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theatokosOn Thursday, I had the morning to myself. I went for a walk to a nearby cafe - just to get out of the house like I used to. When the used book store across the street opened, I decided I would read Twilight only if they had a copy, right then, used. Two gentlemen were working at the store. The one shelving books said they were entirely out of all the Twilight books used. "But," said the man behind the counter, "we just got all these in, let me check the stacks." At the bottom of stack number two was a copy of Twilight. I handed over my $6 and, voila.
Two days later, done. Below are my thoughts.
1. I retract nothing - not one thing - from my review of the movie.
2. I am surprised fans of the books haven't tracked down the director and screenwriter of the film and stabbed them to death in their sleep. The movie has to be one of the worst - and most insulting! - adaptations of all time.
3. In the book Bella actually has some personality and pluck. She is waaaaaaay more interesting than in the movie. And the story is actually pretty sweet and interesting in concept. I am a fan of the vampire tale; this did have some appeal.
4. The writing is truly abysmal. In fact, I am STUNNED that this got published. Basically, this should inspire us all to get writing, because if Ms Meyer can make her fortune as an author, so can we all. No, really, I am not joking. The writing is entirely "telling" - there is no subtlety, no "showing." The first third is awkward, though innocuous enough; at one point she tries the tiniest form of narrative sophistication and manages to confuse a page's worth of prose. Which makes me wonder where the hell the editor was. My god, imagine how awful the writing was BEFORE the editing!
Once Edward and Bella start driving everydamnwhere and Ms Meyer starts explaining every damn detail the book takes a dramatic turn for the worse. This book should have been written in third person. The story of how Carlisle came to be a vampire would have been a wonderful flash back. The third part of the book - the climax, as it were - is a cheap, and late to the game, attempt at plot. There's no tension there at all, because other vampires are so not a part of this story and they appear out of the blue.
There were several points in the story where I got the impression that Ms Meyer intended us to feel one way about a scene or a bit of dialogue (mostly I got this impression regarding Edward), but she is such a bad writer that I don't think she could convey her intention.
This is all a shame because, once I realized that the book was not the horrific feminist abyss the movie was, there was a small part of me rooting for a good story. Alas, disappointment won the day.
5. The enormous snob that I am still can't figure out how so very many people adore these books. I can't even use the half-assed "at least be grateful they're reading" phrase, because the writing is so awful I don't think this counts. But my brain did not melt! Probably because what ever could have been melted was already decimated by the movie.
Two days later, done. Below are my thoughts.
1. I retract nothing - not one thing - from my review of the movie.
2. I am surprised fans of the books haven't tracked down the director and screenwriter of the film and stabbed them to death in their sleep. The movie has to be one of the worst - and most insulting! - adaptations of all time.
3. In the book Bella actually has some personality and pluck. She is waaaaaaay more interesting than in the movie. And the story is actually pretty sweet and interesting in concept. I am a fan of the vampire tale; this did have some appeal.
4. The writing is truly abysmal. In fact, I am STUNNED that this got published. Basically, this should inspire us all to get writing, because if Ms Meyer can make her fortune as an author, so can we all. No, really, I am not joking. The writing is entirely "telling" - there is no subtlety, no "showing." The first third is awkward, though innocuous enough; at one point she tries the tiniest form of narrative sophistication and manages to confuse a page's worth of prose. Which makes me wonder where the hell the editor was. My god, imagine how awful the writing was BEFORE the editing!
Once Edward and Bella start driving everydamnwhere and Ms Meyer starts explaining every damn detail the book takes a dramatic turn for the worse. This book should have been written in third person. The story of how Carlisle came to be a vampire would have been a wonderful flash back. The third part of the book - the climax, as it were - is a cheap, and late to the game, attempt at plot. There's no tension there at all, because other vampires are so not a part of this story and they appear out of the blue.
There were several points in the story where I got the impression that Ms Meyer intended us to feel one way about a scene or a bit of dialogue (mostly I got this impression regarding Edward), but she is such a bad writer that I don't think she could convey her intention.
This is all a shame because, once I realized that the book was not the horrific feminist abyss the movie was, there was a small part of me rooting for a good story. Alas, disappointment won the day.
5. The enormous snob that I am still can't figure out how so very many people adore these books. I can't even use the half-assed "at least be grateful they're reading" phrase, because the writing is so awful I don't think this counts. But my brain did not melt! Probably because what ever could have been melted was already decimated by the movie.
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Date: 2009-04-12 01:45 pm (UTC)i wouldn't say i adore the books [couldn't even get through the last one and skimmed to the end], but i did enjoy the first book. like i said before, it was my burger king.
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Date: 2009-04-12 04:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-12 05:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-12 10:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-12 11:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-13 01:49 am (UTC)