imagination succeeds and perhaps that is enough to ensure its popularity.
As I said, I can understand its flaws intellectually. It’s a summer read, something that doesn’t require much thought (indeed, it has little thought in it). It’s the action flick of the literary world and works well enough as such.
A book cannot be evil. It’s an inanimate object.
The Bible’s only evil when the nonsense within is used to prevent African’s using condoms, for example.
A book cannot be evil. It’s an inanimate object.
The Bible’s only evil when the nonsense within is used to prevent Africans using condoms, for example.
“I read once that horror movies have a decidedly male following, except for vampires, where the audience is a mix. (Let’s face it. Vampires are really the ultimate male fantasy. Speed, strength, seduction, sex, violence.) Is it the vampires that hypnotize the audience and keep them coming for more? As literary (and cinema) villains and anti-heroes, they’ve certainly endured and with good reason.
Is it the romance, despite the problems that taint it, despite its execution? This is probably closer to the mark. Where the writing fails, the imagination succeeds and perhaps that is enough to ensure its popularity.”-JEB
I agree.
To me,Twilight makes fantasies comes to life.A handsome vampire falling in love with a a human girl who never fits in the society.It makes sense to those who believe,and fantasizes it.I think that’s why a book like this sells.And certainly,right now the movie market is more to anti-heroes because it makes an unlikely person to be the savior of the day.Perhaps it’s everyone’s hidden dreams.Meyer just lucky to be the one who cater to it.
:O OMG THE COMMENTS!
I wish my blog was THIS active ROFL
@topic: i was ALMOST interested to read the first book before…I lost that when a bunch of my classmates went ahead and spoiled everything rofl. It was soooooo girly for me hahaha!
I think you people have way to much time on your hands. That English Grammar NAzi who picked apart your article – mathew carlin. Pick this statement apart dweeb. Clearly, you have the time. Oh wait. should i have used a semi-colon there? Oh dear, I forgot to capitalize my i. Oh no, now someone may not understand exactly what i meant…
Go read a book you cant understand and then spend hours driveling over how awesome it was written. I myself, will enjoy a good vamp movie.. LIKE THIS ONE
Re: “A book cannot be evil. It’s an inanimate object.”
Obviously to say a book is evil, is shorthand for saying that the ideas expressed, and the author, and the publishing phenomenon, and the effects of the book are evil.
If books can’t be evil, then a lot of people have gotten worked up about Mein Kampf for no good reason.
Obviously the Koran is another great example.
BTW, it’s interesting how abortions, disease and unwed pregnancies have all risen dramatically as condom use has increased.
“Characters are too general, plots are too ambiguous to rouse any excitement.”
Yes, yes, too ambiguous to rouse any excitement, that’s why the 1st movie alone sold $78 million at the box office in the US alone…nope, no excitement there.
All this talk of teens going out and getting beat up by their boyfriends, my goodness…it’s a book people. We need to be able to separate ourselves from the fantasy to the reality right?
I think the comparison to Danielle Steele and Harliquen ( I spelled that wrong my apologizes) was SPOT on. I don’t believe that this book or the fascination around it is harmful at all. It’s like saying that Harry Potter would promote people to practice witchcraft.
Crazy talk if you ask me.
Re: “A book cannot be evil. It’s an inanimate object.”
Obviously to say a book is evil, is shorthand for saying that the ideas expressed, and the author, and the publishing phenomenon, and the effects of the book are evil.
If books can’t be evil, then a lot of people have gotten worked up about Mein Kampf for no good reason.
Obviously the Koran is another great example.
BTW, it’s interesting how abortions, disease and unwed pregnancies have all risen dramatically as condom use has increased.
Mein Kampf is still available at all good book shops. Books are harmless, as are the ideas within. It’s the moment when a group of people use those ideas for ill that it all goes wrong. The book, and even the order of the words within is blameless.
Would you like to see Twilight banned? Despite the fact it’s just a rubbish tome that makes teenage girls happy?
No work of fiction should be banned.
As for your ridiculous comment about condom use – go away and read about AIDS in Africa. Your argument is not only redundant, it’s also pathetic.
My family is an intense reading group. I grew up with Tolkien, to the point that my brother and I both received copies The Hobbit on our 11th birthdays.
At the same time, I am an obsessive Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan and just want to say I can’t believe that no one, yet, has acknowledged how much of Buffy, at least in terms of Bella and Edward’s relationship dynamic, was stolen from Joss Whedon’s more intelligent interpretation. The difference being, of course, that 1. Whedon can actually write, direct, and more, and 2. that Whedon doesn’t pretend that brooding vampires are great literature. If you want good forbidden vampire love, go rent the dvds.
I’m not sure it’s fair to say that Twilight stole from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as Buffy owes much to Anne Rice and Anne Rice owes much to her own influences (possibly Dark Shadows). Vampire romance isn’t terribly new.
Don’t get me wrong. Love Buffy. I’m just saying there’s long history here and Buffy is but a link in the chain.
cripkitty-
All this talk of teens going out and getting beat up by their boyfriends, my goodness…it’s a book people. We need to be able to separate ourselves from the fantasy to the reality right?
I think the comparison to Danielle Steele and Harliquen ( I spelled that wrong my apologizes) was SPOT on. I don’t believe that this book or the fascination around it is harmful at all. It’s like saying that Harry Potter would promote people to practice witchcraft.
There is a big difference between Harry Potter “promoting witchcraft” and Twilight promoting abusive relationships. The likelihood of teenagers seriously thinking they will be able to turn a rat into a wine glass is slim to none whereas teenage girls are actually saying “Edward is romantic, I want a guy just like him.” They aren’t saying they want to be vampires and run really fast and have superstrength. They are saying they want someone who listens to their private conversations, follows them around without their knowledge, takes the battery out of their car, etc. The excuse is that this behavior is ok because he loves them that much. That is the same excuse used by abusive boyfriends to justify their actions: “If I didn’t love you so much, it wouldn’t matter. Why do you make me love you so much? Baby, it’s because I love you.”
Your analogy to Harry Potter promoting witchcraft misses the point that abusive relationships are real and dangerous whereas the kind of witchcraft depicted in the Potter books does not exist in the real world. You fail.
The aptly named Swineshead,
That’s funny — I don’t recall suggesting anything should be banned….
And, so this is “redundant” [do you possess a dictionary?] and “pathetic”?:
“BTW, it’s interesting how abortions, disease and unwed pregnancies have all risen dramatically as condom use has increased.”
Is it not statistically accurate?
I agree with Jeb’s suggestion as to Edward C. being a Byronic hero, although I think he is more likely the anti-hero from Victorian gothic novels–which were thought to be “trashy” in their time and now some of them are considered classics. Trouble is, Jeb, some of these folks don’t know what we mean by Byronic or anti-hero and they think that “gothic” or “goth” means wearing black pants with too many zippers. Twilight is a classic/romantic goth novel in the Victorian gothic sense. Maybe it’s not stellar writing (I teach writing and caught the mistakes that her editor missed) but that’s besides the point. The publisher could always come out with another edition with those errors corrected.
As to the comments about abusive boyfriends and relationships being real, and the witchcraft in Harry Potter not being real, sure. Those women (and men) who have been through abusive relationships can tell you that an escape into a sci-fi fantasy novel like Twilight is not at all a traumatic re-cap of the things they suffered in their real lives. There’s a lot of poetry in the push-pull relationship between Edward and Bella, and though it missed the boat with some readers, it sailed onto pretty horizons for me. Maybe this comes down to those who can relate to that high school experience, and those who can’t. My h.s. boyfriend wasn’t abusive but very much like Edward. And Edward isn’t creepy. The word you’re looking for is ‘intense.’ If you’re a light-hearted person, or fey, ‘intense’ might come across as creepy. I think he’s a Scorpio. They are emotional vamps.
fenfatale: “There’s a lot of poetry in the push-pull relationship between Edward and Bella, and though it missed the boat with some readers, it sailed onto pretty horizons for me.”
Agreed. Me too. I’ve been through an abusive relationship and that didn’t resonate in Edward to me in the slightest. Thank you for saying what I couldn’t frame in my own words.
@ matthewcarlin– this isn’t a grammar blog, wow you have such precise use of the english language, want a cookie?
@Twilight- I am a 25 year old female currently on the third twilight book, only because now that i have begun the series i feel i must finish it….and YES i agree with every word you wrote! Cheese-fest doesn’t begin to describe these books. Bella is beginning to annoy the shit out of me and Edward’s dark mysterious persona is starting to do the same…
If I learned anything from this series it is that we ALL have the ability to write a best-selling novel!
i think edward and bella should dat in real life !!
i read all four in one weekend as well. i think the reason they are so popular is that people are addicted to the potential for a good story. Using their imagination to fill in the blanks. I absolutely hated the main character, bella, and edward didn’t make maters much better. There were only two redeeming characters Jacob and Alice. Although in the end i was disappointed by Jacob as well.
Oh man! I totally just posted a blog about this, ( http://recapitulationnation.blogspot.com/2008/12/bookodds-andends.html ) but I’ve had the Breaking Dawn argument verbally with so many people that I slacked on posting content. A lot of the points you bring up are also my issues with it.
I agree with Jessica, I think people latch onto the potential for a good story, but Meyer consistently fails to deliver. She avoids resolving conflicts and tries to “shock” the reader with “twists,” failing to realize that by doing so she is doing a disservice to her own characters. The central conflict that drives the series is whether or not Bella will decide to sacrifice her humanity for “true love.” Meyer seems to have forgotten the idea that made her story compelling, and shifts the conflict to the Volturi by having the decision made for Bella halfway through the book. It’s incredibly frustrating and a major copout.
Breaking Dawn reads like a fanfiction. It’s an exercise in wish fulfillment. “Alice ex machina” made me giggle, because there is no real conflict resolution.
As a fan of the Harry Potter series and appreciator of YA, I kinda want to vomit when I hear them compared.
cripkitty – I am a scorpio and now you are assuming that all abusive relationships are the same. It may not have been the same as yours, but Edward was certainly manipulative and controlling and being fawned over. It was enough to make me gag.
Erin – I agree with you, Bella has no personality.
Wow…this is fascinating. I am a little surprised that this has struck such a note with so many on this blog. The only real issue I have with the series is that it’s being given to such young readers. It is inappropriate, in my opinion, to put it in the hands of ‘young’ children (ages 14 and under). Not just for the poor writing…ha, but for the sexual tension present throughout the series. This might be a little off topic but I have seen so many instances of a mother gushing over reading Twilight with her 11 year old daughter. I’ve got nothing against Mother/daughter bonding, but this seems cringe worthy to me and a poor vehicle to bond. Anyway, thanks for the insightful critique. I enjoyed the books enough for the mindless read…but can appreciate your take on them as well.
Hmm… That explains a whole lot.
so yeah….i don’t intend on reading these books ever. i picked one up, read the summary on the back, laughed and walked away. what a joke. i saw that there were vampires in it and something resembling a love story and already felt like a tween picking my braces. i’ll admit that the author knows how to sell her book, but what i’m afraid of is the girls who consciously or sub-consciously, use this book, and the characters in it, as an example of actual healthy relationships. c’mon, vampires are supposed to be the total opposite of how they are portrayed in these books.
also i’m a christian and don’t some much see these books as evil, though they do focus on darkness being good, but just an outright misrepresentation of how relationships should be. ugh…..crappy books.
bump this teen drama.
-Link
i first want to sayyy Bravooo!!!! i read this book becuase my cousin said it was soo much better than harry potter and soo far i have not found a better fiction write soo far. ( a statement that doesnt need an opinion.) the first book was slowwwwwwwwwwwwww i was like ok…its alrite i read the secound it was a little better. But you are so right the literature is beyond slow, it could use more figurative language, and some parts i wouldve just taken out completely. The way they made bella was awful and not a good role model at all! i am not saying we need mother theresa. Bella is obsessed with edward and constantly needs him or she freaks out. She is willing to give up her life for a guy, she doesnt go to college insteads wakes up in the middle of night crying becuase she wants sex? than get pregnant to a guy who is dead? but yet has sperm that is alive……..okk….the last book i couldnt even finish it. The relationship she has with Jacob is gross, and stupied she is sooooo in love with edward yet makes out with jacob and holds hands with him, and does everything she can to talk to him. A girl like that in the real world is called NEEDY, PATHTIC, , NOT DEPENDENT WHAT SO EVER. She act like every growing teenager, hello we are suppose to be looking up to role models. Anyways i Hate the books. Movie was lame and not what i excepected. SHE WILL NEVER BE AS GOOD AS J.K Rowling
As someone whose read all 4 books and recently seen the movie i agree they are lame and i can’t believe so many girls my age fall in love with Edwards character calling themselves ‘twighlighters’ & Mrs Cullen
I think he’s too perfect No guy could ever be that great and love a girl (at least not love every twighlighter )
In the books (well the first) Bella made more sense in the movie she seemed depressed and should have been more in love with Edward. Instead its as though the audience is in love with him (except me and the rest of the girls who just like buffy and action)
Kate-you seem to be saying girls fall for Edwards ’stalker’ qualities “someone who listens to their private conversations, follows them around without their knowledge, takes the battery out of their car, etc’
This is not true (i hope!) i’m guesing they fall for his velvet voice, golden eyes, stength, beauty and charm
as described by Meye in the worlds longest published (and popular) fantasy about the perfect man.
The stalker qualities are just needed to hold the plot together to pursue this fantasy. They also add a bit of John Dean bad boy image this is exaggerated a bit cause he’s a vampire. His overprotective manner also needs action to back it up otherwise Edward would come across as (even more) whiny and not macho enough.
I also agree with Jessica about Alice and Jacob
Jacob is a believable male character and Alice seems nicer than Bella
Edward and Bella have…….potential?
maybe?
I feel sick to my stomach everytime I think of the popularity and praise these books have. They’re NOT literature. They’re poorly written cliches. For the past several years my friends have been pressuring me into reading them, but I’ve always told them I’m too busy reading something else of greater value, such as East of Eden, Catch 22, or Les Miserables (my favorite books). I finally gave in and attempted to brave the books. I was unsuccessful. I couldn’t bring myself to read more than half of Twilight, and for good reason. I felt my brain rotting. This 16 year old’s mind isn’t going to be herded anytime soon, thank you very much.
Many you have opinions on what is good writing and what is not. Good for you, write an international best seller. Be judgmental and condescending don’t let your teenagers read them in fact sit them in front of the t.v and watch their brains turn to mush.
Shouldn’t you be glad that your children are reading. Don’t bag on an author who has managed to con teenagers all over the world into reading 4 (rather large) books.
Its like being healthy and complaining about an obesity epidemic. But forbidding your children from social sports teams because they aren’t at a competitive level.
If her writing wasn’t easy to understand and full of romantic simple cliches they’d put it on the bookshelf next to the classics you are so fond of. You can’t just jump into great literature.
Excuse my writing I’m not an academic just a teenager glad to see my mates reading for once.
ps. Beauty and the beast is a Disney movie that most of you have probably seen growing up or shown to your kids. You think twilight is encouraging abusive relationships re-watch that
Belle ironically enough is kidnaped, abused, terrified by the beast and in the end forgives him because he didn’t know better. And because her love would change him, as long as she loved him enough.
Right.
I TOTALY DISAGREE
Im an teenage girl and I know why I and all my friends LOVE the books.
Edward and Bella share a love that could never be. They flipped the common sense of the world and made could never possible.
Edward is the perfect guy.
He’s sweet, smart, and truly loves Bella
You may say that the perfect guy shouldn’t want to kill you but thats just part of his nature .
( being a vampire and all…) The fact that he didn’t kill her and tries 100% not to every time he is near her makes the story even more romantic.
Bella is the Damsel in Distress
She is an ordinary girl that dousn’t stand out and she finds the love of her life ( or longer…)
She like the rest of us ( not super model pretty, or really good at sports, singing, ect…..)
Her character makes us feel like someday we will meet our soul mate – the perfect one for us.(aww…) So the fact that it has action, romance , jealousy,closure,comedy and sooo much more is just some of the facts why Twilight is hypnotizing teens and even moms.
I have read all four books and love them. I
like them so much I can read the fourth in two days. ( I know scary)
Megan
The fact that you can read the fourth one in two day is not a testament to your reading ability or your love for the books. It is in fact indicative of how disgustingly bad the writing is in those books.
You may say that the perfect guy shouldn’t want to kill you but thats just part of his nature
It was also part of Jeffrey Dahmer’s nature to kill women. He was also suave and charming.
Also, do you really want to be a damsel in distress who can’t take care of herself?
akakaikiore-
Your analogy to the obesity epidemic is creative, yet falls short for reasons already discussed in the 150 other posts and which I will not reiterate.
Regarding Beauty and the Beast, Belle didn’t fall for the Beast until after he showed compassion. She was not kidnapped; she voluntarily took her father’s place as the Beast’s prisoner. In fact, she was disgusted with him for 75% of the movie and didn’t like him until he showed his sensitive side, rescued her from the wolves, gave her the library, and let her go rescue her father. She also continuously worked to save not only herself, but her father and the Beast. She was considered odd in her community because she was an intellectual and refused the domineering male character, Gaston, who wanted her to be a baby factory. Bella in Twilight, on the other hand, would have been a perfect match for Gaston as all she wants is a chauvinistic husband who doesn’t care about her intellectual pursuits. You fail at that analogy.
Megan and Kate,
though there have been more comments on this post than on any other post in the history of this here blog, and I am the main author, I have refused, up until now, to comment; mostly because the commentary here has been rather undeserving of commentary.
But you’ve hit upon a key problem within modern American literacy. The average Americans vocabulary has shrunk by a quarter in just a half century. Part of that is just a reduced reading rate generally, but another part is that we have a tendency to regard any old reading as a healthy, stimulative activity. Books like Twilight may be good because they show people that reading can be fun, but because of the completely unchallenging nature of the vocabulary, the reader really hasn’t learned anything.
Since I moved to the Deep South I’ve made some earnest efforts to read Faulkner (Absalom, Absalom! and As I Lay Dieing). Anyone who has ever read Faulkner will tell you he’s not easy to read, but he captures the culture of the Deep South really better than any other writer. So I struggle forward through his often unneccesarily complex commentary, vocabulary and in-depth descriptions because those complexities comprise the complexities of where I currently live.
Arguable, both Twilight the book and Faulkner are in some way stimulative, but so is both porn and documentaries. To compare the quality of the content is ludicrous.
Marc, that has been the point of this whole thread and my post considering I said “most people have no idea what composes good literature.”
I have read many classics ( wuthering heights, Pride and Prejudes, Midnight Summers Dream)
and though twilight will not ever be rated with any of them, Twilight provides you with a more present day story of romance and adventure that is much more easy to understand. Mabey if twilight was written back with shakespear and Jane Austen it would probally be valued just as much as Pride and Prejudes. AND if people were not made into beleiving good literature has to come from the 1800!
Ha, Megan, I think arguing that a story about vampires is “present day” is a little ridiculous. Vampire mythology is centuries old, the first true classic, Bram’s Stokers Dracula is more than a century old and the fact that there are no real, walking vampires today makes the “present day” argument a little silly doesn’t it?
It’s fantasy, it can be easily modified for any time period. Good literature is literature that reflects broad themes. Dracula reflects on absurdism and deism. Frankenstein reflection on the sublime and the soul.
Twilight reflects on…well an action packed adventure between two lovers, one a vampire! It doesn’t teach us anything, it doesn’t widen our vocabulary, it doesn’t enter us into any original ideas; and there’s plenty of good modern literature out there -in the time of butterflies, secret life of bees, love in the time of cholera – and I’m just playing towards the more femininly themed books.
All twilight is though, is a cheap thrill. I go see summer blockbusters cause i enjoy a good cheap thrill once and again too, but I don’t pretend like its done me any good.
marc, i am a friend of megan. and i, also, think that twilight is a MORE modern day vampire love story.
kate, you suck
ahhh, you finally got into line with the comments policy. I’d been spamming you up until now, and don’t particularly have any problem doing it again, but I can see you clearly expanded vocabulary has to do with all that high quality literature you’ve been reading.
HA!, thats hilarious Marc, and you had a comments policy?
what does that mean?
and i’m not particularlly fond of you either marc!
twilight is a MORE modern version of vampire stories. what book says that vampires shine in the sunlight? none that i’ve read (not counting Twilight).so i think that megan is right and you are wrong. pthhhh!
Hey, Marc you wanna know something. . .
you suck even MORE!!!
Sensico,
it’s somewhat new. Check the About the Blog section.
why?
I’m a 15-year-old girl and, OMG, I hate Twilight. None of my close friends like it either, but all of my many “aquaintances” love it more than their grandmothers. Breaking Dawn reminds me a lot of Joel Steinberg. He visciously beat his wife, Hedda Nussbaum (who adored him and was obsessed w/ him) into submission. Then one night, he beat his 6-year-old daughter, Lisa, to death. Poor Reneseme. Eddie will probably end up beating her to death, too. But maybe she’ll get lucky. Maybe he’ll murder Bella instead.
I have read some vampire literature before. After having read the first Twilight book I realized this was the first I had read that focuses on youth culture-adding an element of danger and excitment to an otherwise “normal” existance that many readers can identify with. So we have our protagonist, Bella, who feels she does not fit in anywhere (every teenager feels that way at some point). She lacks confidence in herself (like everyone from time to time). She is bookish and does not recognize yet where her talents lie. The reader identifies with her.
Second, she travels on her own for the first time-exciting for any teenager- and is a hit with her new schoolmates. Is that not a young person’s ardent wish? Enter the tall, dark handsome and mysterious stranger with a cool car, money and banter light years ahead of the other boys. Above all, this boy chooses HER above all the other girls Bella beleives are so much more interesting and pretty, even a blond waitress who is – get this- 22 years old so OBVIOUSLY so much cooler (sarcasm). The boy does not look twice but is instead more interested in her safety and her day to day life because somehow she is the ONE and ONLY for him.
What person woulden’t love this book? It is indulgant to the reader in that these far fetched fanatsies of the teenage mind are fulfilled on every page. In addition, the book is attentive to “all the little things” that matter so much to the teenage mind. “Oops, I blurted out that I liked Topaz because that gem is the color of his eyes” end paraphrase. When we become adults, we forget how much these things matter and just how sensitive young people are.
Young women can enjoy this book because it has hot guys and young men can enjoy this because it gives an interesting glimpse into one young woman’s mind, at an age where they are still trying to fathom women’s minds (which we never really understand fully).
I would not consider this book amongst the greats but it is still a great read and to the young readers I would say indulge yourselves!
So why do people like Twilight so much? I think that ultimately it suggests that anything can happen even if one is not a movie star or rich etc. A normal drab existence can be altered into a fast paced exciting one. In this sense it is empowering and gives hope of excitement in life. It is unhealthy I think, if one dwells to long seeking fulfillment in life from outside sources.
If I may add my final opinion: spend a few years wishing for some excitment akin to Bella’s but don’t depend on it. One life, properly lived, is by far enough. One does not need to be a vampire to enjoy life. I would suggest living in the moment rather than fretting over the past or looking forward to the future’s next thrill. The one central truth to life IMO is that you are the creator. So create a life for yourself that you will enjoy. Take my preachiness to heart or discard it I don’t really care.
This Book Is AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
I only read the first book and had to force myself to finish it. It’s written very poorly, even for a book aimed at young adults. I too was baffled by its popularity, but then a friend reminded me that popular movies and music are also often pretty crappy. People tend to think books should be held to a higher standard but I guess Meyers proved them wrong. If people like it then that’s their right, but it scares me also that many girls think this is what a romantic relationship is. Yet another reason I am happy I don’t have a daughter. Thank you, Stephanie Meyers. As far as older women loving it, it’s really not surprising. Meyers was obviously an unhappy housewife that never met her perfect guy, how many women do you think are in that same boat? Lots.
I’m feeling some hating. first off the book started off as her dream and then she wrote it down. second most of the best sellers are made for teens and young adults. think about it about 4 out of 10 teens actually want to read a book with words that aren’t even in the SAT/ACT. third this girl sold millions of books and millions of movie tickets, meaning millions agree that the plot is great, showing that maybe twilight fans r not the one with the problem but rather people with no imagination like yourselves. In closing
Twilight’s awesome. Even if the vampires are fake. the end.
i like this movie so much..
i wondering that i am the bella swan ..
how charming edward is..
i am not getting bored watching this movie many times.
until now,i have seen this about 6 times…
hahahah………….
Amei o filme quero mais ..
!!
Os atores saõ excelentes …
Parabéns
You’re a tiny bit up yourself, aren’t you?
i disagree. im in love with this story. it might sound kind of tacky because the type of vampire they are. i mean no vampire comes out in broad day light. but forget that part. and yeah there was no action in the movie but the whole love part is beautiful. i believe that this is a beautiful story. and stephenie meyer did a great job. you cant knock her for that. and the storyline is about two teenagers falling i love. and they are different. one is human and the other is a vampire. and they did everything just to be together. but lets not jump into the pool and drown……in the “breaking dawn” they get married and have a child and she becomes a vampire. she was willing to change just to be with him forever. and i think thats beautiful.
I LOVE the movie Twilight it is amazingly done, My boss told me to watch it and I fell totally in love with the movie
its just brilliant
Ok, I just skimmed over most of the comments here after reading the initial flare up over this series by Kate.
I think what most of you are failing to realize is that the author (Meyer) did exactly what she needed to do to make a buck. She elicited a response from females of all ages by exploiting a known fact, the most common sexual fantasy among women of any age is the “rape” fantasy. Danger during sexual encounters is a very real and very discouraging want for the average woman. If you’ve had a one night stand, you’ve indulged in this fantasy, albeit a tamer version. The old “tall,dark, and handsome” thing still plays in our modern world however the dark has been changed from meaning hair or eye coloring to meaning an edge of danger. A certain appeal has arisen in the masses for the “excitement” and “edge” in their love lives. How many people have you known to break up with someone because they were boring? And then the next guy they end up with has a prison tattoo or is a known gang member… I’m sure you see my point here.
Now, aside from the psychological ramifications, the story was poorly written in comparison to who? I mean if you’re used to reading authors who have been around for ages (Steven King, Dean Koontz, R.A. Salvatore and the like) then yes, her writing was childlike and almost laughable in comparison. If you want to analyze it more closely to something of it’s caliber, try comparing her to J.K. Rowling. I actually enjoyed all four books in the series, even though there are a few things I’d like to see changed and more developed. Hence, I believe, why Meyer is releasing another set of four books to show the relationship from Edward Cullen’s eyes.
By the way, I’m male, not female. I’m still looking forward to the release of the next set of books, just as I look forward to the next in the Dead Witch Walking series, and the next in the Riley Jenson series, and the next in the Anita Blake (I’m going to burn in hell for that one) series.
If you don’t like the book then thats your choice It is made for teenage girls after all but it’s just a story awswell its farfetched and unrealistic but I liked it anyway it doesn’tr mean im going to go out and look for a vampire boyfriend or im in anyway less intelligent than you I just happen to find meaning from the book as almost like a metaphor for other things. I’m sire you can’t actually say that all of the millions of people who bought the books and movie tickets are all wrong for doing so….
The early comments on this page are ridiculous. ITS A SAGA FOR YOUNG ADULTS!!! IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE EASY TO READ AND CONTAIN LITTLE TO NO SEX…. ITS FOR KIDS!!! Have you ever read Fear Street? Christopher Pike? Baby-sitters club? Do you think those books are good, well written literature?? Plus, what is the point of putting something down if you could care less about? Talk about a waste of your time. I like them because they bring me back to my childhood fantasies of wanting a boyfriend who simply takes your breath away and makes you swoon. Its romantic. And those who are talking about it being about abuse and rape, maybe you are reading too much past the ACTUAL WORDS WRITTEN ON THE PAGES. Edward says over and over again how he DOESN’T want to hurt Bella which is why he left her. So does Jacob, which is why he scares her off. They only come back because she gets hurt whether they are there or not. You all really need to stop looking at this book like kids are going to read between the lines and come up with some intellectual theory about abusive relationships. ITS JUST A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL AND NEVER CLAIMED TO BE ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT. Meyers never said she was creating an epic piece of exemplary literature that contains political and social nuances to be interpreted by the public. Get over yourselves and enjoy just reading the actual words of a fun novel. If you wanna read literature, take a class, or get in a book club. If you want to enjoy an easy read with little to think about, read the Twilight series.
Twilight.is.the.best.movie
ever.even.the.books.rocks
twilight is the best move ever made… its romantic.. and cute funny…
It’s been a while since I’ve commented back, but I do want to ensure the readers of this post that I do enjoy young adult fiction. Some of my favorites include:
The Anne of Green Gables series
The Babysitter’s Club series
R.L. Stine books
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
The Giver
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Hobbit
…and many others I have read while working at a library over the summer. Most of the time, they give me a quick read after lunch. The Twilight books nauseated me.
To all those who think I’ve used the term “rape” loosely, please look up the definition of “rape” and think of all the connotations it could possibly have.
To those who think I’ve read too much into it – books/movies/popculture have a way of entering our subconscious and the way we think about the world, deal with other people, etc. I’ve heard girls over and over tell me that they want someone like Edward. I see it every day on my facebook newsfeed. Also, there is a very popular FMLife post that said the guys girlfriend broke up with him because he wasn’t her “Edward.” Disgusting.
emma – Before you assert that you are as intelligent as I am, please learn how to formulate a complete sentence.
Sarah – Caps lock is for babies. No one will take you seriously if you try to insert emotion into text without irony.
Kaz – Thank you for an intelligent rebuttal. I still disagree with you because I think there is plenty of well written literature aimed at young adults. I also feel that JK Rowling is a much better writer than Meyer as I do not want to take a red pen to every other Rowling paragraph. Half of Meyer’s writing is superfluous and if eliminated, would improve the book tenfold. Second, I’m not sure a one-night stand equates to a rape fantasy, nor is it similar at all to rape as it is consensual and rape is not. I understand the appeal of the “dangerous” man, but not to the extent that Meyer takes it with Edward, who consistently stalks and watches Bella. He also constantly reminds her he can kill her, which is a sort of emotional/mental abuse as well.
Lastly, thanks to all those who have voiced their support and those who have linked here. I never thought this post would generate so much interest.
Kate, the author
okaay well lets get something strriight here.
twilight and every book that follows it is simply amazing.
and another thing i really don’t think anyone important asked you what your opion is. you are truly nobodys:) twilight is so amazing. and who the hell do you people think you are. they are out there making millions of dollars and you people are most likely not. so really shut your freaking mouth because nobody cars what you have to say:) so until you people make a movie and have people loving it and watching it a million times then really shut the hell up:) and if you actually had to read about it and do a project on i tthen you would no. because i bet none of you know it brough in over 70 million dollars the first week it was in the theathers and that broke the record in 1996. so hahha you guys suck because you dont like twilight. so go stick it, byee<3333333333
p.s you people are simply …… patheticcceee. ahha well byee<333333333
okay and one more thing who ever the fuck wrote this LIE needs to go get a life and fuck someone up a tree , i wanna see your dumb ass try and write theesse books not like a fucking 12 year old, your a loser and pretty patheticcceee, byee<3333333333333333333333
Hi,
I have read all of the twilight books and thought they were a fun read, not the most sophisticated books, but I don’t think that was the intent of them. I would like to point out something that I think makes the books so popular, Edward respects women the way women want to be respected. Don’t go too deep into all the psychological bable about things, just keep it surface level, but if young girls could take this book and say “I want a guy who respects my body enough to do what is morally right, not what feels good to him” I think these books have been successful. I have a young teen daughter who of course is dying to read the books, and I will someday let her, but I will only with the preface of “try to learn how a man should respect a woman”. We can critizise the books all day, but the fact is millions of people have read the books, so we may as well try to learn some good from them.
Thanks for listening!
aj4k
Whatever!Althrough you don’t like it some people must have thier own reasons why they like the movie………
Even if you guys continue aruguing we can’t do anything with it because they like the movie and if they have their reasons then let’s just understand them………….
And in the end we can know what’s their reason behind all the addiction the movie caused to them.
I can say I’ve never read it… EVER, still I cant tell what’s so cool about it, at least Dan Brown had a whole conspiracy for keeeping secrets or something alike on his behalf (notice I’m not defendinf him) yet I didnt even wanted to go see the movie (I didn’t think it’d be as great as to go the book.. so I went,rented the movie and I can say it at least has some plot.. an overexploited even more in every book but has it) but I don’t get what’s co cathcing about this story i needed to read the synopsis of the movie and made my mind: it’s ok as a senseless movie, but I’t shouldn’t be a novel.
I have the sensation that picking up this book is the equivalent of picking up some Carlos Cuautemoc Sánchez book (he’s a mexican author) whose novels are based on teens/young adults and most of the time sex; read one and you’ll have read them all bcause they’re all the same: teenagers or really young adults that get into sex and then have a bunch of trouble because of it and then they meet the person that is “just right” for them and feel bad about having had sex before because the other one is a virgin and then they dont have sex till marriage and live happily ever after jut because they waited.
If I add my ideas to what you said up there in your post we get a crappy book wich shows that most best sellers get there just because a lot of people bought the books, not because the book is really worth reading, I think I prefer Bram Stoker’s Dracula (who’s your daddy Anne Rice?) that is one elaborate piece of horror based on traditional aproach to what vampires are. My point is… I haven’t read this book and I already think the story has holes everywhere.
ALACAKARANLIK filmini serisini ve kitaplarını çok seviyorum….Hiç bitmesin isterim…ROBERT(L)KRISTEN
Honestly, you all should get a grip… Granted I too had to do some mental editing, but who cares when a FANTASY romance novel is captivating? Yes, I’ve loved vampires since before the brad pitt days; yes, I’m a grown woman who still fantasizes about meeting such an unconditional love that it would torment him to hurt me & to stay away from me; yes, I think you all are full of it…
NEVER MIND the fact that we are no longer in the days of Shakespeare, your MAJESTY; never mind that America is 2nd to last when it comes to education (k-12), or that the American Government, the FDA, AND the FTC don’t want any of it’s (yes, IT’S) people thinking for themselves or having any idea or clue as to what’s REALLY going on behind closed doors that everyone is getting fatter & dumber & they are okay with their slaves (yes, slaves or haven’t you noticed how the people in power have everyone on their knees?), just not being that smart or having common sense. When the people working FOR us are actually working AGAINST us, can you really blame the public, or an author, for bad editing or as you say, just crap & “raping the minds” of our youths? PLEASE, lady!
Unconditional love, self-sacrifice, passion, a bond so strong you’d rather give your life to save the other… and who the freak cares what the other “more interesting” characters are doing b/c they aren’t really included in the main points of view. This a story of young/old soul love. I don’t care what the other characters where doing, I cared about that relationship. A relationship where, let’s face it ladies, even IF you’re still married to the original husband and ALL the kids belong to this guy, there is still no more passion & you’re only commitment to each other is… platonic & convenient.
And let me guess, you were probably against the whole Harry Potter fascination, weren’t you?? OOoooo, he’s doing “black magic”, ooooo he’s breaking the rules…Never mind he’s saving the freaking world and both the Harry Potter series & (my fave) the Twilight series has gotten hordes of our youths reading something besides required reading material for school &/or video games. Never mind these books are getting the fat lazy kids reading and exercising their minds, since the parents are too busy to keep the kids healthy and therefore leading to kid obesity problems… let the fans have their vampires without calling it rape. YOU want to talk about RAPE?!?! Why don’t you talk about the American GOVERNMENT RAPING it’s people without a lube job or even a reach around??? Hmmmmm? Or is it because it wasn’t covered in what ever college you went to?
The last thing I have to say to all of you haters is: GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE & GET SOME NEW BATTERIES… YOU SERIOUSLY ARE WAY PAST DUE FOR A GOOD ‘O’ FACE… & START USING YOUR IMAGINATION… OR ARE YOU JUST TOO FREAKING ANCIENT YOU’VE FORGOTTEN WHAT IMAGINATION IS???
i would like to say. that i thought the film was amazing. i am a normal teenager who fancies the normal boys. i think that i was soo adorable, after all i love all that romantic cute stuff. i think that the books are amazing and i cant wait for the next film to come out!!! xox
I’m 15, and was coerced into reading the first book by an alarming-fangirl friend. I proceeded to quickly work my way through the entire saga just to try and fathom why on earth several of my very sensible and intelligent friends have been devoured by twilight-mania.
I can see the basic appeal of them to a young female audience – it is, as Dave commented earlier, based mainly around the Mary Sue qualities of the protaganist – and I don’t begrudge my friends for enjoying that element of it. However, the thing that actually winds me up is that these friends complain about the quality of writing in our GCSE texts – classical works of literature that it is perfectly possibly for people of my age to comprehend and enjoy, which I assume is why they are chosen – then refuse to hear a word against the Twilight books.
Some people have made the point that these books are encouraging reading in what can be a pretty non-literary-minded demographic, but it isn’t encouraging any WIDER reading. If anything, and I know this is true of my friends, they are comparing other books to the Twilight saga and, upon finding that you might need to think a little to understand it, or that the characters can actually have flaws and suffer unhappy endings, they decide that they’d be better off sticking to the drivel they know and love.
E – my batteries are just fine, I enjoyed Harry Potter, please learn to formulate a complete sentence and maybe someone will take your political ranting seriously.
To a bunch of the others – please go through some of the other comments as your concerns have already been addressed ad nauseum.
That is pure bullshit
Twilight is Awesome
and reading the entire series in thanksgiving weekend is no big deal
ive done the same thing
but with the Harry Potter series
its easy
and twilight rocks
so dont be dissing it
i find it so sad that adults are sitting here wasting there time over books that were clearly written for teenagers. so get over it. we spend all day reading classics, such as The Odyssey, The Scarlet Letter, Canterbury Tales, and Beowulf. We want an escape and books liike this provide one; we do not need a book that feels like you are being forced to read, we already have that! So get over it, its called popular fiction for a reason.
To be honest if young people are reading and are taking the time to take in different styles of literature shouldn’t that be a good thing rather than out on the streets causing problems! Everyone has their own different styles of literature they enjoy with different writing styles. If this book is what makes young girls happy leave them to it!
I think twilight and all the other books rock and are described beautifully, and i can’t wait for the movie of new moon to come out!!!! TWILIGHT ROCKS!!!!!!
The Twilight series must be top notch in some way or it wouldn’t be selling at the top of the lists. Something about it has to be great. Maybe it doesn’t follow your and others’ criterion for great literature, but it obviously has something excellent about it to have caused its readership to spread like wildfire. Kate, I can tell by your writing that you are good with words yourself. It sounds like you are very into literature, and because of that, you probably read with a critically discerning eye and a set of standards that only those who have studied literature a great deal would have. And that set of standards may be fairly narrowly defined according to what you view as “good” literature. But not everyone is sophisticated about what traditionally may make literature great. In fact, most people can not be. There are myriads of fields of interest, and only a small portion of people will have literature as their particular field. The rest are busy studying their own fields and won’t have studied literature enough to be critically discerning about it from a highly educated or traditional set of standards. Instead, most people (like me) are just going to know whether they like a book series or not. And this series just grabs a lot of people at gut level; it captivates them. It reaches into a fantasy world that’s new and exciting to them, it has suspense, it has romance (-yeah, okay, some parts aren’t romantic, like you said, but a lot of other parts are extremely romantic.) For the masses of us who aren’t (and can’t and, more importantly, don’t want to be) reading it with a critical eye, the series is highly enjoyable – a great read! And to be a great read to so many people (who really don’t care about what supposedly makes literature great), there must in actuality be something truly great about it. Maybe not in the way that literature critics might think, but great none-the-less in some way, or it wouldn’t be taking the world by storm.
I LOVE TWILIGHT EDWARD,JASPER,AND EMMIT ARE SOOOO HOOOOOOOTTTT!!!!!! I ENJOY WATCHING THE MOVIE ME N MY FRIEND CINDY WATCH IT EVERDAY WE HAVE PICTURES,POSTERS,MUSIC,SHIRTS,WRIST BANDS, AND MORE!!!
Well, I understand your point about the poor writing of Twilight. I made the same comment myself after having read the entire series over a three day weekend during January. However, I disagree with you that the story is basically a wish fulfillment by the author. I think the only redeeming part of the series is the story. Of course teenage girls love it. And if you are making a comment about the trash that teenage girls read you should check out the library at the middle school I teach at. Twilight is amazing compared to most of that drivel. And the sheer fact that my 12 year old students will even pick up a book of more than 100 pages is a miracle in itself. I felt like I had to read it in order to understand what was going on with my students. I understand. They all want to be Bella. Of course what Edward says would sound creepy coming from a real person, but he’s not a real person obviously. So, leave it alone. At least the teenagers are reading instead of playing video games or watching TV.
I COMPLETELY disagree with anyone who says that this work of literature is a piece of shit. I am a 17 year old girl, and i own, and love, all of the books. I think that the books can EASILY be compared to ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘The Da Vinci Code’ because they are all GREAT books. I am an extremely avid reader, and have read most of the classics in addition to modern books like Harry Potter, Da Vinci code, etc. I think that the cahracters are wonderful, including Edward. He is slightly stalker-ish, but who cares? This is a work of fiction. It can be however the author wants it to be. Stephenie Meyer is one of my favorite authors, along with J.K Rowling, Dan Brown, Anne Rice and others. There relationship is NOT abusive, he doesn’t try to hurt her. And if it was abusive, SO WHAT? IT IS A FRICKING WORK OF FICTION. This isn’t supposed to be Shakespeare, it is a YA novel. And for all of those of you who are critisizing the book if you haven’t already read it, How do you expect anyone to take your inaccurate summary seriously? How are you supposed to know what happened, her style of writing, ANYTHING about the books if you haven’t even opened it up?
Some people need to learn to think before they write, because you’ll end up looking stupid.
If you disagree with my opinion, fine. I’m sure that the millions of readers who enjoyed this series and made this series a bestseller will back me up.
also, to anyone who thinks they’re the shit for reading it in one weekend, your not. I read the entire Harry Potter series in 3 days, then read the entire Twilight series in two. It is not an fast book to read because of its “Crappy writing” whoever can read it that fast is just a fast reader because the enitre series is over 2300 pages long. 2300 pages of incredible writing. And to me, this blog post just makes ‘Kate’ seem like she needs to get a life. If you hated the book so much, why are you discussing it? You know you loved it, you just want people to pay attention to you.
Once again, some people start thinking BEFORE you write because most of you end up looking stupid.
I was against the twilight books from the start, believing them to be nothing more than a poor excuse for girls to start reading. Being an avid devouror of books, it really annoyed me that girls would say ‘i read, i’ve read twilight!’ p-lease!
over the summer (im in australia) the girls from work and all of my girlfriends managed to convince me that they were worth reading. i was seriously out of the loop as it continually came up in conversation.
I read the entire series in a week, that being very easy language to read, despite the predictable storyline. It was a refreshing text in which to not think over, or have to decipher underlying themes or symbolism. Just to chill out and read about love of all kinds. Mention in your article was the fact that it was very underdeveloped, which i believe is a great trait in a book read by teenagers all over the world, forcing them to use their imagination.
Stephanie meyer has inspired millions of youth to discover the gift of literature. She gave them a taste, hopefully they’ll be back for more indepth, complicated and challenging novels…
Ur right im using the pic u posted to hang on my wall<33
TWILIGHT FOR EVER<33
edwared cullen<33
robert <33
bella + edwared = hott
Oh let the kids enjoy it! If it’s not your thing – fine. Let it go. As a teacher, we’re constantly trying to encourage our kids to put down the PS3 controls or mobile phones at home and read … so if they’re reading these novels – so be it. I love seeing them bring it in to class, knowing that they’re reading without being forced into it (11-12 yr olds). I’m not concerned about the “message” it’s sending – coz’ it’s only 1 set of books in a world of media/texts/music that is sending way more stuffed up messages than this one. They’re absorbed in rubbish and it’s our job as parents/teachers to help them filter stuff out.
I’ve read 2 of them and my first impression was – definitely written for the teen/young adults…so get over it. Go read what suits you best, but let the author do her thing (whether or not she’s good at it in your opinion) who gives a stuff, she’s writing – some enjoy it, others don’t. I have no idea who you are (Kate). Is it your profession to be critical? That’s cool if it is – go for it. If it’s not – then you’re wasting everyone’s time with your ranting just as much as you think she is with her writing.
Don’t read it then. Once the “twilight” phase has passed, another will come – whether a book, a movie, a band etc. If you’re gonna get this worked up about everything that comes out then I feel sorry for you.
Have a great day =)
I am a 12 year old girl who read the twilight saga, and personally, I think that stephanie meyer is really not that good, but she does know her audience.
This whole thing about how ‘these books got my kids reading’ and stuff makes almost no sense. I mean, I know a lot of girls my age who were reading stuff like Inkheart and Spiderwick before twilight came out, and now all they do is read those books over and over again. So really, twilight is stopping some kids from reading.
Another thing I do not get is that everyone is comparing twilight to Lord of the rings and Harry Potter. those books are about a completely different thing. So can someone please explain that?
I don’t think that it’s relevant how easy to read or unrealistic the books are, pople enjoy reading them and that’s what I think counts
Lola V – Follow your own advice.
To the teachers – there are plenty of well-written books aimed at young adults that do not idealize a potentially abusive relationship.
To those thinking I’m being too “critical” and “need a life” – This is what blogs are for. If you think that I gave this topic all that much consideration after reading the post, you have an extreme misconception about my life. Yes, I come back to the blog to discuss, but I find the fan-girl responses extremely entertaining as well as terrifying to see the degradation of the teenage mind.
Also, I am more likely to consider alternative points of view if you attack my argument instead of attacking me. When you tell me I need to get a life because I ranted about something I don’t like, please understand that you are being a hypocrite.
Kate
I’m afraid i disagree with you totally. Yes, i’ve read the books, and even though they are definetely not my favourite books, referring to them as “dogshit” is out of order. When you decide to release a four book saga that gets as much attention and is equally as good, if better then perhaps you have the right to say that.
I think the green eyed troll in you came out whilst writing this, and maybe if you didn’t read through a pessimistic, critical eye you would’ve enjoyed it. Grow up and realise that just because you can’t make millions over writing a book that millions of people adore, doesn’t mean it is something to be hated. Eurgh, people like you annoy me.
I read the books all 4 of them within 3 days , found a lot of grammatical errors in it, but what bogged me is that Bella is this needy. clingy whatever one can call it girl, it is as thought she cannot get enough of him, Edward is portrayed as this protector, obsessive and might I add deranged stalker, in real I would of called the police lol….I could not understand the “need/love” Bella had for Edward but at the same time portray the same “need/love” for Jacob this baffled me. In reality a man like Edward would of never tolerated his girlfriend kissing/visiting or even befriending another man the way Bella was allowed to show her strong “affection or love” for Jacob.
I got through book 1, onto book 2 waiting to know what the plot was realised the book had lost momentum I kept on going back to book 1, then pick up book 2 to follow the story, onto book 3 now I realise that Bella is saving Edward, kissing Jacob, onto book 4, Edward and Bella are married a man that has been dead for centuries can suddenly make a human “pregnant” what was his sperm kept in a sperm bank or what, no offense her, then the book centres around the “child” then centres around Jacob, then centres around Rosalie and the “child”, then back to the “child” then back to Edward wanting Jacob to speak to Bella, then this “child” tearing her apart from inside, then allowing Bella to drink himan blood to feed the “child” then the “child” ripping itself out of Bella, and the highlight is what Edward wanted to do from book 1 suck the life out of her, Bella turning into a vampire, then this “child” that grows quickly, has teeth starts speaking and Bella being much more stronger than Edward….damn…oh and I forgot Jacob imprinting the “child” as this will allow him to always have Bella in his life
Elli (and all others like who have made comments similar to her’s)- When you write a critical review that gets this much attention, maybe then you can criticize me. Wait, what? That argument doesn’t make sense? You’re right. Neither does yours for the same reason and it also makes you a hypocrite. I don’t need to be able to sculpt or paint in order to judge artwork. I don’t need to be able to play basketball to say someone is a good or bad player.
Second, just because something is popular, doesn’ t mean it’s good, or that I have to like it. Also, I don’t not like these books because they are popular. I don’t like them because they suck. Also, the use of “dogshit” is a rhetorical device called “hyperbole.” It is used for “comic effect.” Look it up. Yes, I’m being patronizing. While you’re at it, get a sense of humor.
Shellie, YES.
lolllollloll
trasferé
trasferé sur windows live msn
twilight is cool a mmm…
Okay so I’ve seen the movie, but haven’t read the books. The movie was entertaining fodder. Its not supposed to make you think and I’m cool with that. I like a few hours of mindless entertainment once in awhile. The thing that bothered me most is how helpless Bella is. I HATE the damsel in distress, simply because she doesn’t do anything. Her knight in shining armour gets to go on the adventure and do all the cool stuff. Bella doesn’t do anything except wait around for Edward to save her. Ladies, independence is a good thing!!!! You shouldn’t NEED a man. You should be able to survive on your own. I like girls who aren’t afraid to stand on their own two feet (the closest Disney heroine would be Mulan, I think). But thats just me. The whole love thing is nice, I suppose. But I will admit, as a teen (I’m 20 now) going through the nightmare that is highschool, I probably would have been gaga over Edward too, especially because I had never been asked out and was far too shy to take initiative. So the thought that Bella, a girl very much like myself, could attract not only Edward Cullen but also Jacob (sooooo cute in the movie, far more than Edward) would probably have enthralled me. The story shows that everyone can find their ‘mate’ or ‘true love’ or whatever you want to call it. And knowledge that real love does exist can do a lot for a teen girl who is at a time in her life when she thinks that no one loves her (admit it, we all thought our parents hated us at one point). So I suppose thats good. Books that I would recommend, once you’re done with the whole Twilight thing: To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf), A Clockwork Orange (crazy shit…), and The Eight (Katharine Neville- lighter, adventure, history, you meet Cathrine the Great!!!), just some books that I really liked. Cheers!
I don’t know if you all know this but I was reading something Stephanie Meyer wrote and she said originally this book was never supposed to be for teenagers. She also wrote a second book Entitled “Forever Dawn” and it delved into more adult situations, she ended up never releasing it, she gave it to her sister as a gift. But honestly I’m fourteen and I enjoyed the story, however I still don’t understand why it is so appealing to teenage girls….perhaps Robert Pattinson has something to do with it, quite honestly I don’t think most girls who like the movie even read the book, it is all an issue of conformity. “oh she loves it, well I do too.” It’s really simple to understand…at least for me it is.
Ok, so you dont like the books – i can respect that – but explain to me again why you dont like them? Is it because they’re boring, too easy or do you think they’re just plain creepy? I have read the books and i think they’re really good. I myself thought that the books were going to be boring, kinda stupid and cheesy at first but my friends begged me to read them. As i read the first book i thought “oh no, this is going to take me forever!!!” The first chapter was so boring i thought i was never going to finish it! But eventually i started getting in to it. But also i can understand that the part about the vampire coming in to your room is really creepy.
Anyway, the part about Bella dating a vampire is, yeah, stupid and that she just “conveniently” fell out the window is a really sad excuse. But throughout the whole thing i could picture it in my mind. I dont know why but i just cant help not liking the book. Well, thats all i have to say so reply and dont hold back. (BTW im 13 and i love to speak my mind!)
Marina – thanks for the intelligent response. You’re very articulate and not just for a thirteen year old as evident by some of the ridiculous responses to this post. If the books were just boring and poorly written, I would have just rolled my eyes and said “ok, just another crappy book that’s getting popular.”
What I really don’t like about these books is that Bella, the heroine, has no personality and is pretty much an antisocial bitch for most of the story. Ok, so she’s disconnected from her peers, but not because they don’t like her but because she’s kind of a snob.
Next, the unrealistic portrayal of an obsessive love as the ideal is a dangerous path to tread. Edward is pretty much a dangerous stalker, yet young girls are seeing this as romantic. I just worry that a girl will see this kind of behavior as romantic and then put herself in a dangerous situation. This is my primary issue with the series.
Yes, some of the Disney princesses were helpless and waited for others to rescue them (Sleeping Beauty and Snow White immediately come to mind) but there were others who can serve as good role models for young girls (Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Mulan).
Lol. Raped the mindes of teenagers. True, true.
Kate, you’re ignorant. Your opinion about this series is dogshit.
I myself am 13 next year and read the saga to see what all the fuss was about and found myself that these books are awful and there’s no need for such cr*p to be turned into movies. I prefer Harry Potter or a proper romance or non-fiction. Something that has class, if you’d like to call it, on my bookshelf rather than something so predictable. OK so I’m not your average pre-teen/teen but I like some popular bands and stuff such as; Metro Station and Lady GaGa but the point is these books are the death of the New Age, I cannot sit through a lesson without hearing the words Edward Cullen or Robert Patterson is ‘buff’ or the teacher saying put that awful book down! Referring to a girl reading twilight. I really hope they do Good Books Don’t Stop With Twilight week at our school like they done with J. K. Rowling and Jacquline {wrong spelling I presume} Wilson…
Also I realised it was a very abusive relationship etc and anyone who says the author’s opinion is wrong is an idiot… You’re saying their opinion on your opinion is wrong so logically you’re a hypocrite
PS Kate I support all the way ;D
Thanks Tiff!
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but I think that if you have some problem with twilight books that you can keep the complaints to yourself. I like them even if they are (in your words) not written good they still are good books.
I totally agree with Lola V.. If you hate the twilight books so much then why are you talking about them. I also think that you are being quite rude to the people who like or love the twilight series.
hahaha
i dont know how old you are but seriously… the audience of the book is INTENDED to be teenagers. all teenagers really have time to think for or hope for in their lives (especially teenage girls) is that either some knight in shining armour or (in the teenage boys case) a beatiful damzle in distress will come along out of no where in fall in love with them without them having to lift a finger.
isnt the point of reading enjoyment? and for most teenagers everywhere, these books would indulge in their fantasies of a perfect relationship and thus they enjoy the book.
who gives a crap if its and “unrealistic portrayal of love” because the point of a novel is hardly ever to portay a realistic portrayal of love. if novels did strive to have a “realistic protrayal of love” they would be frustrating, boring, repetitive & monotonous, and also would end up plateauing with no real ending since in REAL LIFE there is no huge eruptive ending.
FANTASY NOVELS aimed at a teenage audience exist to portray a a FANTASY based life that would appeal to teenagers…
i dont think many teenagers are going to be eccentric enough to dissect the writing style of a light-hearted fantasy novel in their spare time, nor to get exhasperated about it and write a fucking essay on it.
if you have problems with the book. then erase it from your memory and never read anythimg by the author again. otherwise dont insult the people who enjoy it…. because they could just as easily insult you for being an overly opinionated enligsh-lit nerd.
Paula – I don’t consider that to be an insult.
There are plenty of interesting, exciting novels out there aimed at portraying life, love etc. realistically. In fact, that is the authors’ intent in those books. I find romance and excitement in the everyday happenings of those around me. To say that it’s not exciting is probably more insulting than essentially calling me a snobby nerd.
Want examples? What about the Babysitter’s Club and Anne of Green Gables?
Ok, so Meyer wrote some fantasy books. I generally like fantasy books. I have enjoyed the Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings to name a few. They were just well written, especially compared to the boring drab of Meyer’s prose (Admittedly, Return of the King got a little slow toward the middle).
It’s not the unrealistic portrayal of love I disagree with; it’s the portrayal of idealized obsessive love I find repugnant and dangerous. Again, I’ve heard teenage girls ask “oh where is my Edward” and are unsatisfied if their boyfriend is not a crazed asshole trying (not) to kill them. The warning signs of abuse are there, “but he does it because he loves me.” GAG. Clearly you lack reading comprehension skills.
Also, this “essay” took me about 10 minutes to write. How long did it take you to formulate your response?
Random Person – Why don’t you keep your comments to yourself? Your answer would probably be the same as mine.
I think that the book itself is not supposed to appeal to older readers anyway. The quality of writing needs to be questioned, but I think her ideas have some depth even though her characters do need development.
Personally, I believe that she took the time to write a novel and we should praise her for that because it is unfair to criticise her attempts. I am a teenager myself and I found the books strange but appealling in their own right.
Also, I found the plot intriguing, although basic. I felt that it portrayed the image of a ‘perfect boyfriend’ and carried a sense of mild erotica. These combined WOULD arouse the interest of teenagers, however simple.
I’m sorry, but here I have to be… well, me.
Breaking Dawn sucked.
I appreiate that Meyer wrote the book and all, but the plotline was infantile and carried no sense of purpose. Her characters’ developments have to be questioned and I think that the introduction of their child ruined the entire feeling of the book: it was no longer teenage fantasy, but serious issues about marriage, which was not pulled off well.
I haven’t read many comments on here from actual Twilight fans, so I’m here to stand up for it! I was dubious about reading the series at first but was soon sucked into the story. I love the IDEA of it, not just the actual story line. I’ve read and watched many vampire and werewolf stories and I haven’t found anything as original as this. From the way in which their burning thirst is explained, from the fact that they need to stya out of the sun, not because the burst into flames, but because they sparkle.
Name one story that takes such a cliched idea and makes it so original.
It also gives many girls a life lesson. Her undying love for her man (which all girls feel at some point) is challenged by another, showing it is possible to love one person so hard that it hurts and still love another. There are different types of love, and it’s never simple. Doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
So before people go ripping this story to people, look past the surface and look a little deeper. This story is written to appeal to young teenagers and I’m glad it does, because it teaches valuable lessons.
It shows that you don’t have to be pretty, popular and the centre of everyone’s lives to make an impact on people. It talks about her day and her problems with friends in a way that teenagers can EMPATHISE with her.
The person who wrote this post in the first place is a little dim. “Raped the minds of teenager” indeed. Made me laugh. Rape suggest it wasn’t wanted, and it certainly was. I suppose you can say I’ve been mind- fucked by Twilight, I wouldn’t mind that
If you don’t like the book, fair enough, but saying it’s “raped the minds of teenagers” is bullshit.
I don’t see any books published by Kate, but apparently she thinks she’s an expert on how books should be written. Send us a copy of one of your books Kate! As long as it isn’t as mind numbingly moronic as this post.
I hope I didn’t make any spelling errors or put a comma in the wrong place. I don’t want you to think I can’t write to your standard. Couldn’t have that now could we?
IIIIIII
I
I
IIIIIII
L
L
L
L L L (LOOVVVVVVVEEEEEEE)
TTTTTTWWWWWWWWIIIIIIIIL;LLLLLGGGGHHHHHHTTTTTT (TWILIGHT)
After reading only a few of your comments it is obvious that most of you are yourselves ‘full of crap’, not to mention self importance. What gives you the right to critise others enjoyment. That fact is there are many people who enjoyed these books and THAT makes them good.
If you’re so much better than Meyer and these books are so ‘crap’ go write one yourself that not only stands up to your own critisism but is also enjoyed by millions and so popular it’s worhwhile making it into a movie.
I find it amazing that you can ridicule the series because it took you only a few days to read – so basically your saying you couldn’t put it down and were so hooked you read not just one book but the whole series.
And then there’s the fact that the books for whatever reason inspired you to share your opinion and spend time discussing its merits or, depending on your personal opinion, lack of merit. I only wish I could write a novel that inspire so much thought, whether positive or not. Go Meyer!
Kate, I have to ask, why is such a well read and (self proclaimed) expert critic wasting time arguing with mostly teenagers who simply enjoy a book that was written for their age group, not for literature majors. The simple fact that you have been debating this for five months now is pretty self defeating to your argument that these books are not worth wasting time on.
If people enjoy something, don’t attack it simply because you don’t, just keep your opinion to yourself.
I believe there is a word for that, but it might be a little low for such a literature expert as yourself.
Its buzzkill.
While I agree with you on many points about the childishness of this series, well, isn’t that the point? It’s sort of like watching the news…you get depressed after a while and you just have to turn it to some train wreck reality show or something. It’s escapist, is all.
My theory is that this story is the perfect example of the backlash of extreme feminism. It’s wonderful to be a strong, independent, powerful woman. However, there’s something to be said for being protected by a strong, powerful man. I LOVE it when my husband gets jealous and protective over me. It doesn’t lessen my strength, it doesn’t mean I’m weak…it just means that he loves me. Feminism can go too far, women end up alone or paying for a mooch because they do all the work. I say, let the men have to work for a woman’s affection again. If teenage girls get ideas that a man should protect her from the big bad monsters, then I think that’s great. Men should get back to cherishing their women, not just using them.
Twilight is just one big shoujo manga…and that’s fine with me. It sells copies and stimulates the economy. *shrugs* I’d love to write something that made me a boatload of money.
Matt and AnotherTeacher – How much time do you think it actually takes to make a comment? Most of them are repeats anyway and they died down until a few weeks ago. So I haven’t really been debating for five months.
Anyone can criticize. You are all criticizing me. Think I care? Not so much.
It wasn’t that I was compelled by the writing. Compelling writing has the opposite effect on me in that it takes me longer because I want to concentrate on every word.
Most of the comments were not made by teenagers. Also, you seem to think arguing with teenagers would be beneath me which assumes you think very little of them. I actually have a high opinion of a lot of teenagers I know, which is why I think the series is beneath them. Unlike you, I think they are better than this, hence my disappointment with the popularity of these books.
Who says you have to write books to be a critic? You say my opinion is worthless yet you took the time to make a comment. If my opinion was so worthless, why bother? Yes, this is the same logic you used to criticize me. Isn’t it fun when I can use your argument against you? My point is that your point is invalid by the nature of your comment.
Plantwoman – I would want my ideal man to protect me from Edward. He’s fucking scary as shit.
Well kate, taking the time to make a comment isnt the point. The point is that you are still here, reading what everyone else is saying and getting worked up about it. It doesn’t matter if the writing is childish or unrealistic or what, its what people like and that’s their business. Just because you look for meaning and depth in every book you read doesn’t mean i do, and i enjoyed the book for what i expected it to be, simple and fun to read. I took the time to comment because i am bored and there is very little to do in iraq, and the debate is mildly interesting. What you seem to think is an argument is pretty much just you spouting to whoever will listen about what people should read based on your opinions. If you think twilight was a bad book, fine, but don’t insult people’s intelligence by saying they’ve been ‘mind raped’. That’s just rude.
Well, I must say that It’s not only the girls but all over the world like this magnificence Twilight. I don’t knw much about the Book, but I’ve seen the Movie & the placement of the characters are so good.
They really selected good looking Actors. Teenage movies r the soul of all the movies because more than 60 percent of the watchers are teenagers & once they see something of their own age group, they try to co-relate with themselves and its good too. Because living in Dreams is not a bad thing as human has a nature to make them true. It also give relex from the boring life.
So, I just say that its a supurb movie & everyone should watch it…
Well, I must say that It’s not only the girls but all over the world like this magnificence Twilight. I don’t knw much about the Book, but I’ve seen the Movie & the placement of the characters are so good.
They really selected good looking Actors. Teenage movies r the soul of all the movies because more than 60 percent of the watchers are teenagers & once they see something of their own age group, they try to co-relate with themselves and its good too. Because living in Dreams is not a bad thing as human has a nature to make them true. It also give relex from the boring life.
So, I just say that its a supurb movie & everyone should watch it…
also waiting for next movies of Twilight Saga to come…
Kate is a dumb b**** and obviously has not read the saga. She is pessimistic and should keep her snotty oppinions to herself (but I guess blogging’s for letting your feelings out). Well anyway, kate needs to take her head out of her a** and face the facts. Stephanie Meyers writes way better than she could ever write and she is just jealous.
Twilight is not about an abusive relatinship because: EDWARD DOES NOT TRY TO HURT BELLA. Someone please respond to my comment and tell me how Twilight is about an abusive relatinship.
you are very correct i work with children on a daily basis and they are so into this crap its not even funny.i was going to read the books but after seeing the movie decided not to waste my time.If u want a good vampire book try Anne Rice or vampire of the mist.these are truly interesting books if you enjoy horror.sparkeling vampires how convenient,and completly dumb
i love the dvd i is sooo kool
Hiya!
Best be off. x
I saw the film- loved it and bought the books. Hooked… I’m guessing you’re wondering why as I’m one of the many that you speak of. For me, it rings on a personal level- the story of forbidden love; the adrenaline it evokes and to me the electricity. Maybe there’s something missing in my life- who knows? But for me I was able to fully understand in relation to my own experiences (not vampiric of course hehe) the mere atmosphere of the story and to me I was hooked on that than any of the plot or storylines… strange as usually a book is there for it’s purpose of a story but to me it was the story of the feeling and the unsaid that did it for me… I probably don’t make any sense to you but thought i’d give you an insight as to why I- one of the many- likes this saga. We’re all different however and I’m sure those who like it too may not agree or see it the way I do. Anyhows
I forgot to add- I’m not sure what you mean by the abusive relationship in the saga…. I only see forbidden love, look but don’t touch, taking a risk but knowing of the possible consequences… something vastly different to me… well wish you well cyas
look I LOVE these books i dont get ur problem on whats wrong with them. And there is such a thing as KEEP YOUR SNOTNOSED JERK OPINIONS TO YOURSELVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOBODY CARES WTH YOU THINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
read the book, saw the film…the book is still better.
I LOVE TWILIGHT SO MUCH!! TWILIGHT ILYSM!!! i have the book of twilight, eclipse, new moon, braking down, and have read it, i also have seen the movie. and it’s so awsome. but i more like read the book because in the movie is not so complete so i like the book best. i love edward cullen so much. he’s so hot and handsome. i think bella is not so beauty, i think i’m more beautiful than her
i cry when i watch it expecially when james (fuck) bites bella and crack her bone. i cry a lot and i throw paper to the TV ;p (i’m crazy) i like twilight sooo much… especially my boyfriend Robert Pattinson… 2 thumbs up!!
i have read all of the books several times, but i must say that, if you don’t like the books that is your choice but why must others have to hear your ranting about it? silly books come out all the time but you choose to bitch about this one? if you don’t like the concept of the book then don’t read it no one made you read all 4 you could have easily read the first and decided not to read on. i myself like the books because you can easily get caught up in the storyline. its like going to a movie that is so fake and stupid but you can still love it. let all of us teenage girls use our imaginations to se a happy ending and don’t critasize us for using said imaginations. we can only hope the rest of the people out there like you keep there mouths shut so the rest of us can dream.
honestly if you want a unique, exciting, INTERESTING, and well thought out rendition of our much loved Vampire concept, read the Dresden Files books. It’s modern AND totally engrossing.
This is a brilliant series.It has a mix of love,betrayal and friendship.I loved the bit wheere Bella got prego!!!!
I loved this series.After 5 minuites reading it i was sucked into bella’s world.Finding out jacobes a vampire,Getting pregnaunt,Getting married,Charlie the lazy dad,All here friends and especially her relashion ship with Edward.
Rach and everyone else – I didn’t force you to read my blog. You came across it and responded.
Megan – you input your email address when you comment so don’t try to put up a different name to make it look like different people are commenting. Also, it doesn’t seem like you read the books as Jacob was a werewolf, not a vampire.
Matt – It takes me about 5 minutes to read the comments. I don’t respond to all of them. You can also keep your opinion to yourself but you do not. I have said this before, but I’ll reiterate: if these books were just poorly written, I would have ignored them, but they portray a terrifying courtship some girls see as a romantic ideal. This is my real problem with the series.
Stacey – Thanks for the respectful comment. I do understand that people have different tastes than my own. I see Edward’s constant reminders to Bella that he could kill her as abusive. Most men are physically stronger than women and can kill them by force. If your boyfriend continuously reminded you of that, how would that affect your perception of yourself and how well you could stand up for yourself if necessary? Next, the only thing he ever says he likes about her is that her blood is his type. Their relationship is based solely on that until they get married and she becomes a vampire too. Then it’s all about sex. Finally, Edward stalks Bella to “protect” her. He watches her in her sleep because then “she belongs to him.” When he reveals that, she is ok with that because he “loves” her. He is a stalker and girls find this romantic, which scares me that when girls see this as the ideal, the won’t recognize the beginning signs of an abusive, overly possessive man. Have you ever seen the many movies made about men like these? Have you ever had a friend date a man like this? Have you? These men exist and they are terrifying. What girls are seeing as romantic is terrifying in the real world.
Also, this will be my last response as the comments seem to just reiterate the same things. Unless something new pops up, please refer to the other 200+ comments.
i love edward on TWILIGHT.But is it true he doesn’t shower?Well any way even me and my bf (best friends) have a groupe about TWILIGHT.I posters every wear of TWILIGHT.My friend Sierra showed me TWILIGHT.And I started reading it & it is pretty good.Any way I’am your #1 fan.NOT JUST ME ALL MY BEST so I hope Robert Paterson is reading this or TWILIGHT cast.
well i think that you are all wrong as i have read all the books and they are quite great novels just be caues you dont like it dosen’t mean that others can’t like it and its not a peice of crap
Personally, I don’t think you should even be criticizing these books as you probably can’t even write as good as this, let alone at all. I am just really pissed that you are putting down such a good book when you couldn’t write like Stephanie. And hello, the author is a real person with feelings too!
Clearly it got under your skin though sweetie. If you like it, enjoy it. If you don’t? Let it go. Live and let live. Life would be boring if we all walked arout hating the “trendy” things just because that is what the internet people tell us to do
I happen to find the character of Bella quite relatable. It was that character that drew me in. Her insecurities, her need to protect everyone over herself, and her ability to love passionately I found to be quite realistic. As the story progressed I felt Bella grew up a little more in each story. I’m not sure what your problem with the story was. I read through all four books in a matter of days and loved every part of it. I am not uneducated or a teen as I’m sure you’re assuming. I am nearing the end of my university education. So if you want an argument to support why most fans enjoy this novel, I’ll share my reasons beyond the character of Bella. I loved Edward’s need to protect Bella, I loved that nothing hurt him more than hurting her in any way. I imagine that what drew most people in was the values that Edward and most of the Cullens held to. It separates from most other vampire novels in that they don’t kill humans. I thought the romance between the couple was adorable. Sure in real life the idea that a women or man would choose death over losing the one they love may be considered psychologically concerning, but its a fantasy novel, about a fantasy world and a fantasy relationship. Obviously it’s not going to appeal to everyone, but the sheer number of fans it does appeal to speak volumes for the ability for the writing to be a success. Your line that most people have no concept of good story telling or literature concerns me. I’d like to know who made you in charge of deciding what does constitute good literature and storytelling. If a novel is well received it’s obviously a good story to a lot of people. Please consider the fact that you alone don’t decide what is good to anyone but yourself.
HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
twilight was greati watched it 14 times in one day and my dad just bought me the book i cant ven put the frist one down i cant wait to read the rest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
TWILIGHT IS THE BEST THIB=NG EVER IS FULL OF ROMANCE AND STABILITY BETWEEN THE MEETING OD BELLA AND EDWARD
Right. i am 13 and i have rread the books and what people dont really understand is the closeness of te relationship between edward and bella. its what every teenage girl wants. someone who actually gives a damn about them. so excuse me for liking it. but i actuallly love stephanie meyers work and if some people are sad enough to write how ever much everyone else has about how rubbish it is, i just dont see any point. so its not got a beleiveable storyline, but its fiction and fiction actually means MADE-UP. its right out of someines head so obviously its not going to be beleiveable. and before anyone else says anything I would like to say i am very clever for my age and i read the twilight saga in less then a week and i re-read them becaude they are that good.
Ok, so you didn’t like it-get over it! I am 14 years old and I can well and truly say I LOVE TWILIGHT, I’ll tell you what draws people in…
Bella and Edward have the relationship that every girl dreams of, they are truly fantastic characters. Bella is smart and utterly in love with Edward and can see through his dark sides. She is so committed she risks her own life for him. Edward is protective of Bella and is not afraid to show it, nothing hurts him more than Bella being hurt.
The storyline is amazing, how two different worlds clash and how two people can be that in love. So there you have it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it, so please keep your negative thoughts to yourself!
How “good” or “bad” a literature is is just as relative as how “good” a movie is, or how attractive a person is. Just from reading your article you sound very narrow-minded. What do you care what others enjoy reading?? It has no affect on you or your life what-so-ever, so let the teens read what they want, the way I look at is, at least they ARE reading and it’s not pornographic or belittling to any one or group of persons. What I can’t figure out though is why you would “waste” your entire weekend reading a book series you clearly had no interest in in the first place? Just to put down other people’s interests?? How sad you are…
OK seriously, everyone who hates it needs to get a grip and stop talking about it. Everyone who loves it is soooo entitled to their own opinions. I personally do love twilight and the whole saga, but people really need to stop hassling others for liking it, if they hate it, stop talking about it and leave it alone. JUST GET OVER IT!!!! Its freaking getting to the point where its completely sad!
come on people you all need to get a life and stop haveing a fricken mown over a movie it may just be the best movie ever dosent mean that you can diss you you are all just jellouse that you can not come up with ideas like this its one of the coolest movies ever and if you have shit htings to say about keep it to your self because all of the rest of us no it is a great movie and books etc. i totally agree with get a grip, you are all sad!! and makeing a to bigger deal over all of this.!
okay ppl!!!! ppl are saying twilight and the whole sereise and stuff is “crap” you so call it! its not! you have to be smart to know what there saying im a 9 yr. old(and i get it)!!!!!!!! im smarter then you i can read 349 words per minute and i can do a sheat of 100 addition,subtraction,mutipecation or division in 30 seconds
tee hee! i have 4 on all my grades and i am popular (no geaks or nerds there lame.) Okay? and if you dont like twilight why you on here idiot now if you hate twilight and or if your on this page ur an idiot cuz first of all it aint “crap!” because you just need to understand it.. and plus if you dont like twilight why you on here dumb a*ss!!!!!!!!!tee hee EDWARD ROCKS!!!!! so does bella and everyone else ik on the books they could of added more like stuff was missing… All and ALL!!! it was great
I think Kate did a great job describing the Twilight series. Honestly, all we know of Bella is that she’s clumsy. Everything else described of her is of her relationships with others, such as her love for Edward. It did indeed sound like endless drivel and whining coming from a 12-year old child. It really doesn’t take thousands of pages to tell us that Bella and Edward love each other even though Edward wants to kill her. I got that by reading the back of the book.
Hi, to all of those Twilight fans out there and I hope your looking foward to New Moon!!!
Lots of love
Kristen
xxx
If you think that the twilight saga needs editing maybe you should look at your own message before you post it as I am 13 and I found more than one spelling or grammatical error throughout. This is clearly not supposed to be in any way related to real life, I would’ve thought that would be obvious simply because it is a book about VAMPIRES! So therefore your comment about the relationship between Bella and Edward being “creepy” is not at all relevant because in a world where there are vampires it is entirely possible for that to be completely normal. And another thing, how old are you? Seriously, anyone who spends their free time criticizing 12-year-olds needs to get a life. Fast. Oh and by the way i consider myself to be one of the people who DO have an idea what composes good storytelling or literature. Furthermore, I am completely sick of all the bull sh*t that people say about Twilight, Stephenie Meyer and Twilight fans all the time. If you don’t like the books, author, movie or fans you’ll get over it eventually, until you do you don’t have to go posting stuff all over the internet. That’s not your job, leave it to actual book critics. Before you say anything about my name, people were calling me Bella before Twilight and it has nothing to do with it whatsoever.
Antone who thinks Twilight is bad is a major loser. Give the series a chance! The series hasn’t raped thhe minds of Teenage girls! If it wasn’t a movie with Extremely hot Actors in it girls wouldn’t like it as much. For those who hate it so much Read breaking dawn or eclipse. The first book isn’t as good as the last two and the second one is um…. wel… slow.
Well I’m a 35 year old man and I love the books!! Not seen the film but cannot put the books down.
screw all of u. i loved the books and you know what Stephenie meyer had to summerize because the book would be too impossibly big. I thought that the books were the best ever I dont even like reading and i’m on eclipse.
Pop culture is the only culture we’re ever going to have.
OMG FUCKING SHIT BICTH JUST CAUSE YOU WERE SHIT ON BY MEN DOSEN’T MEAN YOU GOTTA GIVE US THIS SHIT YOUR JUST LIKE THOSE FAGS WHO BURN HARRY POTER BOOKS THESE STORIES ARE INSPEARING IMAGITNATION IF YOU WANNA TRY AND GET KIDS TO READ THAT CLASSICAL SHIT GO AHEAD TRY I GARUNTTE YOU WON’T SUCCED SO GO PULL THE TAMPONS OUTTA YA ASS AND GROW UP AND STOP BEING A BABY IF YA HATTED IT SO MUCH WHYED YA READ ALL FOUR BOOKS AND WACTH THE MOVIE SEEMS LIKE YOUR JUST TRYING TO GET ATTENOIN AND THEY MUST BE GOOD CAUSE I LIKE THEM SO DO THOUSANDS OF OTHERS SO GO BACK TO FUCK YOUR SELF WITH THE BIBLE AND LEAVE US ALONE
I’ve read the book and i loved it. i think the fact that it’s so unbelievable gives it more appeal. girls like to believe you could fall in love with a vampire. it’s all about the mixing of the two worlds.
i saw the movie before i read the books. i do find it a bit disappointing that there wasn’t a fight at the end of the last book, however i always cry when that happens!
Well, if you really hate Twilight so much why are you writing about it? If anything you just made it more popular. I’m sure at least one person out there said, “How bad can the book be?” so while you tried to make it less popular, you actually just made it more popular. And who are you to tell other people that their favorite books are “dogshit”? You have no right. And in reality your probably just some old perv thinking of more ways to prepare your food.
~Treasure~
Heres how I feel, as a person that is head over heels in love with someone, I feel like this book shows so many romantic qualities. For instance, and my boyfriend has the same thoughts on this whole thing as you do, I feel like there is true love being illustrated. He cannot and will not live without her. She is the same. Like in New Moon, I can completely relate to her feeling of just pure and utter PAIN when Edward left her, and for months after. The way the pain was described was so completely true and it was believable. I do agree with you that for the younger girls that read it, might get the wrong idea about the whole stalker part and how he says “youre cute when your sleeping” to prove that the night she woke up to him in her bedroom, as a “dream”, he was truly there. That part could’ve been avoided… completely. I thought it was unnecessary. But still… I had the SAME thoughts as you when i first heard about it. I was like screw that im not seeing this stupid fad of a movie.. and I didnt until very recently.. and then i realized it was so good, but then I have just started reading the books (i just finished New Moon) and I am so pissed at the movie director. It was so horribly done. There was none of the love shown as in the book. They had so much more encounters in the book, they revealed so much and put so much trust in eachother that it illustrated in the book, but it was invisible in the movie. It was like they just fell in love over night and obsessed over eachother. I’m hoping New Moon the movie, is going to be 100 times better. It’s going to be hard for them to make Bella more depressed because she never seemed happy in the first book… So she’s REALLY going to have to play that part good.
Thanks for listenin haha.
Yay!!! stand up for twilight!!!! thanx to all those people who did!!!!!!!!!!
i love twilight i read the books and i got the dvd it is cool i liked so much that i watch it all the time
you fucking assholes i love twilight .it has awesome details .a mind riveting experience . all teen girls should read this. Personally EDWARD CULLEN IS SOO HOT!! i read all books in 1 month !! if you hate me then go ahead.
no one has the right to call twilight dogshit I LOVE IT WHO WANTS A 17 YEAR OLD GIRL TO FUCK EMAIL ME I WILL SEND PICS OF HER OK
Ha ha you obviously don’t get the title “Fictional” stories…. Yeah it means make believe… (Buy a dictionary) !!!! We all know its a TALE… like Goldy locks and the three bares.
Twilight and its sequence books are the International Number One bestseller!!
and has won over many positive comments and praise from Newspaper publishers and more………… No wonder teenagers are addicted to it… for a story that boring how come half of you read on….. the suspense that each book hold is unbelievable which makes many people keep reading! At no point in the book can you say that it was obvious what was going to happen next!
Bella’s story is recounted in an hypnotic, dreamy prose , encapsulates perfectly the feeling of tension and suspense in a teenagers life! The description and detail put into each character is amazing and as a reader you can picture everything that happens the English is evocative and the characters and storyline can be imagined vividly. I haven’t seen the movie but I hear its not as good as the book!
If you don’t like vampires don’t read the book…. no force … but at least get a life… dissing a book is properly sooo exciting NOT!!. but its the facts the majority of people absolutely love twilight and know that it is fictional…. i would like to see you write a book that becomes an international best seller! or even close! Many praise and thanks go out to Stephenie Meyer for her time and effort given to write a brilliant sequence to twilight! t interest the public…(:
Yes maybe the book is UN-realistic and in reality nothing like this exists but that is why it is a fictional story….. to expand the imagination of young adults.Many you have opinions on what is good writing and what is not. Good for you, write an international best seller. Be judgmental and condescending
But I’d just like to see you try and then complain …. OK maybe the storyline is creepy t some and romantic t others… everyone has a different view but who cares at least it keeps you reading… people are drawn to Edwards character because he is a vampire who can read peoples minds! And the fact that he cannot read Bella’s makes him drawn to her as she is to how he is ‘Different’ t every other normal boy!!
If you don’t get the story line then i think its you not Stephanie Meyers fault your soooo empty minded… All i can say is that you weren’t forced t read twilight or any book and if it dosn’t seem to appeal t your interests…… Deal With It”
I’m a Literature major and I really think you ought not be so hard on the books. Stephanie Meyer is a horrible writer, the plot was predictable, and the novels were incredibly juvenile. However, the story is entertaining, and if it wasn’t, you wouldn’t have read all four of them in a week. They are literary pieces of dog shit, I agree, but you ought to rag on a lot of other books as well. The masses are idiots, so this crap looks beautiful to them. Let them have their fun. If they realized how stupid they were, they’d probably be quite sad. I’m not really understanding everybody’s need to rant about the books. It’s just a series of books. Twilight isn’t bringing on the apocalypse. You’ll live.
audrey converse – Because your comment was relatively intelligent and thought out, I will again reiterate what has been said a million times before: I do not just hate these books because they are poorly written, but because of their impact on the teenage ideal of love. Girls have said to me and commented here, that they believe Edward is their ideal man and the way he treats Bella is the way they want to be treated. That is scary has hell. Depicting an obsessive love as the ideal love is what leads girls to fall in love with abusive men. This leads to a Lifetime Movie. Most other extremely popular books do not idealize obsessiveness this way. I have read plenty of crappy books, but this one struck a chord because its creeping popularity glorifies creepy guys.
Kate, Twilight didn’t do this. It was already happening. Personally, I think we ought to thank Stephanie Meyer for bringing this problem to the forefront. She has made it OBVIOUS that there is a problem with the way girls are being socialized when it comes to things like love, sex, marriage, and having a family. She did make the problem worse, but at least it’s being talked about. The one thing I hope comes from this controversy is some new role models for pre-teen and teen girls and more open, honest discussion between mothers and daughters. That’s is what I’ve been telling everyone when they ask me what I think about the books. If moms ask me, I tell them to read them with their daughters and have an open dialogue about them. The reason I originally began to read them is because I’m going to be a high school teacher and these books have been incredible influences on some of the young women I will teach in just a year or two. It’s good to know what you’re up against.
I hate the way the book is when u out it in these words but I read all of the books and I like them all a lot so I think u have no idea what ur talking about
I asked my 14 yr old daughter what she thought of Edward, and she replied that he was “mysterious, and that’s why he’s so popular, but I don’t think he’d be a very good boyfriend”
I asked her why not, and she replied “he’s not sweet, and he keeps wanting to eat her, I don’t think he’s very romantic, but really he’s just a book character and movie actor”
*mother sighs with relief”
Kate,
I’ve read all the four books… i thought breaking dawn was a little disappointing. The ending was disheartening… however..i did enjoy reading it.. atleast uptil eclipse. Ur point about abusive relationship would have been valid had edward been a HUMAN BEING.. which he wasnt.. If edward had been only charming, polite, devoted and a good person at heart.. he would be an average human.. he wouldnt be anything extra ordinary..or very different from Mike, Eric or Tyler… The sides of him u have problems with… like his stalking Bella, wanting her blood, et cetera.. those are the very sides of his character that make him a vampire….”the world’s most dangerous predator”… the baser or animal side which he tries to control… and he does it successfully… because his love is stronger.. And also u forget that Edward is 100 years old.. he is old fashioned.. over protective… believes in having sex after marriage. Bella lacks personality…which is true… if anyone told u “i love u but i’d also love to kill u”.. u would probably have run away and called the police. But then Bella was a teenager… i could forgive her for trusting a fascinating boy..esp because edward saves her life… more than once… u cant really think of someone as being creepy if he saves ur life tht many times… She chooses to trust him and i dont think edward ever breaks her trust expect for the time when he leaves her thinking it would be best for her…besides, Edward keeps a tight reign on his animal side…i think tht is sumthing worth appreciating. However i fail to see why u think of Bella as an antisocial bitch…? I’d rather use the word shy than antisocial… And above all this a fantasy… so any strong feelings against or for the book is pretty much useless… either u like it or u dont… depends on how far you want to let ur imagination travel…
I LUV twilight 2 me it is the bestest book ive ever read! And i always will because it is the awesomest book ever!! (:
I love twilight and i always will.Its one of the best movie i have ever saw.And the actors are awsome they had to work really hard.
what the hell? that was the stupidest thing i have ever read. and if you so called “breezed” through the books than you and your bitchy self didnt take the time to read the book with thought and detail. i read books like the author would have put it so i dont “breeze” through it. and incase you havent noticed edward isnt “stalking” her jesus hes protecting her. hes a vampire for god sakes! you kind of people are the people who piss everyone off and i suggest you get it together and let stephanie meyer write her own damn books with out your bullshit rude things to say because i can guarantee shes got alot more to come.
Hey, I think they’re good!
I really do like your article and I am pleased to say that I agree with it. I’m sorry to see so many people stand for these books and movies, arguing with no good reasons and terrible spelling, and wondering if they are at least past High School and if they need more education.
I think it is a good way of understanding the message in these books, why is it so popular and why the media supports it greatly. For those who don’t know, Edward being a vampire and not a human does NOT make Kate’s arguments unvalid. It’s literature, thus, methaphores (forgive my speliing if it’s wrong, I am not native-speaker)are allowed. I do think that the message supports greatly this whole conservative ideology and it’s point of view on women and genre-related issues, and considering the impact in society, it is a very effective weapon.
Thanks for standing up for those who still want freedom of thoughts, Kate!
Wow, imagine my surprise when I got to the end of your tirade and found out you are a female. You write, and no doubt, think like a man. I grew up reading Stephen King, quite frankly, he now bores me. You say Twilight is badly written, yet I find myself captivated by it. I am sick of people like you going on about how things SHOULD be written. If it interests you, damn it, then read it and enjoy. If however, you don’t like it, then don’t make other people feel bad for enjoying it. I found Jane Austens books rather boring and I have read alot of other Authors too. So what. Oh, please don’t bother replying to this, as I shall never come to this stupid site again. I bet you have never written anything remotely interesting enough to be published. Face it Kate, you are jealous. Stephanie Meyers has achieved what you will never be able to do.
I dont know what is this all about, I’m an adult and I dont understand why so many people is acting like if they were never teenagers, these books are fantasy and Im sure every teenage knows that, there is no such a love.. is like Harry Potter saga people kept saying that children might want to do some magic or be a witch (that thinking is dogshit) I fully agree with amazed, Im pity about you Kate and sorry for my bad english
I think one of the reasons why this appeals to a tween /teen audience is because of the ‘imaginary audience’ phenomena ( teens/ young adults believe that everyone is watching them all the time), because they can relate to hundreds of pages of Bella’s emotions.
Also, I know that although one of the best ways to enjoy some pieces of literature is to critique it and to try to understand it on every level possible, some works do not lend themselves to this kind of critique. I would also like to point out that there is a difference between critiquing a book and bashing it– which some posts have done. A critique is useful, bashing isn’t worth much more than the books in question.
Hi Kate,
I’ve placed a link to this particular blog entry on my blog, I just wanted to alert you incase that was a problem, in which case I’d be happy to remove it.
my blog is http://fadinc.blogspot.com/
Ta
Danielle
I Love Twilight. I think that it is the best book ever.
I Love Twilight. I think that it is the best book ever. <3
i think it crazy these girls are fighting over one man that they think will be their man
I think… the fact that edward is a VAMPIRE is very very significant… replace him with a common man… and then tell me whether the story would have been as effective in drawing attention as it is now?… for god’s sake… the story is about VAMPIRES… how can edward being a vampire not be a significant part of his mysterious personality…. the author even goes to the extent of making bella a weird personality who doesnt fit in with her surroundings easily… why?? becuz she would be a vampire sometime later… whatever
And yes whats with people and spellings???? i mean we r hardly giving an english written examination out here…that we need to write perfect english and spellings… we r sharing our thoughts… so please!
GODH!!!…please people itz a book series …where everybody,s view will differ because everybody is unique…and has there own likes and dislikes…why are some of you behaving like kids…??…i mean why do you have to be so bitter about twilight…one can state their dislike in a better way also..right people??…itz a forum…about views..so can be done in a decent way without persisting that the only correct view is only yours…and others are wrong….twilight has itz own good and bad points..nothings perfect in this world after all…!!and as for stephanie meyer…will you,ll please stop insulting her writing…she is a human with her own views and feelings…learn to respect other,s views even if you dont agree…i agree that some parts are very dull…and monotinous…like in breaking dawn…the Edward is not the same anymore…he loses his charm…and even in eclipse when jacob..werewolf forces himself on bella…thats a bit too much….! but the book series is quite good…and as for fiction…you knew the book cant be a reality then why dont you judge the book according to its creativity and true imagination…instead of trying to compare it with reality featuring books….and as for popularity…wether you like it or not…this forum proves that twilight is popular….first time an author has appealed to a better side of vampires instead of potraying them as blood sucking beasts…so please can we see the good side of something….
……..Twilight foreva…….
don’t talk bout twilight like that i hate you!
Kate –a short but accurate analysis. Just seeing some of the un-intelligent posts by prepubescent teens really proves your point. The books don’t develop characters (why are we reading about Bella sitting on the couch pregnant when we could be reading about what Alice is doing?), sentences ending in prepositions (is that the editors fault?) and too many grammatical errors to count. It wouldn’t pass if submitted in a writing class. Some of the best questions are left unanswered or even discussed. Is Edward going to Hell? What are vampire views on spirituality? The sad thing is Bella is more intelligent than the centarians. Did anyone catch that?–It’s the same phenom as Harry Potter. It starts innocently enough but gets darker and bloodier towards the end.
people…dont you get the point…its completely fine if you dislike something…everybody has their choices….but stop bickering for and against like kids…and creating bitterness…i think the whole point of judging the book has turned to a rivalry between people…GOD!!!…no matter what you say twilight wont change…itz a complete series aldready written whether you like it or not…your fights wont change the writing style or story…so whatz the point of fighting…just be happy with your views and dont bother about other,s view…and the people who think too much of their english let me tell you stop acting lame…everybody makes mistakes..you really don,t expect me to believe you are perfect in every english word you say….[smirk]….if you are thinking in that line …i,d say you still need to grow up…BE MATURED PEOPLE…for goodness sake…damn it…
Kate,
You are the reason for children’s deminishing imaginations. What a sad world you must live in. I have just started the twilight series and I love it. I can’t put it down. You call it “literary dogshit”. Who are you? Simon Cowell? What are your view on Dicken’s writings. You can be overly critical all you want but can’t ignore that this series has an overwhelmingly huge number of fans that totally disagree with you. These books are stimulating and romantic. You must live in a placid world without romance. What’s your favorite book? And every English teacher preaches the same thing about “show, don’t tell”. But when it comes down to it, who is having their books sold by the millions with so many fans? Stephanie Meyer, the girl who didn’t conform to the rules. There are no rules. Maybe in English class, but not in our minds. Screw you for trying to bash a good book. You were interested enough to get through all of the books were you not? Sorry you detest them. Sorry for you!
you know what?! who cares wheter you people like it or not we do so butt out you people are so depressing! sheez if we want tol like it, and yes i do say WE, then oh well what business do you have saying we are stupid?!
I love you for writing all this out. I throughly enjoyed reading every last bit of it. Your words of wisdom are greater in knowledge but will be unheard by the dumbfounded masses of ignorance. It’s a shame there aren’t more people like you
this is getting hilarious each day…scott i like ur sense of humour….itz cool
At first I felt really odd with the language the writer used. I’m not very much a fan of teen age high school drama, so the use of language really bugged me. But somehow I came to like these books a lot after getting past the issue with the language and the overall character of Bella, which didn’t really appeal to me at first at all.
Part of liking Twilight series was just a simple joy of reading – I had been reading all kinds of text books for university for such a long time, that It felt unbelievably marvelled to read something else for a change. Something, that sucks you in to the world of imaginary things.
Secondly, the feelings of Bella and Edvard felt so much like the feeligs I used to have when I was 17 and just fell in love with my first real boyfriend-to-be. It was a distant relationship, so feeligs of missing the each other was really easy to graps to. The way Mayers pictured those feeligns, is, I believe, the thing that draws people to read these books. It’s not a book you read because of appreciated plot or beautiful language – not at all. It’s a book you read because it makes you remember, to feel and even to miss those funny and a bit irrational times, when you were a bit younger, a bit (or a lot) more stupid and so, so in need of someone to hold you close. In my opinion, it’s quite easy to understand Bella’s feelings, intentions and draw for Edward, if you’ve felt like her back then, when you were young. And I believe, many of us girls have.
So yes, I liked them, even if there were quite a few parts that made me roll my eyes. It was nice flashback and a nice way to feel those long ago withered feelings again. A book doesn’t have to be a masterpiece to be entertaning.
(Sorry about my poor English, which is not my mother tongue)
I personally think you are all retarded….Of course the books do not portray a “realistic relationship” you idiots…its a FANTASY book. Dont you people have anything better to do than waste your time talking about how bad twilight is on the internet. I felt that all the books with the excpetion of breaking dawn were incredibly good and im not gay nor am i a “chick”. You people obviously dont understand good cinema….
The movie wasnt that great because they didnt have a ton of money to work with. What happened was all these little girls got into the series because of the movie which is why i hate them. Get into the movie BECAUSE of the book you 10 year olds. I sware you guys are retarded…I read the books practically nonstop for about 4 weeks so there is no way you are telling the truth about reading them in one week…sorry. My Aunt who is considered the fastest reader in all of Ohio read them in 3 weeks so there is no way you read them in one. Sorry to rain on your parade you piece of shit
ha ha ha ha ha……..u ppl dnt realise do you how funny you all are….kate if you just notice deeply the topic which you started about twilight has changed into an criticise english language session…i,m so proud[smirk]….dat we hav so many english criticz…..people instead of making fools of yourselves…outta here…go and read twilight if u luv it n if u dnt read.sumthng else….but this forum has becum 2 2 nonsenciacal now….
and for all d englang teen teachrz outta here…i sincierly [smirk] apologise for writing n short formz…gav u sumthng 2 criticise bout…didn,t i….?????…….ha ha ha……
Scott – Thanks. You’re awesome too.
Jessica – Dickens can write. I fail to see how my critique of a horrible book “diminishes imaginations.” Read the above comments. I like plenty of books. You are officially a wench.
Nick – Doubt your aunt is the fastest reader in Ohio. There are smart people in Ohio. Reading those books in a week is not a difficult feat. Your problem is with the movie driving tweens (the primary audience) to the book and then saying I don’t understand good cinema because I hate the book reveals how retarded you are. You and Jessica are perfect for each other. Get a reality show; you’ll already have name recognition.
ur right kate…….. jessica n nick do need to be sensible…
I’m from Ohio. Clearly Nick, yours and Kate’s classification of the Ohio speedreaders is true.
Well you are all wrong
Twilight is the best thing ever
If you dont think so
Then read the book yourself
Dont judge a book by its cover
GODH!!!…all dis has bcum sooo booooooorrrinnnnnnnn……….shit yah!!!…..i actually feel sorry for stephanie meyer…she wrote a book wid a new light n juz luk wat itz creatd…a debate!!!!btwn twilight luvrz n non luvrz….wid sum smart asses tryin 2 act supr englang tchrz…..i mean i thot der waz sumthin calld herd mentality…thiz forum proves dat herd mentality really is a reality!!!really sad…seriusly nobody cn still accept sumthin new…till now….ppl were nut livin n a narrow minded orthodox period…open ur mindz….let it b creativ….kate i sincierly respect ur views altho i,m nut completely supportiv bout it…but….outta here sum ppl rnt doin ny seriuz discussions bout d topic u wantd 2….but juz puttin sum lame commntz……up juz 4 d show….
Why do you have to hate so much? You’ve probably written a book which has been rejected and are jealous or something else, other wise you wouldn’t be so bitter! I’m a fourteen year old girl, the books are brilliant, they never ‘raped my mind’; For goodness sakes, grow up! They in fact sparked a literary and truly amazing hope and light in me and millions of other girls around the world. Have you never heard of imagination, creativity, fantasy or dreams? These are the things that are the most important aspects of life to TEENAGERS whom this book was WRITTEN FOR. You are past your time, so there is no need to destroy the hope or the minds of millions of girls who are still growing and developing theirs. I for instance, really do not appreciate this mindless rant about Stephanie and her books, and am glad that I have more sense than to listen to it and grow up to be bitter, spiteful and hateful like you are! Please just see a counselor for your own and others sakes and get your selfish, unwelcoming attitude sorted out!
Stephanie Meyers and her brilliant saga of books shouldn’t be debated… If you like it, you like it, if you don’t, then you don’t. Keep your thoughts to yourself! There is no need to go on a mindless rant and try to take a blow at her ego through your own selfishness and self-righteousness! Get over yourself! Honestly, adults behave more like children than we children do. Stephanie wrote a book, not to be debated by contemptuous dream killers, but so as to share her beautiful mind (which is more than I can say for you; you only spread the ugly things in your heart) with this generation, and became a literary genius. Whether you like it or not is your business, and you shouldn’t have posted this to pollute the minds of the rest of the people. I suggest you look at yourself, and I suggest you do it now, before you go back out into the world and and make more derisive, pessimistic judgments about another person and their character. No body’s perfect. I hope you remember that.
get a real job and stop bagging twighlight, just because you could never write anything that is as worthy or you know..worth millions of dollars with the books, merchandizing and movies, but you know…have fun writing you fun little blogs! they are obviously just as good!!!!!
Have you published something somewhere, other than on this website, that shows you can do better? Or are you simply one of those critics who think they know the way but cannot drive the car? It takes a lot of work and courage to put a book out there so that people can rip it apart. It took me exactly two workdays to read the series and the idea of the story is appealing, as is the fact that the main characters don’t just jump into bed together.
In case you have forgotten, many people read simply for enjoyment and there are many styles of writing. Just because you may not like the particular style she has chosen, doesn’t mean the whole world agrees with you. They won’t and shouldn’t, I might add, because you sound like a very bitter person. In literary circles, we have something called ‘constructive criticism’. Meaning we criticise to help and not hinder the writers. I would advise you to learn this process and, if you have any respect for yourself, dispense with the blatant insults. They certainly do not make a good impression as far as your levels of education and maturity are concerned.
You are a piece of dogshit! Twilight is the and always will be the best book ever written!! Besides the other Twilight series of course. So shut your bloody mouth! Don’t tell other people what to think damn it!
I read through some of these comments.
I Weep for the Past and Hope for the Future.
Hey. I’m 18 and got the series for birthday/Christmas. I think the books are actually worth reading. New Moon wasn’t that good but the 4th book was actually half ways decent in my opinion. Just because the movie wasn’t like the book doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it. I loved the movie and I plan to buy it soon. But I do agree with everyone else, that if you’re older you might not like it, but hey, give it a shot. You’ll never know.
omg ass hole ! i love twilight, so what i want to be a vampire, its normal… if u were a girl then you would want to be bitten by edward cullen too !
…listen up kate…this is getting juzt out of hand… like i told you….some of this people only know some abusive words and hav d arrogancy to jus switch into a critisism mode widout any proper justification…now i am fully wid you…altho my own views differ in sum ways bout twilight atleast its sensible to read your views and understand then read sum piece of bullshit this attitude freaks put up…
The poor plot line, immature writing style and lack of character development don’t even compare to my biggest concern with these books. I know many of you have mentioned it before but here it goes…
Clearly the target demographic is young girls who are (generalizing here)quite impressionable.
With that in mind, let’s spread an unhealthy, unrealistic, and damn near impossible standard for a relationship and idealize it. Then we can watch as these girls strive for something later in life that frankly does not exist.
It’s incrediably aggrivating. God forbid this girl should have a life of her own outside preening over a dangerously obssessive vampire. No, she’s turned on instead of severely put off by the fact that a man has been sneaking into her house and watching her sleep for months.
If you’re reading it as a fantasy fine. So be it. However, it’s foolish to think that all the girls, or even the majority of them, will take the entire story -mainly the subtext about relationships, sex, etc- with a grain of salt.
I can’t even respond to the last handful of comments here. They are very disrespectful, poorly thought out and just plain rude. A little civilization is in order here.
*civility
senior moment.
F**ucking haters ?
Okay.. i’m very sorry but this is incredibly stupid.
you either like the twilight series or you don’t.
i’m fifteen and i personally love the twilight series, i think it’s great. although the movie.. not so good. i also think that most of the twilight fans out there only became twilight fans when they turned it into a movie, i read all of the books before i even knew the movie was coming out.
and anyway, everybody has there own opinions, the twilight books where written for teenagers, if adults didn’t enjoy them who cares! they should read a book written for their age group!
another thing. to all the people who are slamming the books even though they have never read them are incredibly PATHETIC, get a life and perhaps read the series, that way you will actually know if they are to your liking! just because other people say they don’t like the book doesn’t mean you won’t.
one last thing..robert pattinson? whhhhhhy!!!!!!!!!!! he’s really not good looking at all! taylor launter though ;] hess hot
xD
I cannot tell you ow much i like twilight!!!!!!!!!!!!! i lve it sooooooooooooooo much, and i think that Edward is hot! i spaaz whenever someone says Edward, Emmett, Carlisle, Jasper, or Alice. i sulk when someone says Bella, or Rosalie. lol.
everyone who just bashed teilight is stupid because twilight rox!
Twilight Rox and you stupid if you don’t like it
I am a 14 year old girl and i read all of the Twilight books n i origionally was OBSESSED with them and then i started hanging out with one of my friends who hated the books and i listened to her point of veiw and realized that she was correct. The literature sucks, Bella is a self concious brat with low self esteem, and Edward is KREEPY! I am amazed by the fact that I ever liked those books. I recently finished Crime & Punishment by Fydor Dosovetsky (spelling) and earilier this year i read the first two books in the Interveiw with a Vampire Series by Anne Rice and I was personally amazed that most of the teenage girls in this country has become obsessed with Edward and Bella’s strange relationship.
Wow Kate
I think you made the vampires angry…lol…don’t critque Brian Frost’s “The Essential Guide to Werewolf Literature” or we might have an all out war on our hands….LOL
“I also hate sloppy writing.”
I do too which is why most of your blog was lost on me when you misspelt Stephenie Meyer’s name very early on. People in glass houses…
TWILIGHT MUVI IS COOL TO MY BECAUSE I LIKE VANPIROS LIKE YOU………………………………..
hey i am lauren and i think that this is really harsh
i think that twilight is a great book and i love all of the rest of the books as well but i think that twilight is so liked by teens bc of the simple fact that you already pointed out it sounds like it was writen by a teenage girl i think it was made to be like that bella was in love with this guy and liked the whole idea of everything going on around her of course there is alot of describing in it that is how you feel when you are talking to a guy your in love with now honestly i did not like the movie as much as the book but i think alot of ppl only watched the movie and became fans after that and that may have become a big part of why it is so huge
Hi Kate,
While i understand your criticism of the quality of writing present in the twilight books, i think you are completely over looking the pull factor that they offer to women, especially teenage girls.
Girls love romance and love stories, that goes without say. But to read an elaborately written, well developed love story is to read about heart break and in many cases endings that leave the reader feeling empty rather than fulfilled; they’re about real life. And who wants to read about real life when they can just live it?
Books offer an escape from reality, a chance to look at the world from a perspective untainted by man kind. Twilight offers this in two ways.
The obvious, of course, is the superficial. Twilight, through its realistic fantasy, forces the reader to accept impossibilities such as immortality and perfection in beauty. The characters in the book possess supernatural powers that they use in such a casual way that the reader begins to see the physical world as a magical place, instead of a land ruled by gravity and logic.
One could argue that the Harry Potter series, of which i am a fan, offer this in a more developed light, and i agree with that idea. There is one thing, however, that separates twilight from Harry Potter and- just as you criticized- it is that none of the main characters die. When people read books and fall in love with characters, they don’t want to have them torn away from them; they want them to continue living, beyond the end of the book, allowing the readers a sense of optimism. I have read plenty of realistic love stories, balled my eyes out over them and have been left with a feeling of certain misery to which every life is doomed.
This was not the case with twilight.
When i finished reading twilight, with its Disney-happy ending, i felt good. It is one of the only books that i have read that didn’t cause me unresolved pain (the second book had its dark ages). Twilight is a series that can take a person to a alternate reality filled with promises and magic, if only one allows themselves to be taken.
Although there is definitely room for development, and even spell check throughout the twilight series, the reason why girls have fallen head over heals for it is obvious, it allows them to live out their ideal, fantasy romance, and accept it as possible.
Jaclyn – You missed/glossed over the most important point – romanticizing the obsessive relationship between Bella and Edward is dangerous in the sense that it excuses abusive behavior (stalking, eavesdropping on your girlfriend’s conversations, etc.) because he “loves” her. When your daughter/sister/best friend says that her boyfriends creepy-ass behavior is ok “because he loves me” and then she ends up battered, come talk to me.
Jessica (number two) – spot on.
charley – I am a girl.
Seriously Twilight fans, you need to rethink your idea of romance before you fall for someone who treats you like Edward and you become his little slave and then he beats the crap out of you. Good luck with that.
Wtf is wrong with u ppl? TWILIGHT is the all-time best freakin’ book/movie ever created… Props 2 the author…
wat the freak i luv twilight it is the best!!!!!! some of u ppl r just crazy if u dont like twilight!!!
I LOVE TWILIGHT ITS THE BEST!!!!!!
I think that everyone on this page is entitled to their opinion however i do like twilight. Not because it’s the most fantastic piece of literary genius out there but because i know im enjoying a book when i want to know how it pans out and how it all ends, and i wanted to read the rest. I have friends who are in love with twilight, and i have friends who hate it, but unless you fancy writing a novel that makes it to the best sellers list there’s no need to bitch about those who do. So you don’t like it, doesnt mean it’s crap, i’ve read lord of the rings and personally didn’t enjoy it very much but i cant deny that Tolkien is a damn good writer. xx
I am 16. I loved the Twilight books. I have read books like ‘Pride and Predjudice’, ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Gone with the Wind’ and I know that Twilight isn’t perhaps as good. However I couldn’t put it down because the relationship between Edward and Bella is sooo romantic even though it is a little farfetched. I also loved all of Dan Browns books. I think Twilight appeals to teenagers because they still have dreams of being in love and the excitement of it whereas most adults know that love isn’t really like that. To all the religious people who think these books are evil, the more you make a fuss the more people will want to read them. Plus its an insult to our intelligence, don’t you think we know its just a piece of fiction! Can I just say that Robert Pattinson is so fit! haha
çookkkk ama çoookkkkk güzell sanki gerçektenn varmış gibi
Twilight is the awesomest book/movie out!!!! If you dont like it then you dont have to, but stop badmothing it!!!
Of course people have their opinions. The only thing here is whether the argument is strong or weak, not if it is ‘right’ or ‘wrong.’ I must agree with Kate that a problem exists with stalking, abusive relationships, and obsession. Think Romeo and Juliet, which happens to continue to be taught in high school classes in many countries. “Oh, I can’t live without you…” syndrome, followed by a suicide. Hmm, problem? Actually, it is not. Is there a problem with Twilight? Not if the parents of adolescents who read this have been open with their offspring about what constitutes a healthy relationship (i.e. respect, kindness, charity, understanding, tolerance, and love).
However, for those who are ethically informed and who have at least a small amount of wisdom, reading a story about two obsessed people, one who happens to be struggling with his darker nature and another who is foolish because of youth, I see no reason why the story is in and of itself dangerous. For example, I loved to watch Batman (the old one with Adam West) when I was a child. I did not, however, immediately run out and punch other children who were brutish, mean, and bullying (though the notion did occur to me to do so.) How many people actually emulate the characters and actions thereof from books and movies? I hope it is not too many.
The real issue is not that the characters may or may not be shallow or even that the romantic relationship between the two main characters is (arguably) unhealthy. Rather, I believe that the topic of importance is what people do with the content of this series (or any other form of media, whether written, visual, or audial) once it has been examined. This can be discussed in further detail, but the topic might just simply lead to debates on censorship or the unresolved notion of ‘what is literature?’ (Though I am quite pleased to discuss these topics, as well.)
So: is Twilight immoral in content or has the author unwittingly created a fire of contention for millions of people that results in unhealthy or even deadly relationships? This is doubtful. The only people who are in real danger are adolescents whose parents are not maintaining open dialogue with their children; parents who do not take an active role in their children’s entertainment. (I examine the comic books, tv programs, video games, etc. with which my three teenage children interact. And my daughter has read Twilight, but clearly understands the fantasy vs. reality concept–she thinks Edward is fantastic in the confines of the book, but she does not want to have anything to do with a person like him in real life.)
I welcome feedback. As a graduate student of Philosophy with an Ethics focus, this is fascinating.
David
UMMMMMM.
WELL IM LIKE THE BIGGEST FAN IM LIKE FALLING FOR JAKOB AND EDWARD YOU GUYS ARE SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOTTTTT I JUST LIKE THAT MOVIE SOO MUCH BUT I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT IM A BIG FAN OF TWILIGHT OF COURSE BUT OF THE DARK KNIGHT 2 THOSE ARE MY 2 FAVORITE MOVIES AND IF I HAVE TO CHOOSE BEETWEEN THOSE 2 MOVIES I WILL TOTALLY PICK TWILIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….:)
I just felt the strong need to say this. So I decided I would comment.
) and this you can feel and some fall for that. Some do not.
I guess it could be that you (Kate) misinterpreted some things.
Edward is not able to read his girlsfriend’s thoughts in spite of the fact that he can read every other’s thoughts (which is a wish everyone has in their lives at one time or the other).
It is Bella who actually always wants sex and eventually gets it although Edward does not approve. (And it is not that she does not know what she is talking about) What do you say to that? It is a little old-fashioned to have to marry before having sex, but he is right, how can she know, whether she wants to commit her whole life to him, if she cannot even marry him. Edward does not want to hurt Bella, and she never in fact is in danger of being killed by him. He would always rather die than see her being killed and the first thing he does is save her life.
You can never approve to every word in a book, because it is obviously someone else’s mind that is expressed through it. But even though the language might not be very highbrow there is something that becomes obvious only between the lines. It is the love of an author for the world and the people she has created. And if you are open to that you can feel some of the love of the writer and it reaches you. And as that is something that many of us long for and not too many have much of (which you can easily find out if you look at the world around you). This author has so much love for her characters (which is probably why she could not let anyone of them die
There are few books that make the admiration and love and commitment an author has with her own images so obvious (which may be due to the fact that she herself dreamed of the characters and their story, and did not simply make it up).
I do not think that masses fall for intellect at all times. I think masses eventually always fall for love.
I think you are 100% wrong, twilight saga is a great book/books. the movie syucked but the book rocked. So if you didn’t like it oh well but others do and its wrong if you to bash stephianie myers when she tried her best at making a good book.
I think the Twilight saga is a sci-fi modern version of Romeo and Juliet. You said it yourself, ’star-crossed lovers’. Shakespeare intended this to mean their starsigns, fate and destiny would make it difficult for Romeo and Juliet to be together. Romeo was a Montague and Juliet was a Capulet; enemy families. Edward is a vampire and Bella is a human; it doesn’t make sense for them to be together, but they still are; like Romeo and Juliet. As for your comment on ‘Yes, that is exactly what we need: more reiteration that it is difficult for men to control their sexual appetites while girls are innocently passive and if they happen to say they want sex, they don’t really know what they’re asking for.’ I disagree. With Edward it mainly wasn’t the sexual desire but the lust for Bella’s blood and Bella seems to be portrayed as a young lady who is very mature and knows what sex is and what is involved with it. I am 16 and i have read all the Twilight books and throughly enjoyed them all. What draws me into this forbidden romance is the forbidden romance. And to find a handsome, polite, talented, sensitive young gentleman like Edward is hard to do in today’s society. I just want you to note that I am not forcing my opinion on anybody. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, you have stated yours and now i have stated mine.
I agree with georgia it was a great book and I enjoyed it
I luv twilight innit
Greaat greaat!!
Some people love the stories and some people hate the stories with everyone else in between. It amazes me how some people are so critical on commenting on a story. Its just a story! The writer wrote it in his or hers own creativity. I am glad we have so much variety in books in this country. (The U.S.) I have lived abroad in other countries that suppress so much of the freedoms and expressions that most people in the U.S. take for granted.
uwww this film is fantastic …and dhe must edoward ….because i think oww….the first film so far that spike which is first with the best oww:D:D:D……. would not leave without first never twilight 2 byyy i hope a one day the look edwoard loveee
I completely agree with Johnny. It really is just a story! Yes, it’s amazing romantic story. Nothing more. Nowadays, because of money, selfishness, serch of benefits, etc., we ( humanity) have forgotten about such things as real pure LOVE. This book shows it to us. That is why we all liked Twilight, but understand it differently.
Ok, if you hated Twilight so much why would you read New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn? I loved the books and so did all my friends. Yes it is like the ultimate love story but thats not the reason I like it most. I like it because it is fantasy and it could never happen. It’s more fun to read about someone who is in love with a vampire than to read about normal people living normal lives. And besides, if you didn’t like them, why waste your time writing about them?
Alright, so this whole Twilight phenomena is the reason I started reading (on my own without being assigned to read 10 books over the summer). And maybe the reason Stephanie Meyer didn’t expand her “writing skills” could’ve been because well… her intended audience were for tweens and teenage girls who are BARELY expanding their literature from lets say Peter Pan to the Great Gatsby. If her intended audience was for adults, Bella would’ve lost her virginity with that vampire that night they met! And all those parents out there who complain about their 14 year old reading such a book with sucky writing skills… did u also know it teaches your young child about abstinence?! It’s like okay what? Do you want your daughter to be reading novels more graphic on sex? What, do u also want her to go google rape and watch all the hidden videos because she should be more realistic about life? Why didn’t you just give her the graphic stories on the the “real world” and talk to her about puberty at age 3, just so she wont grow up and get a boyfriend. Geeze, so i guess what im trying to get at is that just because a book doesnt teach your daughter the latest word from the SAT, dont assume its not worthy enough to read. Let your kids have some imagination.. even if it does give her false hopes or an unrealistic expectation of her perfect match or whatever. Kids got to learn from their choices, mistakes, etc! If they’re happy.. support them! I’m 18 and to be quite honest… i thank stephanie meyer for giving me a one chance to feel 14 again. For putting myself is someone else’s shoes and reliving for hours a day. If i have to choose between Twilight or Romeo and Juliet…. TWILIGHT would kick its asss (: kk thx