Twilight Time

Since the movie version of the first book in the Twilight series opens this week, I decided to dedicate this post to the Twilight phenomenon.

I've read the first book. I read it in like 2 days, and let me just say, I rarely finish a book, let alone that quickly! I was completely sucked in (which is funny cuz it's a vampire book). I first heard of Twilight on Facebook - I was like, "Who is this Edward Cullen? What is all this Twilight stuff?" I asked around, found out about the books, and then heard from a few young women that I HAD to read them, I just HAD to - and then I would understand.

I did not want to like Twilight, but I was intrigued. Cynical, but intrigued. After all, very few things live up to their hype.

So, I bought the first book and set it on my pile of books for a couple of weeks. Then I got the puking/pooping/fever illness. When I started having enough energy to actually be awake, I fumbled blindly at the pile of books next to my bed and settled on Twilight.

It's hard to describe Twilight and its appeal. What is it about? Vampires. But not really. There isn't any biting or blood sucking, really. No hanging upside down, no sleeping in coffins. I know some people are "into" vampires, Anne Rice books and whatnot, but I am not one of those people. I've never read an Anne Rice book, Interview with a Vampire was an OK movie. I will admit that Bram Stoker's Dracula is one of my top ten movies. Why? The love story, of course - and the supremely awesome soundtrack.

The Twilight series is about love. But there's no sex (at least not in the first book) or nudity or bad language or anything. As I've been telling people, I can see why so many young women get so caught up in Twilight - it's because the love in these stories is the way every woman wants to be loved. Passionately, deeply, protectively, as if their life depended on your love.

The main character in the story, Bella, is a smart, witty young woman, but she is shy and awkward and thinks she is plain and uninteresting. If you were a nerd/geek in high school like me, you can relate to her. Edward, the vampire who loves her, appreciates her in every way - most especially the things that make her real - her intelligence, her humor, her flaws.

He watches her sleep and thinks she's beautiful. He sings to her. He watches out for her and protects her from harm. He wants to know everything about her. He puts her happiness before his own. He puts his trust in her. He wants to be near her. He is inspired by her.

It makes my heart flutter to think of being loved like that.

Now, I want to admit, Twilight is not particularly well-written. The characters and the charm and elegance and intrigue are what draw you in. The writing won't change your life. I felt the same way when I read The DaVinci Code - it was a fun story, but not such great writing. I can see why these books are popular because they are what I call "accessible" - no complex sentence structures, no big words, just a fun story. Not what you would call "literature," yet addictive stories. Nothing wrong with that.

Stephanie Meyer writes in a way that makes it easy to visualize everything that is happening - you know the town, you see the faces of the people, it feels very real, which makes the love part feel even more real. It's the melding of the fantasy and the relatable that draw readers into these stories.

Every woman dreams about that perfect love. We know that isn't reality - as everyone likes to tell us. But the escape and the dream are beautiful things. Besides, why can't we be loved like that? Some of us are worth it!