The Twilight books - book review

Apparently, I have been following up on all the wrong recommendations. I've never held to the opinion that modern literature is all twaddle and fluff, and yet the more I read of recommended books, the more I have to wonder—is it really true after all?

For those who aren't aware of what is popular among the tween and teen crowd, right now there is a series of books that is "all the rage", even so much that there will be a film made of them coming out in December. Twilight is a book by Stephanie Meyer, a Mormon author who writes vampire and werewolf books set in the Forks/La Push area of Western Washington. There are two other books in the series (New Moon and Eclipse), with a fourth one eagerly anticipated this August. Her stories revolve around a teenage girl who discovers that a family of good vampires lives near her town, that there are evil vampires out there, and that there are werewolves nearby who fight the evil vampires. She falls in love with one of the vampires, and that relationship drives the plot of most of the books.

At first, there seems to be a lot going for these books. There's a strong message of abstinence and morality, not least because the vampire love interest was born in the late 1800s and hasn't changed much. There's also a strong importance placed on chivalry and honor, even though the books are plainly set in modern times. Edward Cullen, though a vampire, appears to be the sort of hero who might be a young version of one of Jane Austen's—mannerly, respectful, self-sacrificing, and honorable.

However, it becomes plain as you read that these virtues are unfortunately drowned out by flaws. It's not as though the author meant it that way—she clearly loves her good characters and seems out to present a moral protagonist that readers can love. Unfortunately, her obvious and blind love for her creations seemed to delude her into forgetting that they could make mistakes.

The first and major flaw with these books is that the heroine is unabashedly teenage. Overemotional and hormonal, quick to say that she will die if she can't have the man she loves, and gush over how perfect he is, she could be a character from the 1700s or a modern teenage girl. Bella never seems to get beyond crush level in her attraction for Edward, despite the fact that she is willing to sacrifice herself for him—it's more that she has made her world revolve around him, so she couldn't bear his death. Her level of attraction is unhealthy, and though it is nominally addressed by Bella herself, Edward, and a couple other characters, the author never seems to totally condemn it, and there is little to no consequence.

The second major flaw is in the character of Edward. While a very decent young (old?) vampire, he also suffers from teenage angst that, you would think after 100 years of life, he would have outgrown. No, he might just as well have been a young human for how maturely he behaves. Not only that, the way that Bella (and the author) gush on about him, you'd think he was perfect. He's not. He's not even consistently written perfectly, it's just that he apparently can do no wrong. It's frustrating to a reader to see a character who could be quite interesting, if only his flaws were acknowledged and dealt with. The same can be said about the first flaw, the character of Bella.

And the third major flaw is that the author is too much infatuated with her own creation. She seems to identify so deeply with Bella that she cannot see the other flaws. Certain characters are discarded for silly, petty, reasons due to Bella's youthful point of view, and certain plotlines are dealt with in very youthful ways, all with no consequences. I have no problem with young characters behaving their age, but when the author seems to think that youthful behavior is not only appropriate but not deserving reproach from the older characters? It becomes a very frustrating situation.

Looking past these flaws, the books are a quick and enjoyable read. Definitely page-turners, though the author doesn't have much going for her beyond that. Too sensational, and the lack of true strong moral characters is painfully obvious. Like Harry Potter, these books are a guilty pleasure, if pleasure is the right word for books that gave me so much frustration.