Well, at least I got you to come to the blog.It seems to me the only blogs being read these days are rants, few raves, and mostly incensed insults about the famous Twilight series.
Several years ago when Twilight first hit the shelves, I read no fewer than seven vampire novels including the classic Dracula and Rice's Interview With a Vampire. And I liked them all. Really. (My personal favorite being MT Anderson's Thirsty). And, yes, I liked Twilight. Not big into Vampire lore myself, I have no idea if any of the other books I read commit egregious errors like Twilight does (according to the majority of articles and blogs).
But I took Twilight for what I think it is: a pretty good read. (Other books in that category for me are: The Davinci Code, The Firm, Practical Magic and more. And I mean this as a compliment because being a good story teller is a great skill!). As for Twilight, I think Edward's sexy (At least in Twilight. Admittedly, I haven't read the other books in the series. But a sixteen year old here in Colombia gave me the synopsis one day while waiting in line for a Juanes concert. Good enough.) And the thing I most remember about Bella is she makes dinner for her dad. (I, for one, can't boil water so I think making dinner for two people at seventeen years is an awesome feat.)
But it kind of amazes me the sheer number of people who are so vehement, and even a touch malicious, about the dreaded, damaging Twilight series. To be fair, every single article, blog etc. I've read about the series is much wittier, well-written, well-versed, and well-researched than this blog. I can't be bothered to look for examples of bad prose etc. (Links to all these blogs, articles below). But that said, what's the deal? A Facebook friend wrote, "TWILIGHT HAS DIVIDED THE COUNTRY." And it seems that it's definitely divided the writing community.
But why? Why is everybody so upset about a, um, sterilized vampire-world?
I'll use me as an example. I was pretty shy in school. I've never been a giddy "ooh-ooh" kind of girl. And my novels, to date, are pretty sex-less. My characters spend much of their sexual energy with hot magazines in bathrooms. Moreover, I'm definitely not a Christian and though I believe in something, I'm not sure what that something is. My novels and characters are a reflection of my belief system.
Meyer is a young Mormon woman. (Yes. Faith, background, everything we ARE influences our novels). She herself has said she relates most with Edward (who, admittedly, has that creepy stalking thing going on. We'd have to ask her hubby about that one.) Moreover, though, he's incredibly nineteenth-century when it comes to his sexuality, a touch obsessive, and, well, saving himself. Hey. It works for Meyer and obviously her audience. It's where she's coming from.
It seems, though, there's a slew of critics (including the great Stephen King himself) who find this series an abomination to the canon of literature we offer for young adults out there. (Remember last year the big "to-do" about King dishing Meyer's writing saying, in so many words, she probably couldn't write her way out of a paper bag. Link below.)
But this is the thing. All those people who rant, stump, fume and rage about Twilight have read it (and finished it). See. I don't finish books I don't like. Period. Life is short and there are too many awesome books out there.So this brings me to believe they feel jipped about spending money on such a horrific book and finished it because they just had to. But think about it. Every time we mention the dreaded Twilight, though, I can guarantee you Meyer is getting another sale. Hell, I kind of wish my book would be on all those blogs. FREE PUBLICITY. And by doing this blog, to ride the Twilight-read-my-blog-wagon, I am doing the same: selling her books.
And I've read the criticisms about how Twilight promotes unhealthy relationships, stalking, horrific prose, and hack research. Okay. Perhaps. But I know a few classics that pretty much do the same (except for the horrific prose part. Maybe. Okay. What the hell, I'll go there. Ever try to read Snow by Pamuk? Good God. 600 pages of snow descriptions. Yep. Just put me on that uncultured-rather-read-Twilight-than-Nobel-prize-winners train!)
I can hear the screaming: But all the teens will become love-sick, obsessed, and jealous and throw themselves into abusive relationships and whatnot.
Nah. Let's give our reading audience more credit than that. They're savvy. They're smart. They call it when they see it. Oh. Yeah. And they're teens who have love-sick, obsessive, jealous tendencies because their hormones are raging, brains aren't fully developed, and are willing to wear neon colors. Good God. Haven't they seen a decade of bad 80's style? MUST they repeat it? If that doesn't PROVE they're a market that can be influenced by evil, I don't know what. But the fashion will pass as well as the Edward obsessions. Really.
And that said, they're buying my books. (Okay. Some of them are.) And they're buying my friends' books. And I'm happy they are. And I'm happy their buying Meyer's books, too.
I guess this is just me thinking there's Much Ado about Nothing. It's a vampire book series. (A million-dollar empire now). I live in a country where the people read an average of 1.7 books per year (nationwide) and fewer than one book per year in my city. Yep. PER YEAR. So guess what? I bought the Twilight series for a library I work at down here along with Harry Potter (I DO love all the HP's and Rowling's magical world), and anything that's coming out on film this year because I need kids to read here.
So in my opinion any book, any book, that gets people reading is a good book.
Links to other articles/blogs about Twilight (if you don't do the direct link, just cut and paste):
http://psa.blastmagazine.com/2008/08/16/twilight-sucks-and-not-in-a-good-way/
http://psa.blastmagazine.com/2008/08/23/twilight-a-follow-up-and-a-promise/
http://community.feministing.com/2009/08/twilight-criticism-has-no-teet.html
http://blogs.usaweekend.com/whos_news/2009/02/exclusive-steph.html
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