A Thought...
Okay, I'll admit it. I eventually did get sucked into Twilight, despite my misgivings surrounding the poor
quality of its construction. When someone asks me about Twilight, and
what it is like, I tell them that it is "McDonalds for the brain." -
No nutritional value, and you're hungry again in an hour. And it is, seriously!
It is pure brain candy.
Not brain food, which
actually contributes something to your way of thinking. It is brain caaaaaandy.
Geddit? The Intelligentsia get what I'm trying to say, I'm sure of it. Either
that or they're just shaking their heads at me. Either way, it's still brain
candy.
I started reading it because
I wanted to find out what the fuss was about. I was smart about it too. I
borrowed a copy, at first. I've learnt my lesson about spending money on
bestsellers that have way too much hype (I'm thinking about Christopher Paolini's piece of tripe, the
Alagaesia series here. His last offering that I attempted, Brisingr, ended up being hurled across my bedroom after I couldn't take its poorly
edited, wordy ridiculousness any longer. A reaction I know was mirrored by
other friends/readers and I don't blame them because the whole series is a joke
and plagiarises so many other brilliant...) okay... breath... sorry, I try not
to get started on Paolini because once I'm on that train it takes a long time
to derail it.
Anyway, back to Twilight. If
you haven't read it, in a nutshell it's about a shy, awkward, borderline-depressed teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire. A vampire who probably
only fell for her because he couldn't read her mind like he could everyone
else, and enjoyed the peace and quiet for a change. So if you want teen angst in all its glory,
constant description of heart-aching need and prose so overly descriptive it
makes you want to hurl... then Twilight is for you. Personally, I am an
obsessed, completely crazy Harry Potter fan myself. Now THERE is someone who
knows how to write a decent story, good on you JKR for setting a good example,
good on you.
As for Twilight, in an Interview with USA Today, Stephen
King, the greatest horror writer of all time in my opinion ('It' was the first adult book I ever read at the tender age of 8, and I still have that copy even though it lost its
cover over fifteen years ago) chose to comment on Stephenie Meyer's writing and
said that "she can’t write worth a darn... She’s not very good."
And I agree, completely, as do many others.
What bothers me though is
that millions of teenagers world wide are reading this series, think it is a brilliant example of literature, and are trying
to emulate it. It is hard enough with Facebook, Twitter and text messaging to
get them to write properly. I won't allow my little brother to communicate with
me in abbreviated "text" style English because I think its a poor
habit to form. He just thinks I'm old, but I'm trying to set a good example.
Now, JKR, there is a woman who sets a good example, so the thousands of teens
out there who have published their own "versions" of Harry Potter
online are trying to "ghost write" like JKR. I have no problem with
this, she really knows what she is doing and therefore promotes having a decent
grip of the English language. Meyer however does not teach this. Ohhhhhh, let me at
the Twilight series with my big red pen, oh please! So many
inconsistencies, so many issues with timelines and continuity, so many issues
with overly descriptive prose. The movies haven't helped
things either. Nobody seemed to notice how poorly the first movie itself was
constructed, and the fact that it completely failed to work to the intensity
portrayed in the book. All the main audience saw were the young men playing the
two male leads, in all their hotness. A werewolf and a bloodsucker. Who needs a
decent plot arc when you've got that locked in? I'd truly love to see a version
of the Twilight series with all my editing concerns addressed, I really would,
and I think it would be good for the captivated youth of today to see it too.
To know how it should have looked if Meyer had an editor worth a damn, and the
ability to write at an adult level.
Despite this though I've
still read the series five times and was first in line at the movies. Guess this makes me a hypocrite and a sucker... no pun intended.
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