Dear
Ms. Meyer,
First, kudos: Congratulations on the wild
success of your book series, Twilight Saga. It’s not every day that a new
author reaches that kind of monumental success. Everyone knows by now that you were
a homemaker in Arizona when the inspiration for Twilight came to you
in a dream; you wrote the first book in just a few months, and it shows. But
with success come the naysayers and the critics.
When I started reading your fourth and final
book in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn it’s hard to imagine
that the saga could get any more dramatic. Suppose that in the past two years
you’ve not only switched schools and moved halfway across the country, but
you’ve also been stalked by two blood-drinkers obsessed with killing you;
jumped off a cliff before stopping the love of your life from committing
suicide; and started fighting with your BFF because — guess what? — He’s a
werewolf...and he’s in love with you. It sounds extreme, but that’s just life
for otherwise ordinary Bella Swan — though having vampire Edward Cullen for a
boyfriend, and now fiancé, tends to make the adventure worth it.
In fact, at first it seems like things might
be actually be calming down for Bella and her immortal soon-to-be-family. Her
elaborate wedding goes relatively smoothly—despite the appearance of her
well-meaning friend Jacob. And though her island honeymoon gets off to a rocky
start, she and Edward are more than certain that their love will get them
through anything. Then the impossible happens. Bella discovers she’s pregnant,
and not just with an ordinary human baby, but with a half-vampire, half-human
child. Bella’s frightening pregnancy and much-anticipated transformation into a
vampire are complex enough, but when suspicious Volturi rulers arrive bent on
destroying the gifted baby, the Cullens must join with vampire and werewolf
allies alike to make their family safe, whatever the cost.
This book is probably the most emotional of
the series. With the lives of dozens of other vampires in danger (you’ll
definitely need the list provided at the back of the book to keep track of all
the new characters), the stakes are higher than ever. It was easy for me to
understand the motives for the sacrifices the characters are forced to make,
and the plot twists and constant action definitely kept me up late flipping all
756 pages. Besides, despite the danger, the book isn’t always serious. Emmett
has plenty of irritating-big-brother jokes at the newlyweds’ expense, and it’s
fun to see Bella finally be able to kick some butt as a “newborn.”
Of course, the intense love story is still
enough to make you wish for an impossibly gorgeous, brooding, romantic vampire
of your own. There are more than a few swoon-worthy scenes which made me weak
in the knees, and it’s clearer than ever that in spite of the odds, Edward and
Bella are destined to be together. Jacob-lovers still have lots to cheer for,
though. Not only are there—literally—hundreds of pages told from his hilarious
point of view, I also get one of the novel’s biggest shocks when he finally
imprints…and that particular jaw-dropper is way too good to spoil.
Ms. Meyer, you incorporated plenty of
catch-ups from Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse plots, so it’s easy
to dive straight into the characters and action even if Breaking Dawn is
my introduction to your world. Yes, it’s sad to see Bella’s story come to a
close, but I guess and hope there is still tons for us Twilighters to
anticipate. Though it might be last book in the official saga, with all the
romance and adventure, it kind of feels like Breaking Dawn is just the
beginning.
The books are compulsively readable. This is likely because
they’re very easy to read. The vocabulary is basic, the story straightforward, and
the plot devices obvious. And yet you really do want to see what happens next. The
aforementioned point is probably best attributed to the fact that you created
two exceedingly appealing male characters
Your
themes are compelling, even if William Shakespeare did get there first.
Forbidden love. Unrequited love. The absence of love. Recovering from lost
love. Hate. Familial loyalty. Betrayal. Sacrifice. Meyer’s scattered epigraphs
from “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Merchant of Venice” and Robert Frost’s "Fire and Ice" aren’t
there for nothing, after all.
As for those who have been criticizing Breaking
Dawn so venomously, they are certainly entitled to their opinions. I myself
hoped desperately for a different ending, but realize that it was your story to
write and I couldn't put it down regardless. Although many of the comments
cross over to the dark side I think it is necessary to take the level of
emotional investment in the series into account. Twilight fans are smart and
verbal want their feelings known. We should all celebrate such emotionally
charged book discussions. That being said, I'm sure it still hurts you, but it
certainly can't cancel out the overwhelming positive reactions you have had to
your Twilight Series.
It might
seem redundant to dismiss the fourth and final Twilight novel as escapist
fantasy--but how else could anyone look at a romance about an ordinary, even
clumsy teenager torn between a vampire and a werewolf, both of whom are willing
to sacrifice their happiness for hers? Flaws and all, however, your first three
novels touched on something powerful in their weird refraction of our culture's
paradoxical messages about sex and sexuality. The conclusion is much thinner,
despite its interminable length. But that's not the main problem. Essentially,
everyone gets everything they want, even if their desires necessitate an
about-face in characterization or the messy introduction of some back story.
Nobody has to renounce anything or suffer more than temporarily--in other
words, grandeur is out. This isn't about happy endings; it's about
gratification.
The series
finale offered closure but certainly not satisfaction. It contains the elements
that made your first two novels intoxicating reads but wraps them in an overly
long and noxiously sappy package. I also like the way you wrote pervasive angst
like few other authors can so fans may rejoice in that aspect. You also
sacrificed the opening novel's brisk pacing for tedious inner monologues. The
single mildly comic, and thereby least cloying portion, portrays Jacob's point
of view. Alas, it is also the shortest section of the book.
Sincerely
yours,
Jaerah
No comments:
Post a Comment