Twlight: Love it... or Hate it?

[bufsum]

Forgive me if there's another one of these threads hiding somewhere... I didn't see one. Or, if it goes in another part of the boards... sorry!

I wanted to open this thread so that people can discuss their thoughts on the newest, and most popular vampire tale. Let me start off the discussion by saying I have yet to read the book (what a great way to begin a discussion, I know!). However, I am going to be reading it shortly, getting it from the library today, as a matter of fact!

I only know what my sister has told me about the series. She has read the first half of Twlight, and gave up. She cited a number of reasons for doing so. Mainly, she disliked the story, the characters, and Meyer's writing style. Reason enough to give up, I'd say.

The reason I am starting this thread is because of a comment made by her while we were discussing Twlight. She said, "I can't see how any fan of Joss Whedon could like that crap." She sees Edward Cullen as an abusive boyfriend to a cranky and unimaginative heroine Bella Swan, and the mythology lacking, and not connected to other vampire stories.

So... I wanted to know what all of you think of this series. Do you think that the series is "an antithesis to everything that Joss believes in" or do you really enjoy it?

 

[JCC]

I absolutely despise it. Killing literature.

 

[IHeartSpike]

I'm reading it at the moment actually!

I'm about 3/4's of the way through...and so far enjoying it. It is a decent read and would recommend to other people, but i wouldn't say it is the best I've ever read though.

 

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

i am a big fan of twilight and would definitely recommend it. i consider it kind of independent from buffy, though. its a totally different world (in terms of mystical) with totally different rules. i have met a lot of people who liked it, but also a couple who it bothered because they didnt like how the vampires and whatnot were different than in buffy. im sure there are good reasons not to like it, but personally, i think that it and buffy are just two seperate mythologies and wouldnt myself consider their contrast a good reason to dislike it.

basically, i disagree that its "an antithesis to everything that Joss believes in", but i can see how not liking the writing style and so forth is a good enough reason for your sister dislike it.

 

[Crazy Flakes]

As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I love Twilight. But, to be honest, you couldn't even compare it to Buffy (and this isn't because Buffy's a TV show and Twilight's not...in fact, I rarely think of Buffy as a TV show.) Buffy's characters all have incredible depth, flaws, and personalities personalities and the writing is fantastic. Twilight characters have little depth, flaws, and personality (Although I do have a huge fangirl crush on him, Edward is the definition of a Mary Sue...or would it be a Gary Stu?), and the characters are so difficult to grow attached to because of Stephenie Meyer's occasionally poor writing of them. I'm not sure how she's going to make Midnight Sun (Twilight from Edward's perspective) remotely interesting...after all, it's in the perspective of a character whose main trait is his utter perfection.

You can't have incredibly high expectations for Twilight, since it's just another young adult series written by a first-time author that hit it big. I, personally, find the series oddly addictive, even though it's incredibly cliched and completely unoriginal. I have to give her points for her unique take on vampires, though...plus, there are some very quotable lines from her books.

To put it simply, is Twilight enjoyable? Hell yes. Is Twilight good? No, not really.

 

[TheHeartist]

I read the first one...didn't like it, won't be reading the rest. It's a poor man's Vampire Chronicles, seriously, if you want an awesome ongoing mythology about vampire, read all the Vampire Chronicles! Anne Rice is an awesome novellist! 😀

 

[JCC]

Anne Rice is just as hideous. I tend to hate vampire fiction anyway, but Anne Rice is awful.

 

[Tranquillity]

To put it simply, is Twilight enjoyable? Hell yes. Is Twilight good? No, not really.

That really does sum it up!
I've read all three books and will certainly read 'Breaking Dawn' when it comes out but i'm not pretending its great literature or anything. And really, it's written for a teenage audience - my fifteen year old and her friends are all mad about the books. I'm also looking forward to the movie.

I find Edward and Bella very Buffy and Angelesque because at it's heart the story is acctually a very traditional romance, that just happens to involve a vampire....
And i'm not someone who loves Bangel-type romance, so it surprised me that i enjoyed the books as much as i did and that Jacob, the Spike-like character really annoyed me alot, (which further annoyed me because I'm firmly a Buffy and Spike person and I felt I 'should' be going for the anti-romance romance - if that makes any sense).

 

[Aethra]

Truly awful, in my opinion. Nothing happened in the first 150 pages, so I stopped reading. Maybe it got better at 151--I don't know. But if it takes that long for anything to happen, in my opinion, I shouldn't bother with it.

 

[Randy Giles]

I think that Stephanie Meyer is a very talented writer. Her "Twilight" series is well-written, and her new sci-fi novel, "The Host", is even better. I find that Meyer is very good at creating good characters, because that's what immediately drew me to each of her novels: I liked the characters and how they were written.

Her style of writing is very addictive, so "Twilight" - which has a pretty basic plot - succeeds where I think most authors would fail. And when I started reading the book I was not expecting much, at all. I was very skeptical because vampire/mortal love stories aren't exactly uncommon...but I was very impressed, and think Meyer's success is well deserved.

 

[xaphania]

I personally love Twilight, but I can understand why some people would hate it.

I read the Twilight books before seeing any of Buffy, so for me it was the other way around - having become used to Meyer's vampire mythology I had to try and get my head around the Buffyverse vampire lore.

They're not the best written books, but the plot is engaging and the characters are likeable. I much prefer the idea of Bella/Jacob to Edward - I think he's far too controlling and possessive of Bella. I have no doubts in which direction Breaking Dawn will go, however.

 

[SpikedBuffy]

I go through spurts where I just absolutely LOVE them, have to read them all again, find myself thinking of Edward and Bella, and then other times, I'm like...eh.

I know a lot of people hate them because it doesn't get the correct history/lifestyle/blah/blah/blah about vampires. And I'm like... hello, it's Vampires. They're not freaking real anyway. duh. 🙂

 

[bufsum]

I have read Twlight (and have had life-stuff, so I haven't been able to post). I have to say, it was terribly misogynistic. I found Edward’s constant control over Bella horrid, especially because she continually gives into him. She puts up a bit of a fight, but gives up every time. She also has major self esteem issues that are never confronted. Mostly I find her to be a brat, who acts like she’s 25. She acts as if all other humans are daft idiots, and the only people she deems good enough to relate to are the vampires.

Furthermore, Meyer is setting up a disgusting display of how relationships should be for the tweens to whom the book is directed to. I can only assume that there are hundreds of young girls wondering around, searching for their own Edward, to control them. Ach!

If this wasn’t enough I find the writing style deplorable. It was obviously written for young girls (as I stated above), but I have been spoiled by Harry Potter, I expect to enjoy a rich tapestry woven together for me to enjoy with a literary eye. I found myself talking to the pages, correcting errors, and coming up with better ways to connect events that seemed haphazardly thrown together.

And one last thing—rip off! I am sorry, but how could you read this, and not see similarities between the series and other popular culture. For example, I saw Edward, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie as the aliens in Roswell. Edward=Max/Zan, Alice=Isabel/Volandra, Emmett=Michael/Wrath, and Rosalie (at least in this book) reminded me of Tess/Ava. I saw elements in the book that were stolen from The X Files, as well. Let’s not forget the fact that Edward and Bella are obviously supposed to be Buffy and Angel.

I have no problem with “borrowing” from other texts, but be a woman… and own up to it! All in all, no thank you, Meyer.

 

[JCC]

I have read Twlight (and have had life-stuff, so I haven't been able to post). I have to say, it was terribly misogynistic. I found Edward's constant control over Bella horrid, especially because she continually gives into him. She puts up a bit of a fight, but gives up every time. She also has major self esteem issues that are never confronted. Mostly I find her to be a brat, who acts like she's 25. She acts as if all other humans are daft idiots, and the only people she deems good enough to relate to are the vampires.

Furthermore, Meyer is setting up a disgusting display of how relationships should be for the tweens to whom the book is directed to. I can only assume that there are hundreds of young girls wondering around, searching for their own Edward, to control them. Ach!

If this wasn't enough I find the writing style deplorable. It was obviously written for young girls (as I stated above), but I have been spoiled by Harry Potter, I expect to enjoy a rich tapestry woven together for me to enjoy with a literary eye. I found myself talking to the pages, correcting errors, and coming up with better ways to connect events that seemed haphazardly thrown together.

And one last thing"”rip off! I am sorry, but how could you read this, and not see similarities between the series and other popular culture. For example, I saw Edward, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie as the aliens in Roswell. Edward=Max/Zan, Alice=Isabel/Volandra, Emmett=Michael/Wrath, and Rosalie (at least in this book) reminded me of Tess/Ava. I saw elements in the book that were stolen from The X Files, as well. Let's not forget the fact that Edward and Bella are obviously supposed to be Buffy and Angel.

I have no problem with "borrowing" from other texts, but be a woman"¦ and own up to it! All in all, no thank you, Meyer.

When Harry Potter is deemed superbly literate in comparison to something, you know that something is not worthy of existence.

 

[palabravampiress]

I read Twilight cuz I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

I read it all the way through, but that's the best thing I can say for it. I felt like it needed... more, umm, everything. It just needed more.

First off, I found the love story absurd and insipid. I wasn't entirely sure what either character saw in the other that was likeable, let alone loveable. The "love" business just seemed to come out of nowhere as a result of prolonged and continued association with one another. I got the impression that had Bella sat next to some other good looking boy in biology class, the hormone parade set into motion by the video days would have continued in much the same manner no matter who the boy was. And, yes, I found Edward waaay too controlling. His love was all about staying away from her and not letting her know about his affection for her (half of which was a desire to eat her)... until he proved too weak to do that and put her in danger as a result, all of which is somehow supposed to make me see his inherent perfection. As far as Bella goes, she is a spoiled brat who has no greater purpose in life than to... date and talk down to her peers and even parents, all of whom are apparently incapable of functioning without her? Come on! The bad vamp coven (or, alternatively, the feud with the werewolves) should have been the main story from the beginning, with the Edward/Bella love story being carefully folded and layered into that so that the experience bonded them. Instead, the love story takes center stage for 3/4 of the book until an action-packed climax is required, at which point rival vamps are brought in totally by accident. I had a very hard time feeling invested in the main plot, every aspect of which seemed haphazardly thrown together.

I found my mind constantly wandering to events and characters that existed on the periphery. I wanted to know more about Jacob Black and the other werewolves. I thought the uneasy truce between the Cullens family and the Native Americans could have been really neat. Meyer missed the boat by mentioning it, but going nowhere with it. I found the makeup of Edward's family and their backstory very interesting, but Meyer missed THAT boat by making them all too perfect. I liked the fact that Bella was incredibly clumsy. I thought we were heading toward something with that... like maybe she was some sort of mythical creature or hybrid or at least handicapped or something. But no. Meyer never explained that at all. Instead, it was just a transparent -- and failed -- attempt to give the character obligatory flaws without really damaging her. I wanted to know more about the parents (and why they acted so infantile). These are by and large the things that kept me reading -- and also the things that were just dropped in, then conveniently forgotten in order to go even more ridiculously heavy-handed with the misogynistic teen love story.

So, yeah. I'm not a fan. Can you tell? This was Buffy light -- waaay too light -- and minus the feminism.

 

[SpikedBuffy]

palabra~ Have you read the second book? New Moon? You'll get more Native American/Jacob Black interaction there, and see their interaction with the Cullens. Even some of that in the third book, Eclipse.

I do like these books. They're just entertainment for me. Not literary masterpieces, and something that I read to get the meaning of life. Just reading. Just fun.

 

[Yam Sham]

Here's New Moon in a nutshell:
Linked for cussing!


Twilight books are enjoyable and addictive, and yet so ridiculous and horrible at the same time. They're so incredibly cheesy and stupid, but I love 'em.

 

[Harley]

I have read Twlight (and have had life-stuff, so I haven't been able to post). I have to say, it was terribly misogynistic...

In what way? The entire story is written and narrated by a woman! Misogynistic is a very strong word if you're just going to reference your statement that Edward "controls" Bella.

I found Edward’s constant control over Bella horrid, especially because she continually gives into him. She puts up a bit of a fight, but gives up every time.

Examples?

She also has major self esteem issues that are never confronted.

Like how she finds herself as ordinary and plain? I'm pretty sure that describes 90% of the teenage girls I've ever met. Would you prefer a character without self esteem issues?

Furthermore, Meyer is setting up a disgusting display of how relationships should be for the tweens to whom the book is directed to....

I can only assume that there are hundreds of young girls wondering around, searching for their own Edward, to control them.

Are you going to criticize every book that has a controlling character in it? Every book that has a relationship that teenagers shouldn't model their relationships after?

This book is fake.

I've never seen anywhere or heard at anytime Stephenie Meyer say that she thinks this is the way that relationships are supposed to be and that she hopes everyone finds someone just like Edward.

To dismiss a book because the relationships are not realistic is ignorant.

Let’s not forget the fact that Edward and Bella are obviously supposed to be Buffy and Angel.

Like Buffy and Angel are supposed to be Romeo and Juliet? Oh wait, like Romeo and Juliet are supposed to Tristan and Isolde?

 

[Willow Rosenberg]

I seem to have come across alot of people raving about this series and I have to admit to being intrigued as they are all so excited about the upcoming Twilight movie too. Having read some of your comments I'm now in two minds whether to read them or not..........

It seems you either love Twilight or you don't.

 

[SpikedBuffy]

I would say if you've got the time, you should read them. If you get through the first one (which in my opinion is the better of all three) and you don't like it, then you can move on. It's not going to kill you to either read them or quit reading them if you don't like them. You just have to see for yourself.

I am excited for the movie slightly. I hate when movies are 'based' off of books. Really, I think they should say "We took the title of this books and a few of the characters and then screwed it up beyond belief and you will definitely hate it because you have the whole book memorized and it will be nothing like you envisioned in your head because we suck as scriptwriters."