Alright. So about a month ago I went to see 'Twilight' with my friend Catherine. Apart from a few cringing-ly campy moments, and Kristen Stewart's sometimes inability to act (sorry, just my opinion), I enjoyed the film very much. At it's heart, it's actually a very sweet story. Catherine had read the books and said she enjoyed them, apart from a few quirks such as the author feeling the need to repeat minute details over and over. But overall she said they were page turners. Joanna, another friend, is a big fan of the books. So, it's no surprise that on a quick trip to Sam's Club last week, I saw the paperback at a bargain price and snatched it up. I began reading it that night, and after a little while and about one-hundred pages in, I became so annoyed that I had to put it down. It wasn't until today I was able to pick it up again and finish. Catherine was definitely right about the endless repeating. The same concept of Edward being a god-like creature was repeated on almost every page, just with different sentence structure, and that's just one example. The author, Stephanie Meyer, seems to enjoy making up her own words as well, and even putting them in the wrong tense within her unoriginal sentences. There are plenty of holes and contradictions too in the story. While the plot is overall good, there is no explanation to why the main characters fall in love, other than her blood smells good to him, and she thinks he's hot. And then there were the typos. It seemed like every ten pages or so there was a word misspelled. There are some editors and proofreaders at Hachette Book Group who shouldn't have jobs. The writing itself is dull, not the plot, but the writing. Once in a while 'big words' were thrown in where they didn't belong. No doubt Meyer had a thesaurus close by while writing it, her own vocabulary seems to be very limited. And that fact is proved by the endless appearance of the word "murmur" throughout the book. Half the dialogue she wrote was described in some tense of 'murmur'. Even when the characters were shouting! Allow me to share Dictionary.com's definition of 'murmur'
*ahem*
'murmur' - a low, continuous sound, as of a brook, the wind, or trees, or of low, indistinct voices.
I prove my point.
But. Even after all that, the main character was the most irritating part of the book. Isabella Swan is possibly the most unlikable heroine that I've ever had the displeasure to read the thoughts of. She has a complete lack of respect for her parents (calling them by their first names when they're not around and sometimes when they are), she's rude, selfish, and outright bitchy, not to mention the fact that she's falling down or fainting every few pages. She treats her 'friends' like crap, explaining any nice moment or kind gesture towards them as though she is just indulging them, and she continuously just uses them to 'pass time' and for various other reasons. Everyone annoys her for no good reason. She's also completely unappreciative when anyone she knows goes out of their way to do something nice for her. At the back of the book there was a 'sneak peek' at the first chapter of the next book in the series. It only confirmed my dislike for Bella. All of those unlikable characteristics made an appearance, in just the first chapter.
I'm not going to attribute the fact that I read the book in a matter of a few hours to the fact that I read fast. Catherine was right. Even after all the things that irritated me about it, I was still compelled to turn the page. But after careful contemplation, I think this is due to the general plot and because I was constantly hoping it would redeem itself. The plot in the book is identical to that of the film, but the way things go about happening is very different at times, and of course there were a lot of little things left out. Meyer may have come up with a good outline for a story, but I think she should have sold the idea and let someone write it, who knows how to write.
This is an extremely rare case in which I think I enjoyed the film far more than the book. Bella was more likable in the film, while many supporting characters were more likable in the book with more explanation of their origins and actions.
They're are three more books in the series, and I'm fighting my natural instinct to finish what I started. I'm not sure I can endure much more, but I guess we'll see.
But. Even after all that, the main character was the most irritating part of the book. Isabella Swan is possibly the most unlikable heroine that I've ever had the displeasure to read the thoughts of. She has a complete lack of respect for her parents (calling them by their first names when they're not around and sometimes when they are), she's rude, selfish, and outright bitchy, not to mention the fact that she's falling down or fainting every few pages. She treats her 'friends' like crap, explaining any nice moment or kind gesture towards them as though she is just indulging them, and she continuously just uses them to 'pass time' and for various other reasons. Everyone annoys her for no good reason. She's also completely unappreciative when anyone she knows goes out of their way to do something nice for her. At the back of the book there was a 'sneak peek' at the first chapter of the next book in the series. It only confirmed my dislike for Bella. All of those unlikable characteristics made an appearance, in just the first chapter.
I'm not going to attribute the fact that I read the book in a matter of a few hours to the fact that I read fast. Catherine was right. Even after all the things that irritated me about it, I was still compelled to turn the page. But after careful contemplation, I think this is due to the general plot and because I was constantly hoping it would redeem itself. The plot in the book is identical to that of the film, but the way things go about happening is very different at times, and of course there were a lot of little things left out. Meyer may have come up with a good outline for a story, but I think she should have sold the idea and let someone write it, who knows how to write.
This is an extremely rare case in which I think I enjoyed the film far more than the book. Bella was more likable in the film, while many supporting characters were more likable in the book with more explanation of their origins and actions.
They're are three more books in the series, and I'm fighting my natural instinct to finish what I started. I'm not sure I can endure much more, but I guess we'll see.
