So in the last three days I have been rereading and renewing my obsession with the Twilight Saga.
I first saw the novel Twilight in bookshops sometime after it first came out here in Australia. I didn’t pick it up when it first came out - the cover that was being used here in Australia didn’t appeal to me, so I never read the blurb. In early 2007, while I was reading Shannon Hale’s Blog, I saw a post about Twilight. Having read and enjoyed some books that she had recommended in the past, I kept it in mind. Of course, after that, I kept seeing New Moon everywhere but couldn’t find a copy of Twilight. After trying three book stores in the city, I finally managed to locate a copy at my local bookstore. I picked it up in the store and read the blurb. Thinking it sounded okay, I took it home. I started Twilight about 10:00pm that night – I remember it was a Saturday night. I read until midnight and then put it down, only to pick it up the next morning as soon as I woke up. Reading Twilight was a magical experience for me. The story flowed and I fell in head-over-heels in love with the book before I even knew what was happening. I loved the development of the characters, the way that Stephenie Meyer had taken every stereotype about vampires and had thrown them out the window, while still alluding to them throughout the books. I loved her characters, especially Bella, Edward and Alice. I loved the setting. When I finished, I wanted to move to Forks.
I finished Twilight about 10:00am and then promptly went back to the bookshop to buy a copy of New Moon. As soon as I got home I began to read and I finished it later that afternoon. I found New Moon incredibly difficult to read. I enjoyed the beginning very much but was sorely tempted to skip to the back of the book after certain events took place. Fortunately, I managed to rein myself in and continued to read it through, even though, more than once, I was in tears. I’ll admit it tested my patience and I was well and truly on Team Edward. I didn’t like Jacob at all.
After reading New Moon, I had to wait for Eclipse to come out. In the meantime, I went into work and recommended Twilight to several of my students. Not only did the students love it, they recommended it to their friends, meaning that for quite some time we’ve had a shortage of any of the books in the saga (we only have one of each book and I donated New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn) necessitating a waiting list. I ran an informal lunchtime reading / writing group in which the books were frequently discussed and more than once the students begged me to let them make Twilight into a play they could perform.
When Eclipse came out I got my hands on it as soon. I loved the story and although I understood Jacob a little better, especially toward the end, he still annoyed me considerably. At the end of the novel I felt bereft – all I could do was wonder how long until the next one.
And then, after a long wait, Breaking Dawn arrived. I remember the day well. The book was released on Monday, August 4th here. I had the book preordered at my local bookstore and was prepared to collect it as soon as work finished. Then we found out that we would be on a half-day teacher’s strike that day. After the rally, on the way to work, I stopped at the bookshop. Two of my students were there, also waiting, but the book hadn’t arrived. I left for work, resolving to pick it up on the way home. When I got home, I started reading, took a break for dinner (I had to eat with my family, though I really did not want to put it down!) and then went back and continued reading. It took 4.5 hours in total.
I posted the following after finishing it:
“Wow, what a great book, although the word “great” doesn’t even come close. Wonderful, heartwarming, exciting, funny and sometimes sad, this was everything I’d dreamed of and more.
Obviously I don’t want to spoil it but I was not expecting at least one major subplot. It was great to return to the characters and to fall in love with the Twilight Saga all over again. I can’t WAIT for the Twilight movie to be released. Breaking Dawn will definitely be my favourite book of the year.”
Now, having reread Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn again, I can truly say that these are books I will reread over and over again. It was interesting to come back to them. Going back to Twilight was like greeting an old friend, especially after having seen the film about two weeks ago. I kept coming across funny bits that I remembered, or dialogue that had also been used in the film. I came across scenes I had forgotten. I fell in love with Edward and Bella all over again. New Moon was harder. I put rereading it off for a day or so after I finished Twilight because I remembered how difficult I had found it the fisrt time around. The second time I could see more deeply – especially into Edward’s departure and into Jacob’s character and although I still found it terribly difficult and heart-wrenching, I enjoyed it more too. I could see where it fitted in the grander scheme of things. Eclipse was a rediscovery for me because I had forgotten parts of the story – in a way, it was almost like I was reading it for the first time. Breaking Dawn was as wonderful as I remember. I found the first time I read it that I had a little bit more sympathy for Jacob at the end of the novel; the second time around I think I was annoyed with him as Edward, though I loved him too. Overall, I loved going back and looking in more detail at the writing techniques that Stephenie Meyer has used so well.
And of course, the Twilight movie. Having reread the book closely so soon after seeing the film, I truly believe that the filmmakers did the best they could in adapting the book for the screen and I LOVED it. Yes, there were some changes, which annoyed me a little. I would have liked to have seen more of the Cullens. I loved the scenes with Alice; the baseball scene was better than I had imagined and although the scenes in thr trees annoyed me, the setting just took my breath away. More than that, the performances of the actors was fantastic. When I look at pictures of any of the cast now I see them as those characters – I sincerely hope that all effort will be made to keep the same cast through all four films. A change in actor is jarring to the audience, especially if, like me, you are planning to have a Twilight Saga DVD marathon when all 4 films come out on DVD.
Thank you to Stephenie Meyer for writing such fantastic books (although the word fantastic doesn’t even begin to sum up how awesome they are). Also thank you to Shannon Hale for making book recommendations on your blog: I have discovered several new authors through you (and love your books too for their awesomeness!) As an writer who would like to publish someday in the computer, reading books as good as Stephenie and Shannon write makes it incredibly difficult to go back and keep writing but they are also incredibly awe inspiring too.
And now, to show the true extent of my obsession: I bought a fan created shirt from Cafepress.com last week that I will wear proudly when it arrives.
It says “Twilighter: Go ahead, dazzle me”.
