(it may seem like i’m asking for it, and truth be told, maybe i am, a little bit. come on, why else would i post this on the net? :D)

so i finally got around to reading the first book of the ‘it’ series of the season: Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight. 

which means that i now can give it an objective critiquing without my head being bitten off by obsessed fans, claiming “you don’t get it because you haven’t read it yet!” *cue the tears streaming down their faces*

well, now here goes: i give it a 3/10. 

it’s not that it’s bad, but with all the hype, one’s bound to raise her expectations a bit. 

the good:

to be fair, it was a nice read. it certainly kept me entertained for the duration of my read. and to be able to hold a reader’s attention for 24 hours is nothing to scoff at. for that alone, it deserves the 3.

the dialogue was nicely constructed. the banter was actually believable and there were many witty lines thrown here and there. the dialogue is what gets the plot going and this book’s particular dialogue (sans the cheese) was entertaining. 😀 i actually even got to learn a couple of new words ^-^

the premise is nice; barring the love story, it’s actually a nice concept, that vampires can walk around in the daylight. it deviated with the known traditions of vampire-writing (although it can be misconstrued that the author was just way too lazy to do the actual research).

it certainly conveyed that ‘kilig’ factor right through. the author deserves props for writing sexual tension cleanly. with a plot like that, things could’ve gone dirty fast but didn’t. props for self-control.

the bad:

i guess it would’ve been better if the story wasn’t moved by mary sue and gary stu. admit it, they’re way too perfect. i know that it is *fiction* but still, characters have got to be grounded on reality; else it’d be muck. don’t try to tell me that it’s a kid’s book and that characters are meant to be like that. come on. it’s a published piece of writing; that’s not a legit excuse. 

figure a. bella, the lead. she’s just too perfect, her character has not shown any flaw just quite yet. and no, being clumsy and sucking at sports don’t count as flaws. (there is a reason why many people hate miaka of the fushigi yuugi fame) really now, what do we know about the character? i don’t know if they edited a whole lot out but her character was consumed way too quickly by her “love” (oh God) for edward that we hardly get to know her. don’t get me wrong, she’s excellent at moving the plot and she’s genial enough as a heroine but i just don’t see her as a real person. (even hermione had her OC quirks to make her character seem more human.)

figure b: edward, the lead vampire. he’s a vampire, he’s hott (yes, with a double ‘t’), he’s strong, he’s ‘musical’, super smart, understanding AND he’s got no problems with throwing around lines like “you are my life now”. 

tell me how he’s real. 

now i don’t know what sort of trouble they get into in the other books and i’m very much optimistic about the character growth. after all, this can’t be it, right? 

now you might say that i plowed through with this project, prepared to hate it. and you’re absolutely right, i was. but i don’t hate it and that’s why it got the 3/10. i take it for what it is, which is basic fluff and for that, i accept it wholeheartedly.

what i won’t accept is the fact that people keep on saying silly stuff about it. 

come on people, jane austen would roll over in her grave if she could when she hears that edward is the new mr. darcy. he’s not even half the character edmund (from mansfield park) was! 

i also do not find it as the greatest love story ever told. even nabokov’s fucked up lolita’s a better portrayal of love. at best it’s teenage infatuation, which, under the wrong circumstances, i guess, could be far more consuming than actual love itself. if the story here happened in real life, all of you would probably whack bella up the head, screaming at her to not put her whole world on one guy. 

and it’s SO not the next harry potter. yes, i take this one to heart because i grew up with the harry potter books. yes, the word ‘vampire’ was mentioned in both series, but that’s about where the similarities end. to be fair, i tried to objectively just contain the comparisons within the first books of both series. and even then, harry potter is still better. the mere fact that rowling created a whole new world while mayer kept it to the ‘real’ world is proof enough. 

now, movie-wise, it just might be on the same level as the harry potter movies, probably bigger. the promotion they did for the twilight movie is staggering. but keep it real people, it’s basically borrowed publicity; after all, the lead actor in twilight worked on a harry potter film, right?

part of the reason why i’m so miffed about the book is the fact that i’ve read WAAAY better stories posted on the net, something that described different ranges of emotions in words in ways that could make your heart bleed. there are literally thousands of them on websites like www.fanfiction.net and www.fictionpress.com . it just hurts me that people are making *this* the standard, when clearly there’s something out there that’s much better. 

so i guess for you out there who’s like me, living under a rock, and haven’t read twilight yet, i totally recommend it. as i’ve said before, it’s a nice read and it does help kill time. 

just…take it for what it is. 

*remember kiddies, to each his own. if you’re entitled to love it, i’m entitled to hate it 😀