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A review by veldhoenv
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
4.0
So, okay... Good romantic day-dreaming fodder. Did I enjoy reading it the first time around? I admit it -- yes. However, are there major problems with it? Definitely yes. Major flaws include the fact that both Bella and Edward are almost completely devoid of any real personality. Am I supposed to be cheering for a heroine whose only defining characteristics are that she's clumsy and that she's completely dependent on one man (er, vampire) in order to be happy?
I read an interview somewhere with Stephenie Meyer where she said that Bella's lack of personality was intentional so that readers could more easily put themselves in her place. While I understand that and acknowledge that this was clearly a successful tactic in terms of selling books, I can't help feeling that we would have been better served with a stronger heroine. And maybe even a properly flawed male lead too. Did anyone else find it a little annoying that Edward had several university degrees, was an accomplished musician, had a mind-reading ability on TOP of all of the other supernatural abilities that every vampire gets, along with being drop-dead gorgeous? I guess Edward's flaws were that he was controlling and moody... But in general, good character flaws are supposed to make the character more real and the readers more empathetic towards them. These flaws only served to make him more annoying.
I read an interview somewhere with Stephenie Meyer where she said that Bella's lack of personality was intentional so that readers could more easily put themselves in her place. While I understand that and acknowledge that this was clearly a successful tactic in terms of selling books, I can't help feeling that we would have been better served with a stronger heroine. And maybe even a properly flawed male lead too. Did anyone else find it a little annoying that Edward had several university degrees, was an accomplished musician, had a mind-reading ability on TOP of all of the other supernatural abilities that every vampire gets, along with being drop-dead gorgeous? I guess Edward's flaws were that he was controlling and moody... But in general, good character flaws are supposed to make the character more real and the readers more empathetic towards them. These flaws only served to make him more annoying.