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jedibuttercup"I suddenly realized that I had never once noticed what he was wearing-- not just tonight, but ever. I just couldn't seem to look away from his face."
--Twilight, p. 169
Okay, now she's lost me. *stifling a giggle* Have you ever read any of those older Harlequin-type novels? The ones where they start out hating each other but quickly shift into mutual obsession, and there are all these nebulous reasons the couple should never be together; and while they may not get around to sex before The End they of course have a Passion For The Ages, and so on? That's what this is; that's why the dissonance between the internal voice and outer actions (straight-up "romance" is the only genre I can think of where the main characters are supposed to be Mary Sues to better enable a reader to fantasize herself in their shoes) and the distinctly unimaginative way the supernatural element is treated. Substitute "vampire" for any unusual ethnicity you care to name, et voila.
I read boxes and boxes of horribly clichéd romances out of my grandmother's closet as a child, most of them from a Harlequin subscription but with a few Regency and Grace Livingston Hill for leavening; and as a direct consequence, I used up my tolerance for such themes before I was old enough to drink. I mean, I knew this was a "supernatural teen romance", but the movie had led me to believe that the "supernatural" part was more than exotic window dressing. It's really, really not. I mean, for what it's turning out to be, it's a well-written example of the genre; but for what it's pretending to be, gag me. Can anyone tell me whether that ever changes? *hopeful look*
I think I'm going to try reading the rest of the book mentally editing out the word "vampire" and replacing it with random other sci-fi races, and see if it makes any real difference. Should at least keep my attention on the text!
~
--Twilight, p. 169
Okay, now she's lost me. *stifling a giggle* Have you ever read any of those older Harlequin-type novels? The ones where they start out hating each other but quickly shift into mutual obsession, and there are all these nebulous reasons the couple should never be together; and while they may not get around to sex before The End they of course have a Passion For The Ages, and so on? That's what this is; that's why the dissonance between the internal voice and outer actions (straight-up "romance" is the only genre I can think of where the main characters are supposed to be Mary Sues to better enable a reader to fantasize herself in their shoes) and the distinctly unimaginative way the supernatural element is treated. Substitute "vampire" for any unusual ethnicity you care to name, et voila.
I read boxes and boxes of horribly clichéd romances out of my grandmother's closet as a child, most of them from a Harlequin subscription but with a few Regency and Grace Livingston Hill for leavening; and as a direct consequence, I used up my tolerance for such themes before I was old enough to drink. I mean, I knew this was a "supernatural teen romance", but the movie had led me to believe that the "supernatural" part was more than exotic window dressing. It's really, really not. I mean, for what it's turning out to be, it's a well-written example of the genre; but for what it's pretending to be, gag me. Can anyone tell me whether that ever changes? *hopeful look*
I think I'm going to try reading the rest of the book mentally editing out the word "vampire" and replacing it with random other sci-fi races, and see if it makes any real difference. Should at least keep my attention on the text!
~
no subject
Date: 2009-01-03 05:23 am (UTC)The thing that gets me is that Meyer does have plenty of moments of excellent writing quality; they're just nearly drowned out by the *facepalm* of what passes for plot, and the lapses into thesaurus-raiding whenever Edward's qualities are mentioned.
I'd love to see what she's writing ten years from now.
no subject
Date: 2009-01-03 04:21 pm (UTC)That's exactly my problem with "Twilight" and Stephenie Meyers. I expect that sort of writing from someone starting out writing fan fiction, not from a published author. Frankly, I think Meyer's editor needs to go back to school and take a few more Editing for Publication courses. As for Meyer herself, a few more creative writing courses covering plot and character development and world building would definitely not be amiss.
Every time I feel inclined to cut Meyer some slack, I read some of your stories, or Polgara's, or Synecdochic's or those by the myriad other excellent fan fiction authors out there. I'm afraid there really is no excuse for a work published by a major publishing house to be as bad as "Twilight" is.
And, yeesh, I really need to step off of this soap box! :-p Sorry.