Twilight (Twilight Saga, #1)

by Stephenie Meyer

[ladygrey]

I finally read Twilight. Actually, I flew through it. I know it's thick, but it's a really quick read which was fun.

The majority of the first third of the book was slow for me. There were a lot of pages to read, but I didn't really feel that the story was moving forward. We weren't learning much, things weren't really happening. There were moments of action and happening (which were all enjoyable) but I think the gulfs between them were too large.

Which is not to say that Stephenie Meyer didn't put the span between happenings to good use. She really develops the characters well, and not just Edward and Bella. There's a great sense of a community, how these people react to one another, which I think is her strength as a writer. She draws you into the story by connecting you to the people. I do hope, though, that as she matures as an author she becomes more succinct.

In particular, the dynamic between Bella and Edward is incredibly well developed. I liked how amused he is at her, specifically when she's angry or frustrated, which just made her more indignant. It's cute because it's playful. I liked how she defused his anger by being self deprecating or teasing him. I thought it created a good relationship dynamic.

The other part of their relationship that works is that Meyer has tapped into the protector aspect of our psyches. Women, somehow instinctively, want to be seen and desired, to be sought after and fought for. We don't need a protector, but we like one all the same. And men like being that; they want a battle to fight, for adventure and a beautiful girl who makes all the fighting worthwhile. These are base desires and the foundation of most hero stories and romantic tales. Meyer isn't afraid to incorporate them into the nature of her characters nor does she feel the need to be subtle in revealing them. We respond to it because we share these desires and we enjoy seeing them manifest. Granted, sometimes she goes overboard with the whole thing - calling utterly ridiculous things dangerous or giving Edward an overwrought need to protect Bella. But there's also places where it works so you kind of overlook the ridiculous.

My civilian editor (who hasn't even read it yet) pointed out that it's a rather chaste vampire story and I sort of like that about it. It's not as gothic or macabre as vampires tend to be, more romance than horror. It's ferocious in places, but even that is out of the sight. It's different, but I enjoyed it.

ETA: You can see from this initial review that I totally fell into the intoxicating second half of the book and wasn't so bothered by some of the things Meyer actually fails at. I know most of them in general off the top of my head, but still think it would be fair to articulate them after re-reading the book in full (which I may not do because I usually don't re-read books in their entirety. I just re-read the parts I like).