I did it ... not proud but I did it.

[scottishlass]

As the weekend was overall shitty and I have a slight case of carpal tunnel on my right hand (hence no mouse movement or typing whatsoever) I finally started to read the first book of Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. And after one chapter I needed a drink.

Two tea cups and 2 hours later I tried to tackle the second chapter and half-way through I opted for going for a walk with the dogs IN THE FREAKING RAIN for an hour and a half instead.

Third try is the charm or so they say ... nope ... not really, but I kept at it, tried to ignore all those little inconsistencies, the bad writing AND the even worse over-editing of a zealous editor (I guess she tried her best to make this dribble even readable). OMG!!! You can actually see where the author's voice (aka own writing) leaves off and where the editor picked up and suggested complete passages. Which is bad ... very baaaaad indeed.

Anyway ... I was determined to read at least one book to see what all that hype is all about and whether or not I can gleefully continue in making fun of Twatlight.

My hunch was right ... Jesus fucking Christ on a crutch. Not only are these books written very badly from an editor's POV, they also open a whole can of worms and transport a whole unhealthy concept of true love to a whole generation of young girls.
Meyer seems to be Mormon and it comes across clearly in her books. Edward (and Jacob) are such traditionalistic, stalkerish, Mormon bastards, I doubt you find any more cliched ones in ... well Mormon literature. Heck even Amish romance novels are less cliched or full of crazy donkey shit as this one.

First ... Meyer supports the idea that a woman's/girl's sole reason for being is to be with her true love. Bella doesn't do anything in the whole book, either she mopes around or she wants to be made a vampire. She is like an empty shell without Edward.
Additionally, Meyer thinks only an abusive (aka stalker) relationship is a true love relationship. Women are property and you can transport them wherever you want, whether to make them leave their family and friends, move her to a new, foreign country or control whom she's going to meet. And have no say about it whatsoever ... but then Bella is such a weak bulb in the brain department any way (with Edward only nanoseconds behind) anyway, she wouldn't know how to talk back in the first place.

While reading all this it really gave me the creeps and some really bad flash backs to a relationship my mother had with my first stepfather. Which was abusive, harrassing and LIFE THREATENING!!!

And Meyer actually supports all this with her trilogy. What is the world coming to? It is already bad that some Japanese mangaka support abusive school girl hentai, but this is even worse. The school girl mangas are mostly read by wannabe school girl seducing men and while Meyer's drivel is read by school girls and young adults who actually think that this kind of relationship is okay. Young girls are her target group, she grooms them for hordes of unfeeling and abusive bastards who treat their girlfriends and spouses like shit and think they are the crown of evolution.

If living godly means to be abused and seen as an object, with no say or brain whatsoever, ready to be abandoned or mauled or stalked, then Miss Meyer needs a reality check.

Whoever accepted her prompt of this trilogy AND made the effort to edit the manuscript beyond any acceptable editing work should be shot and burn forever and a day in editing hell. Said editor is a very bad example of the whole trade.

OH and that book? It went straight into the trash can. I can only deal with the pollution of my brain so far, I don't need it sitting on my bookshelf side by side with authors who can actually write.

ETA: If you want to read good vampire fiction then try some of the books by Storm Constantine. Her vampires have a reason to be all mopey and introvert. Or for crying out loud read Bram Stoker's DRACULA ... now there you can actually learn something from.

Comments

[lhunuial.livejournal.com]

Reading how you battled through reminds me of my own battle to read it and I'm glad to know I'm not the only who had that struggle.

I don't know too much about Mormom beliefs so I didn't make that link while I was reading it, but now you're pointing it out so nicely yeah, I can make the connection.

I still don't know why this whole thing got published and I don't wanna know really, because I don't think I'd be able to handle it. I'd be ashamed of myself if I wrote that.

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

I'm an editor and even I don't know why it was published. Either the editor was under pressure and needed something to present for the weekly future book lancing meeting or the whole Mormon Choir of Utah held a gun to her head ... I really don't know.

What I really like to sere is the prompt Meyer first send in to the publisher. And the first few pages. Usually, an editor trashes a script with so much as a Thanks but no thanks note after the first few paragraphs if a story is not written well. That editor must have been either out of her/his mind or been on flu drugs.

Let's face it ... if we strip that trilogy/movies off the whole sprakly vampire/wolfboy shit, the relationship between Edward and Bella is just plain unhealthy and just cries of domestic violence.
He stalks her, he abandons her in strange places, he threatens to kill himself and/or her ... the list goes on and on. Additionally, vampires are not sexy. They suck your life out of you and you die. Might be fun while in it, but in the end you only end up with dead or living for centuries the same old, same old. *yawn*

[lhunuial.livejournal.com]

Yeah I'd like to see the first prompt as well. I mean, when I write I constantly think I can do better, so I start from scratch all over again. If I'd written Twilight and sent it to get published I must have been seriously drunk when sending it in and I'm never drunk.

It is a very unhealthy relationship. I'm not into the vampire business at all. Sure I've read Bram Stoker several times, but I've never really saw the appeal of vampires. My sister and my cousin love it though, but even they think Twilight is crap.

[koellegirl.livejournal.com]

Well - and I thought I was the only one, finding these books total crap. Of course, I have to admit, that I just got to chapter 2 before throwing the book into the dustbin.
I never understood the hype - not only with young girls, but women my age as well. Disgusting.
So - thanks Una and welcome in the club of sane women.

[shenai.livejournal.com]

This is totally random, sorry, but omg I think I recognize the picture in your icon. That's Gerda Laufenberg right?
Please tell me I'm not going blind or being deceived by a tiny picture ^^;

Sorry for butting in.

[koellegirl.livejournal.com]

Hi shenai,

you are not deceived, it is Gerda Laufenberg, the Cologne Cathedral. I love her paintings and like her personally very much. How do you know her? You are the first to ask me about the icon.

[shenai.livejournal.com]

You and me share a hometown :)
My mother is a big fan of Gerda Laufenberg and I like her paitings too, when I was younger we went to her studio a few times.

[koellegirl.livejournal.com]

Another first - I have not met another Kölsche here on lj.
Nice :-)

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Yup ... I has started it once before and reached chap 2 before stopping. But this time I was determined as someone had challenged me and I'm always someone who wants to know what she is ranting about so I finished it.
But yeah a very unhealthy relationship .. I guess there is some truth to the cliche when guys say: *She wanted it.* At least for those women who fangirl Twilight.

[shenai.livejournal.com]

One more reason I will never go near any part of this series...
For a better outlook on relationships in YA fantasy novels read Graceling :)

[back2real.livejournal.com]

believe it or not, I got mostly through that book. I tried reading it before so much of the backlash (or before I'd heard all the arguments and rants against it) so my disgust came from how poorly written it is, and how completely derivative and unoriginal the story itself was. Sadly, I have a few friends and relatives, varying in ages from 20s to 40s, who are BIG fans of the books and movies. Tweens loving it I can almost understand. They have so little life experience and for the most part haven't read that many books to compare it with and see what complete crap it is. The women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, etc. who are mad-crazed about it? THAT's even worse to me!

[kathputli-girl.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed reading this post!
I, too, forced myself to read that first Twilight book to see what all this was about. Having read alot of "metaphysical teen fiction" I was simply not impressed. Although I was surprised that Edward wasn't the captain of the football team...that's about the only element missing from this book that all the other teen crap I've read has got. Seriously. And frankly all I really remember is the author mentioning how beautiful and breathtaking Edward was supposed to be on about EVERY single page...multiple times. There was hardly room for any plot! Hahah. So there is also a message to young girls that how the object of their desire looks is of the utmost importance; a beautiful boy is the ideal. Which is lame.