I'm finally getting back into the habit of spending an evening Just Reading. There are about 20 books on my guided reading list that in some way relate to my thesis, and they are ALL fiction books. So I get to be re-acquainted with some old favorites - Rebecca, Jane Eyre, The Canterville Ghost, The Woman in White - and get into some new things I've not read yet - House of Leaves, Daphne.
Writing is such a wonderful excuse for reading. Even the thesis syllabus says "a writer who doesn't enjoy reading is a contradiction in terms." Right on.
My advisor asked me if I'd read the Twilight series yet. He said he hadn't gotten around to them, but he knew they were all over the place, and I may want to check them out to see if I'd want to add them to my reading list. As it happens, I bought the first one (finally!) at Target last Saturday since the paperback copies were on sale. I figured if I didn't like it, I'd only be out a few dollars, and I could donate it to the library or something.
It's five-hundred-some pages, and I got through it in an evening, which is pretty good, I think. I haven't had the luxury of reading like that in quite awhile. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. I didn't care for it or about it or the story or the characters. I got the revulsion-is-the-opposite-of-attraction theme. That made it easy to create the tension between the two main characters. However, Edward's treatment of Bella struck me as rather cold and manipulative and bossy, possibly even abusive. I never got the sense that he liked her as a person, just that he found her blood irresistable and thought of her as his "object" that he must protect, which isn't the same thing. It certainly didn't make me completely suspend my disbelief. Rather, I was in disbelief all the way through it. I can see the superficial attraction, but nothing beyond that. And teenage girls are reading this. This is going to be their impression of what a relationship is supposed to be, and they'll let men treat them this way? Scary thought.
I read just about all the Anne Rice vampire novels when I was in college, so that's immediately where my head went for comparison. Twilight had more of a gloomy atmosphere rather than a gothic one since the story takes place in an area that gets a lot of clouds and rain. Most of the other Twilight characters don't feel fully realized (AR is great at character development). Then again, it's a series, so that may not be a problem. They can come onstage again later.
I've heard the second and third book are decent, but if the writing is pretty much what it is in this one, I'm not really interested. I've also heard the last book is a disappointment, which I may read just to see how bad it really is - you can always learn something, even from bad writing). Apparently, there's going to be another book in the series that re-tells the story from the first book but from another character's point of view. That could be interesting, especially if he really does see her as an object, at least it would be spelled out. We'll see. Dunno if I'll go see the movie, other than the eye candy factor of the actor playing the main vampire. I can always wait until it's out on Netflix.
An added benefit of a reading binge like that is that it takes the place of a food binge, which is good for my middle. Therefore, it was a good enough book if it kept my attention and kept me from mindlessly eating.
Right. Back at it. On to Rebecca.
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