I have started reading Twilight, and I have to say, I don’t get it. I understand that as a 31 year old male, I am not exactly the book’s target demographic, but I’m not exactly the target demographic for “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,” or “The Giver,” or “Harry Potter,” and all of those books are thuroughly readable. “Twilight,” on the other hand, is painful to read.
I am about half way through the nearly 500 page book, and I am really hoping that something happens soon, because the last 200 pages have been the following:
I love him so much, but I am afraid he’s going to eat me. But he’s so beautiful, and I can’t stand to be away, but I hope he’s so dangerous.
‘You need to stay away from me, Bella’ Edward said. ‘I’m sooooo dangerous.’
I knew he was dangerous, but I couldn’t take my eyes off his beautiful pale face. I love his beautificity soooooo much.
Seriously, there is nothing original about this story. There is a 17-going-on-35 girl that has a flighty Mom and a Dad she can’t communicate with. She is the new girl in a small town, and everyone is fascinated by her, and she is fascinated by the brooding, but devastatingly handsome loner that everyone in said small town misunderstands. This is every teen romance written since 1950, combined with every vampire story written since 1800.
Like I said, there might be something interesting coming. I am not done, but it is getting more and more difficult to read the completely unbelievable dialogue between two cookie-cutter characters.
Last night I was telling my wife about this book and I read a sample paragraph from the page I was on. She laughed, as I told her that is the entire book so far. To prove my point, I flipped to a random page and found an almost identical paragraph from the one I found. If you have this book, give that a try. Flip to any two random pages from 50-250, and see if you can tell them apart.
Some people must have liked this book. Please tell me why.
The Fat Pastor 
How is this misunderstanding Bella loves Edward even though he is a vampire ! duh thats the point of this whole book so of corse there gonna say it a lot smart one anyways plus it makes sense because the end is the best ! and so wats wrong i dont understand ur problem reply and tell me specifics because im really confused by wat u r saying
Robb the books are good, but maybe not your thing. Do you read much from the romance genre?
Admittedly, I do not read a lot of romance novels, and I understand the basic concept of the storyline. What I don’t understand is the wild popularity and critical acclaim. Again, I might be jumping the gun, because I have not finished the book, but the last 200 pages have been identical, and a little disturbing.
Why does Bella love Edward? Because he’s “beautiful” and mysterious. Her attraction to him was purely superficial, and grew into obsession because of the mystery. The relationship is not a love story, but a co-dependence story. It is a typical “Good girl falls in love with bad boy” story, and to perpetuate the myth that “bad boys” are more attractive is disturbing.
I would be very worried if my daughter loved this book. Granted, I am probably putting way too much into this, but I can’t help but fear a girl that loves this book will also love that “bad boy” that is a total jerk and treats her like crap. Women in our culture have enough problems with self-esteem without this book romanticizing unhealthy relationships.
Yeah, I have to admit, that although I am now in book three of the Twilight Saga, I have not been overly impressed. I get angry with Bella because she has no identity apart from Edward. I get angry with Edward because he’s so freaking controlling. And then I get angry with myself because I can’t stop reading. I will go see the movie as well, but I am not super excited about it. It’s kinda like watching a train wreck for me.
In fact, the other day I got so frustrated with it, that I quit reading it and went and found another book. I needed to take a timeout. So yeah, I don’t get it, and frankly, knowing that I am a vampire fan, I find nothing appealing about these vampires. Who wants to cuddle with someone who feels like a hunk of cool, hard marble? I mean really.
I am so glad you replied to this Deanna. I am glad that it is not just me “being a boy.”
I have to admit though, as I read a little more, it is starting to get more interesing, but the fundamental unhealthiness of the relationship still bothers me.
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