Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Twilight (Twilight #1) by Stephenie Meyer *

I always read the bios of an author before reading anything from them. This makes me aware of where the author is coming from. I noticed that she graduated from Brigham Young University. Having studied Mormonism at the University, and read bios of ex-Mormons, so I know that it's a good device of indoctrination for them. So I'm thinking she's probably a Mormon, though it was never confirmed, just an assumption.

For a majority of the book nothing happens. Painful descriptions of I have no idea what, because I only remember important things and I remember so little of this book. I may have been half asleep during it. The characters are shallow and show no development, the story boring and unoriginal, Meyer often uses words in bad context. The least of which is that the vampires are just lame. It picks up with the other vampires getting into town and you're hoping something is going to happen. Then it ends quite abruptly and you hope that Edward turns Bella and things get interesting, but no. So it ends. I was hoping that the excitement of the last pages would translate into the next book, but it's even more boring. And longer. I think they pay her by word count, or something.

I've become an avid Twi-hater. Why? One, it's fun. Two, I just don't get how people can actually like the series. I've read a lot of in-debth analysis of it and I could never read it myself, because it's horrible. Recently, I've realised something about Bella and I want to put it here.

There have been many books where the main characters may not be liked or don't develop, but these characters lack the most fundemantal thing in making someone up. They have no basis for who they are. Meyer claims that Bella is old beyond her years, when she constantly acts juvenile. Her pessimism, low self-esteem have no basis in her history. If she had taken care of her mom a lot, she would have been proud, independent and self-assured. Bella is Meyer. A Mormon woman who has been constantly told by everyone that she is inferior, not good, vulnerable, unable to accomplish anything without a man. Since I read all those things about the series, I know that for her, a woman is only someone who has a husband and kids.

I have a third reason for hating Twilight. It demonizes independant women and glorifies those who depend on their husbands. This is the 21st century and we have come a long way from letting men be the center of our universe, of defining ourselves based on our maritial and fertility status. Let's not go back there.