Twilight was much better than I expected it to be. It's captivating, even in places with no hint of plot beyond the annoying Bella/Edward pairing. I started it at ten PM expecting to read maybe the first chapter, and ended up putting the book away at page 375 when my eyes refused to stay open any longer. (Of how late that time was, I shall say nothing.) I finished it the next day and liked it less the more I thought about it. There was no deeper meaning--nothing that stayed with you after the book was over. It was enjoyable for the moment. That was all.
But I understand why so many people, especially women, especially teenage girls, adore these books. The entire story is wish-fulfillment. Bella is the figure that every girl thinks of herself as--insecure, clumsy, and generally put upon by the trials of life. Edward is the person every girl wants; he's protective, a gentleman, oh, and of course the strength and beauty beyond the lot of mortals thing. And he loves her...or is infatuated with her, rather...and tells her that she's beautiful too, and she believes it...what romantic couldn't like it? They remind me of Glinda and Fieryo in Wicked: "You're perfect!" "You're perfect!" "So we're perfect together!" Bella likes Edward because he looks good, Edward likes Bella because she smells good. (Literally.) Love? What love?
And then there's the whole "forbidden love" aspect...of course it's always more exciting when your boyfriend is tempted to turn you into dinner. Bella knows that it's unwise to keep up her Edward-addiction, but of course she ignores that and everything comes out all right in the end anyway. Real, true, deep commitment, where emotions are not the most important factor, is far too dull to be worth writing about.
Escapism at its finest, all parading as sincerity.
I know plenty of Twilight fans who don't believe those messages--they enjoy the story and don't take it too seriously. But judging from the number of Edward Cullen fangurls out there, I think most of Twilight's popularity is due to the fact that it satisfies the longing for acceptance and flawless, easy, "twue wuv," with a dose of excitement thrown in--and it's all a fake.
On the writing: It certainly wasn't great. Meyer needs to take Mark Twain's advice: "When you see an adjective, kill it." Still, it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. The paragraph in the post below this was definitely the worst part; the rest was more or less bearable.
So as not to sound utterly negative, there were a few things I did like:
1. The fact that Bella seems to be a moderately well-read individual; at least, before she abandons her books in favour of Ed
2. The other Cullens--how they had fairly developed personalities for their amount of screen time, how they adopted each other and now act like any other family, how they were always isolated, how they glitter (ok, that last one was a lie)
3. The cover, which is nice enough and looks scarily similar to this book of CSL quotes
4. Carlisle, just 'cause Carlisle is under-appreciated and deserves his own place on this list. He's wise, he's a doctor, he made a conscious choice to not become the monster he would naturally tend toward, though it took a struggle. Plus he's been around since the 1600s, that must count for something.
Post scriptum: Take it from a lifelong resident--the Pacific Northwest is not that bad.
Then again, if you've grown up in a desert like poor Bella did, maybe you wouldn't properly appreciate the rain. Just maybe.
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