Twilight

The time of day between light and dark, metaphorically, the place between good and evil. Also an apt word for the time when phases/ages in our lives come to a close and we're facing the start of something new. A time of sadness, change, fear, hope and possibility.

I've always loved fiction, non-fiction tends to be a real chore for me. And I've always loved fantasy - I grew up on Stephen King, Anne Rice and Dean Koontz. I've read The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I think Ender's Game is one of the best books ever written, and I loved every second of the Harry Potter series. Needless to say, Twilight was right up my alley.

Fantasy does require that you suspend your disbelief. Whether you're reading about vampires, aliens, ghosts, witches, robots or time travel, before you can enjoy the story, you have to be willing to set aside your condemnation of all things impossible. That's where good writing comes into play. A good writer can draw you right into their fantasy world. They describe the setting and the characters, so vividly, that they seem real. They create a story that you can't put down, even though you know it's not real.

Reading fiction is obviously about escape. Escape from our day to day realities. It may be a love story, horror story, mystery or drama, but for whatever reason, it makes our pulse quicken and our minds empty of all mundane daily duties. I've always had a particular soft spot for vampire novels. I think it's something about the centuries of knowledge packed in an eternally youthful and unnaturally beautiful package. It's also about seduction, forbidden desires, and possession.

I remember reading The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien in college, which is a fictionalized account of the Vietnam War. Some of the stories in the book get quite gruesome and also quite absurd. One of the topics we discussed was why would someone want to write fiction about the war. True, autobiographical accounts of the war would be just as powerful, just as moving, wouldn't they? Maybe, but probably not. Sometimes fiction can reach us in way that reality cannot. While the author's stories may have been fiction, the horror, shock and revolt they evoked from their audience was real. O'Brien used fiction to make the readers experience true and honest emotions about a real war. Sometimes fiction is the only way to evoke a true response. This is what I want from my fiction. Stories that make me feel and respond powerfully.

Twilight certainly does this, and I don't appear to be the only one so taken with the series. While Twilight may be about forbidden love, even more strongly, to me, it's about first love, true love. Edward and Bella belong together. It brings me right back to age seventeen when Blackstone and I met. The experience of falling in love with him was no less powerful, no less magical, than the story of Edward and Bella. But if I were to attempt to tell you that story honestly, without any scenes added for dramatic effect, or any removed for detracting from the romance, the physical and emotional tension - would I be able to evoke the response I want? Would I be able to get you to feel the truth of the intensity? I doubt it. The romantic lead in my love story may not be a vampire, I may not have felt my pulse racing because I was putting myself in mortal danger to be so physically close to him, but it doesn't mean that my skin didn't feel like it was on fire when he touched me, or that kissing him goodnight, physically separating myself from him wasn't painful.

Stephanie Meyer has done such an incredible job of capturing the confusion, the fear, the desire, the completely overwhelming intensity that is young love. It's the kind of emotion you can't keep in a relationship, arguably a big reason why so many people divorce. Oh, you can still recapture that kind of passion once in a while, but it's not the all-encompassing drama it was in the beginning. It just can't be. Eventually, a sort of comfort and relaxation develops with a person, which is the way it should be. But we miss the excitement, the heat, the fear and hope, that Twilight brings back to us.

Thanks, Polly, for recommending it.

 

Comments

[Curls]

I really think you should write a novel! Those were all of my thoughts on twilight...all of them just written so beautifuly...I have been torturing my husband this weekend begging him to be more seductive...wanting him to tease me....oh to have that excitement back. I don't want to finish eclipse because I will miss the characters, the suspense and the butterflies in my stomach. This has been such an enjoyable reading experience...

[Diosa]

Curls - You flatter me. I'd like to think I could write a novel. It's more pleasant thinking I can than actually facing the fear of finding out if it's true. I've started a couple and never gotten very far.

So glad you liked the book. I know exactly what you mean.

[Liz]

Well Diosa, you make me want to change my mind and give Twilight another chance.

I like what you say about suspending disbelief. Thats something that isn't easy for me. But I like more what you say about evoking emotion and I know that an escape to fantasy through a great fiction read is one of the best things ever.

And its funny that Curls says she doesn't want to finish (the last one?) the book because she isn't ready for it to be over. The last book I read that made me feel that way was Shes Come Undone by Wally LAmb. I would read on;y one page a day for the last 30 pages or so because I just wasn't ready to leave the story yet....yeah, I guess I'll give Twilight another shot. Thanks, great post.

[Diosa]

Liz - Glad you're going to give it another shot, but I wouldn't torture yourself if you're not enjoying it. It's not exactly great literature, it's all about the enjoyment factor.

And I'm with Curls, I'm having difficulty forcing myself to slow down, but I don't want to finish Eclipse. I did like She's Come Undone, but it's not one of my all time favorites.