Starting off with names, I must say Stephenie Meyer has a very good taste in names. I loved the names, Carlisle, Isabella, Esme, and of course, Edward. I loved their names but what’s more important is that they measure up to their beautiful names. I have nothing to say with Dr. Carlisle and Esme. They are a great couple. Showed love and compassion to people around them. They weren’t selective.
Edward on the other hand was faithful enough to his name, which meant, wealthy guardian in Old English. He’s literally wealthy with his Volvo and splendid home. He never left Bella. He has a sense of self-control more than Bella does.
I think Bella a self-serving imp. Not one bit did she live up to her beautiful name. I dislike her. Not because Edward likes her but because her character isn’t something to look up to. All she thought of was herself. She says that she cares for Edward yet her actions betray her. One instance was when Edward insisted that she informs her father that they are going out. She never told him. That totally irked me. Even if she doesn’t like her father it isn’t a valid reason to disrespect him. He has the right to know because she lives under his care. Whether she hates her father so much, I don’t care. Charlie is her father, no matter how odious he may be, he deserves respect.
Compare Bella’s and Edward’s family. I appreciate the Cullens very much because of their openness. I admire how Carlisle has educated his “children.” The Swans, on the other hand, are not even trying very much to restore their relationship.
Edward knows how to act accordingly unlike Bella. He has manners and quite a good character. I think that’s very important. Edward doesn’t deserve Bella unless she reforms and equals Edward in character. Her so much called love, is nothing more than obsession. And obsession is so much different from love. She doesn’t really understand Edward. Edward wants what’s good for her and she doesn’t get that. She knows she’s weak but have she ever tried becoming strong for Edward? I think not.
I hope to have a higher regard for Bella in New Moon and I hope Edward doesn’t fall short of my expectations on him on the sequel. As you might have also noticed in this rambling of reactions on the book, I evaded the fact that the Cullens were vampires. I did it on purpose. I just want to focus on the character they have and not their being. The character of a novel character—especially the protagonist’s—is very important to me.
As for Edward Cullen falling in line with the celebrated gentleman book characters such as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gilbert Blythe, Aragorn, George Knightley, etc. he is a little near it—dodging the fact of course that he’s a vampire. I’m not sure though if his character could outlast or even equal the reputation of Mr. Darcy in almost two centuries since Pride and Prejudice have been published. Time can only tell.
Twilight is an okay reading for leisure though I would only recommend it to people who have a good understanding of what is fiction and what is not, what is character and what is not, what is commendable and what is repudiating. I would not recommend Twilight to my younger siblings until they are 17 or 18 and have a good understanding of what I have just mentioned.
Twilight is an enjoyable book with its supernaturalities and turns but not deep enough to reread again and again. It doesn’t have the depth I’m looking for. The words are just there. One read and you understand it. I prefer challenge in books where you have to delve into sentences because it’s trying to point out something important. Twilight isn’t just that. Therefore, Twilight falls into my category of Leisure Reading.
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“Read not to contradict and confute; nor to believe and take for granted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and consider.”
~Sir Francis Bacon, one of the great essayists who ever lived
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