Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer’s fourth installment in the Twilight series, left me without many regrets that the saga is now over. I was never a huge fan of Meyer’s writing ability, but I found myself strangely addicted as I read each of the three prequels to Dawn. I had none to little of that addictive feeling, or satisfaction, this time around.
On the positive side, Meyer is very creative. The elements of the vampire and werewolf worlds that she dreams up are really amazing.
I also enjoyed Bella more in this book than I did in the prequels. I always found Bella’s fainting and overall wimpiness annoying. I was pleased to find a Bella with strength this time around. (Bella still annoys me a bit, and I still believe that Bella is Meyer’s wish fulfillment of herself—including the 110-pound body and now perfect looks.)
On the negative side, Breaking Dawn wasn’t the page turner that the three previous novels were. It took me almost two weeks to finish the novel, and I wasn’t compelled to pick it up as I was with New Moon. Why? I believe it’s the lack of romance and romantic tension. Even as a non-teenager, I loved the Jacob-Edward rivalry. I loved the tension as Jacob wrapped himself around Bella to keep her warm while Edward sat outside the tent fuming at Jacob’s thoughts. ALL of that is missing from Breaking Dawn.
I also can’t get over Meyer’s sexual encounters between Bella and Edward. I give Meyer credit for not being explicit, but I still cringe thinking of the teenage audience reading the book. Meyer makes sex sound like an unearthly event rather than what it really is. I have never known two people, both supposedly virgins, who had mind-blowing sex the first time around, as Bella and Edward supposedly did. I fear that Meyer is making sex look far more attractive than it really is—and I know a lot of her audience is too inexperienced to know better.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Guest Blog--Another Look at Stephenie Meyer's Newest
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3 comments:
Reading your review I was reminded of that movie (of which I cannot remember the name)where the man rolls down her glove and kisses her wrist. Talk about sexual tension. In a very small act. Some times less is so much more. Good review. I am tempted to read Meyer but I am really not ready to read any 500 page books at the moment.:)
Thank you for the review. I've talked to several people, and they all feel as disappointed as we did about this final entry.
"Age of Innocence" I believe is the movie you refer to.
And it's not just 500--it's 750pages!
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