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ESTATIC DAYS – TWILIGHT SERIES REVIEW….

Posted October 17th, 2008 By: 30 Comments »

Estatic Days Jeff Vandermeer shares his review of the Twilight series. I’ve skipped around and picked out excerpts:

That said, I hate the message that these books give young women with every fiber of my being. I particularly hate the idea that the books’ popularity is due to their having some resonance in young women’S psyches. Because the underlying message — or so it seems to me — is that women can only achieve identity through their relationship with men.

Otherwise, lemme just say this: she ends up with Edward. That’s the whole point of the books, that she ends up with Edward after dutifully saving herself for marriage and then fulfills her maternal function.

As we learn more about Bella, we discover that she is a horrible, passive character who is constantly whining because she thinks super-hot, super-rich, super-mysterious Edward doesn’t love her.

 

 
She has the kid, who turns out to be a daughter, and then we find out that the child is destined to grow up and marry Jake the werewolf, because werewolves instinctively know when they meet their soul mate. This fixating on a baby sexually is more than a little creepy, so Meyer takes care to signal it earlier with the example of another werewolf, who fixes on a toddler and thus becomes the perfect babysitter for her. Yeah, that’d definitely be who I wanted babysitting my child: a man who believes she’s destined to grow up and become his mate.

Okay. Lemme just start with the soul mate thing, because I hate this idea so much. Because what it does is give people the idea that there is this one true love thing that happens and everything is magically swell because you and your partner are twue woves. While in reality relationships are work. They take work and patience and humor and cooperation and a willingness on both sides to accept the various farts and burps and personal quirks the other has. And that willingness and hard work seems more meaningful than being insta-partnered with someone because they’re the metaphorical key to your figurative lock.

Bella is obsessed with Her Man. And her “career”, such as it is, is to marry him and bear his child. She has the usual “oh I am so ugly because it has somehow escaped me that I actually have a body type that fits inside American beauty norms” thing going. Interactions with female friends are kept to a superficial minimum because we all know women can’t do the friendship thing with each other. That might be too empowering a message. So would Bella being able to save herself. But in everything she does, every faintly brave action, Edward is her motivation, the center of the universe for her.

READ THE COMPLETE REVIEW HERE

Why is it bad that Bella is okay with her life and relationship with Edward? Does she need to be a rocket scientist too? Does it make her less of a person/woman because she’s content to have a husband and a family?
AND BY THE WAY – technically Edward can’t fart so Bella would never have to learn to tolerate that…..
Seriously though, he has a point. Any relationship takes a lot of hard work (and it does seem effortless to Bella). Not many people meet their spouse that young and have everything work out. Bella didn’t give up much to achieve her happily ever after….It’s your turn to weigh in…I want to hear what you think??? Does the reviewer have a point? Or is this just another crap review??







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  • Team Switzerland

    I don’t like to comment on reviews like this because I get so worked up, but this guy recycled the same arguments people have been using against the series from the beginning.

    Jake is sexually fixating on Renesmee? I don’t agree with that in the least. Imprinting is a natural thing that happens in real life, so why is it bad that SM incorporated it into her books? Please, tell me what’s so bad about someone loving your child so unconditionally that they’d risk their life to save them? And I know we’d all love to believe that Renesmee and Jake will fall in love when she’s older, but who’s to say that she will love him the way he will love her? Nobody knows that for sure.

    As for Edward and Bella’s relationship, I think he is dead wrong there. He is implying that their relationship is all sunshine and butterflies. Um, I don’t know about you, but in my relationship I’ve never had to deal with my boyfriend trying to save me from his brother who is not immune to the smell of my blood, or a tracker vampire who will stop at no ends to kill me. I’d say that Bella and Edward have had their fair share of ups and downs. And what about the Jake issue? E&B dealt with jealously firsthand in their relationship. Just because they are “soul mates”, or whatever you want to call them, doesn’t mean that they haven’t had to deal with bumps in their relationship.

    Regarding the friendship issue, I think the reviewer is just grasping at straws trying to come up with negative points in the book. Bella wasn’t friends with girls? What about Angela? Sure, they weren’t best friends, but before Jake, was Bella really good friends with anyone? No, and she admitted that throughout the books several times. If she had been better friends with Angela than she was with Jake, I’m sure the reviewer would have accused her of being sexist.

    I will end my rant there. All in all, I’d say the reviewer was broken up with one time too many and took it out on SM and Twilight.

  • Larissa

    I agree with Team Switzerland. Those arguments in the article are completely ridiculous. If Bella and Edward had a perfect relationship I don’t think everyone would want to read it. And I don’t find it offensive with the thought of her marrying, it’s what she wants, so why is that bad?

    These people who come up with these arguments…well I think it’s a waste of their time, and everyone else who has read them. If you don’t like the books, simply say you don’t like the books.

    And as for the soulmate thing, that’s been around a long time, long before these books, and it would be around even if there are no books.

  • Kaly

    What galls me about the entire issue is that it seems the majority of journalists out there seem to have this preconceived notion that the teenage girls of the world can’t differentiate between real life and FICTION. Hello? This is a work of fiction – to be read purely for the joy of reading. True, there may be a small (in my opinion, a very small) percentage of girls who will read these books and get a false view of the world, but I believe (I really hope!) that most are intelligent enough to understand that.

    Considering some of the horrors in the real world, is it so difficult to understand the need for escapism? That’s what literature is – the same as music and movies and, to an extent, television. A way to erase the world outside for a few hours and immerse yourself into something – whether it be another person’s life(i.e., Bella’s, in this case), another world (Middle-Earth, or Narnia, for example), or another time (as in the case of Romeo and Juliet or Camelot).

    No female friends? I suppose Alice doesn’t count either, being as she’s not human (hello again – FICTION!). Plus she’s Edward’s sister, so that’s another count against her.

    For that matter, do we really know that all Bella became was a wife and mother? No…we don’t have their complete story. Who’s to say that they didn’t go off to Dartmouth eventually and Bella could have studied any number of subjects. Learned Music, Art, conquered her fear of Math. Anything was possible.

  • Leann

    I come from a conservative background, so the fact that Bella can find meaning in her life without becoming a doctor or lawyer does not bother me in the least. Honestly, it’s refreshing to see someone embrace her relationships and family over her “career”. I get tired of reading the reviews by people who say that these books are anti-feminist and whatnot. Bella had a choice and she chose to suit her wants, dreams, and desires. We tell little girls when they are little that they can become whatever they want to be. Bella wanted to be with Edward. Big deal.

    And I agree with Team Switzerland — who in the real world really has to battle supernatural forces? Come on!!! It’s fiction! I realize that youngsters can take fictional stories too seriously, but I would like to think that they are smart enough to understand that these books are fantasy. Relationships aren’t going to be this way in real life and the negative things within the characters were a result of the fantastical situations they were in. If I have a daughter of my own one day, I would like to read this series with her and open up a dialogue about the positives and negatives of the characters and what she can take away from that in her own life. Not to compare Meyer to Shakespeare, but Hamlet had issues. MacBeth had issues. Romeo and Juliet had issues… Not everyone in fiction is perfect. I think that’s what makes for a dynamic book.

    Okay, I’m off my soapbox now.

    The end.

  • FrenziedFeline

    I can’t say how SO tired I am of people who have to tear something down because it’s not how they think. If it’s not your cup of tea, try switching to coffee!

    Even professional pathetics–oops, meant “critics”–should be able to identify a group of people that will enjoy something, even if they, themselves don’t care for it.

    Being a stay-at-home mom, I have numerous issues with his review. But, like Jacob, I’m seeing red right now. You’ll have to ask me later! >:(

  • AnnaCullen

    Pff…that guy is just jealous he’s not cool like us Twilight people ;)

    Usually when I read trashing reviews like this I get pretty worked up, but this time I’m actually kind of amused. There little to no research done for this article, and I find that interesting since he’s going all out about how stupid Twilight is, when almost all his points have nothing supporting them. For every thing he said I can think of a very good counter argument. I think that all of us know what those would be, so I won’t list them. Besides I think Team Switzerland (above) did a perfect job at doing so anyway, and I don’t want to sound repetative like all these trashing Twilight reviews are beginning to seem…

    But I will say this: I understand where he’s coming from when he talks about the whole soul mates thing. That sometimes bothers me too, since I don’t really believe in soul mates either. But I do think that such a thing can exist where you love someone so much you can never really get over them…that you love them so much you would do anything for them, even die.

    Now do I think that fate fixes us up with one person on the day we are born and expects us to live happily ever after with them? No. But then again, I’m talking in the real world. Twilight is set in a world very similar to ours, but has that twist of fanatasy and maybe even magic in it. As much as I hate to admit it, a story like Twilight is never going to happen. Why compare a story that doesn’t have any basis in reality and compare it to ones that do? That just seems stupid to me. If your going to have a story set in myth and legend, why not go all out?

    I guess theres only one thing left to say……….TWILIGHT ROCKS!!!! and I feel bad for anyone who thinks otherwise.

  • TwilighterInPhoenix

    What is it about a girl choosing marriage and family over career and power that upsets people so much? Isn’t it up to BELLA to decide what is right for her life? Not some faceless man at some website? He obviously went into the series with pre-conceived notions and found ways to make HIS viewpoint of the world contradict anything that is in the books. Jake has absolutely NO sexual yearnings for Nessie. That is made VERY clear in the end of BD. Edward actually makes a comment on it. When Nahuel mentions that Nessie will probably be full grown by the age of 7, Jake never thinks anything about it. He doesn’t see her that way. SHEESH!

    I hafta say, too, in what universe is Edward and Bella’s relationship easy and perfect?!?! How many times has that girl faced death because of loving a vampire? Edward left her because of that danger! SHEESH!

    Also, that crack about Bella not being able to save herself- did this guy even READ Breaking Dawn? Bella is the superheroine who saves EVERYONE, not just herself!!! GAH!!!

    Also, if he didn’t notice it- these stories are FICTIONAL. I think most people are able to comprehend that. If Bella existed in the real world, I think her life would have been very different. The series is set in a fantasy world where impossible choices have to be made, and he ridicules her for her choices, instead of applauding her for having the guts to go after what she wants. Bella is absolutely HORRIFIED at the thought of marrying Edward. Marriage makes her cringe. But she goes through with it. Because she loves him. I fail to see how that is so wrong. I thought life was all about love.

    I should probably end my tangent now. This just really hacked me off, and you know what I always say- Never, Never, NEVER hack off the Twilighters!!!!

  • abbi

    I got married young (21), have two beautiful daughters, I have chosen not to start a career in order to care for my family, and I have always had better relationships with my male friends than my female friends. I find that article fairly insulting. He pretty much states that I shouldn’t be satisfied with my life but, the specific choices that he rips on have brought me my greatest happiness and fulfillment in life. Not to sound like I’m saying it’s the only way to be happy but, I am one of the happiest people I know.

    And yes, my husband is the only person I have ever been in love with. He is my one true love (my Edward) so, how could I not be happy!

    It’s a fantasy story. Part of the fantasy is how perfect their love is. Readers understand that and it is hardly the first story about love conquering all.

  • Alice

    I don’t really agree with this reveiw.
    It is true, relationships do take a lot of work–in real life.
    This is a BOOK.
    People who read the Twilight Series aren’t supposed to run their lives according to the books, and I don’t think they do(If they do, than they SHOULD read this review).
    It isn’t telling woman they can only achieve their identity through men–thats just the way it happened for Bella in the books.
    Bella is not a horrible person. She just has a very low self-esteem. She isn’t really complaining, either. It says in the books that she never fit in well all her life, so when Edward says he loves her, she isn’t sure what to make of it. She is unsure, because it is something new to her.
    Ok, this bothers me too. Jacob and Quil aren’t sexually fixated on Renesmee(the baby) and Clair (the two year old). They made that very clear in the books. Yes, the two kids will be a perfect sexual match when they are fully mature, but Jacob and Quil aren’t fixated on them for that reason. While Renesmee and Clair are babies all that the two werewolves are thinking is that they want the kids to be safe, and they juat want to make everything good for them. When they are adults, the wolves will still want that.
    Stephenie Meyer isn’t trying to give the message that everyone has a true love. Again, Bella and Edward are true loves in the book, which, remember, is a fiction book. None of this actually happened.
    You were obviously never a teenage girl, so this wouldn’t make sense to you, but ALL girls feel insecure at times. It isn’t normal if a girl never does. Bella doesn’t think shes ugly. At the beginning of book one, when she is looking in the mirror at herself, she is noticing all of her physical flaws. Girls are very picky, and they always notice the little things that are wrong with them. I am not saying that its good–it is just normal.
    How can Bella save herself all the time? When super-strength, super-speed James is hunting human Bella, how is she supposed to save herself? She trys to get out of the building, but she has no more than human strength and speed. And it was VERY brave of her to go and meet James, for her to die in order to save all the people she loves. Would YOU do that? She of course never did do this, because she is a fictional character, but how can you call that faintly brave? She goes to Italy to save Edward in the second book, and in the fourth book, she doesn’t abbort Renesmee even though she knows she will most likely die when giving birth. None of those things are “faintly brave”.
    I think it is ridiculous to write a reveiw that is so strongly against the book.

    I am fourteen years old. I am young, but I know that none of the girls I know who have read these books are going to run their life according to the books.

  • Renaeee

    I really don’t agree with this review.
    First of all, i hate how every person who reviews these books always says that ‘they give girls bad role model becuase Bella did this for Edward and Bella did that for Edward and girls will think that they have to change themselves for their boyfriends’. I for one (being a teenager myself) find it extremely insulting. Do these adults honestly think that today’s teenagers don’t know that this stuff is a work of FICTION? let me repeat that. F I C T I O N. As in, not real.

  • ganet

    i love this book and to hear this [whoever he is ] talking about it just makes me mad because it like he thinks we tanager of todayare stupid and in reality hes the stupid one how dear him. anyway for the record it fiction.

  • Aleisha

    i will not bore you with a 2 pg. in depth discussion about my views on someone elses opinion. Simply put in response to…

    … While in reality relationships are work. They take work and patience and humor and cooperation and a willingness on both sides to accept the various farts and burps and personal quirks the other has….

    Um, just so you remeber, THE BOOK IS NOT REALITY. ITS FICTION. If you don’t like the idea or the “underlying message” DONT READ IN. SM is not trying to warp or brainwash the impresionable tweens of America. JEESH

  • kayyyy

    WHAT IS HE THINKING?
    ok so some things that he’s saying would make sense if this book was about ordinary people!! Edward is a vampire hes not human he doesnt fight with Bella he want to protect her and love her. Her falling for him and his attractive nature doesnt lessen her as a women! its like a fairy tale, this book isnt trying to say that women are only useful for babymaking and only find comfort through men. this book is saying, to me, that true love is out there and showing how intense it can be. Someone could easiy argue that “Beauty and the Beast” is saying that all men are dogs because of the way the beast treats Bell but thats not the case! its just a fairy tale!

    Also Bellas interactions with girls arent just limited! Her interactions with everyone are. The book isnt about how Bella interacts with everyone! The book is about LOVE; with a hint of action by the guy being a vampire. SERIOUSLYYY. dont take things so seriously like its the constitution or something….

    i love this series. cant wait till the movie!!! :)

    Now, on the whole JACOB BLACK thing he is not SEXUALLY atracted to Renesme! I mean did this guy even read the book!? Yeah its kinda weird that he will SOMEDAY be in love with bellas daughter but right now he just wants to look after her its not like hes looking after her like some kind of sexually crazed maniac.. thats just his warewolf nature!

  • Sophia Guagenti

    The person isn’t making the argument that choosing to have a family and get married instead of focusing on having a career is wrong. They’re saying that Bella has no ambitions, desires, wants, or needs that make her a person independent from her vampire lover. I’ve only read Twilight, but I’ve herd that she goes into a totally depression spiral in the next book when Edward leaves, so she must have severe dependency issues. I mean, a romance is a romance, but Bella really doesn’t seem to have any individuality. (Not that I even understand why she fell for a guy who spent his time alternatively annoying and ignoring her in between the occasional life saving which has no bearing on whether she’d actually like him personally)

  • Jess

    It was a rather nice review. I don’t really mind the thing about imprinting because it has been used in different books, but a slight different way. He is a writer as well though, he’s completely entitled to his opinions, yet I’m so frustrated when someone says that they shouldn’t complain about the book because it’s just fiction. I suppose one reason that it frustrates me is because I’ve met many girls who have broken up with their boyfriend because they wanted one more like Edward or say they want Edward to have their babies…fans can be quite scary at times. But he it’s understandable that a credible author wouldn’t like the books, since many tend to go for deeper things than romance. Sorry that I’m posting and not in the fan stage of Twilight. I just thought that his review was thought out. There are many girls that believe that they can’t get through life without a man though and the like. Bella wasn’t even planning for college after school because of the vamping. Perhaps she’ll go in a few decades, but that is really frustrating. A woman who would rather just dote on a man and have sex on him instead of doing something good for more than just that one person.
    Imprinting never bothered me that much though. I suppose there is someone for everyone, but females shouldn’t really base their dream man off characters in a book. It’s only a book, after all. Well, everything is based on opinion and if fans want the book to be real, why not consider it in more of a real tone? Ah well. Anyways, it is their opinion. They’ll have their own view of the book, no matter what. Fans would even have differing opinions of the book, correct? I do believe there is a Edward/Jacob debate for certain fans. Erm…I am sorry for not being a fan and posting. Just opinion. Gomen ne.

  • edwards_sweetie

    Hey everyone,

    I’m going to go against the general opinion here, and tell you guys what I think. I agree with this reviewer on some points. When I first picked up the book, that was almost the same impression I had. I’m a very independent person. I have a Bachelor’s of Science degree from a very good university, I’m a researcher, and I have always put my dreams and goals ahead of everything else. I was taught to be all that I can be, and to not sacrifice my goals and dreams for anything. When she became obsessed with Edward, and then didn’t go to University because of (her ideas of) Edward, and when she was going to essentially change her life to be with him…I have to admit, it really bothered me. And that’s because it’s not something I would ever do. I don’t think it’s something I *could* ever do. But here’s the kicker. Even though I’ve gone to University, and have a career etc, there’s alot of things about Bella that I can’t do. Bella’s strong enough to let herself be vulnerable; she trusts herself enough to believe her decisions are the right thing for her. The thing that struck me the most was that she’s soooo open and honest about herself and her feelings; something that I can’t do with other people. I can’t break down infront of someone else unless I’m really really angry; I can’t even cry infront of my best friend. So even though there are things that bothered me, it’s because I can’t directly relate to them.

    Anyways, before I even picked up Twilight, I read a very brief review of Breaking Dawn right after it was released, and they were bashing it because she was saying that she can’t live without Edward and blah blah blah, so that put me off of reading Twilight for a bit. But since the movie was coming out, and I like to read the books beforehand because they’re always so much better, I bought Twilight for the heck of it. Even though it bothered me on some points, I really liked the premise so I kept reading; and I’m so happy I did. Because it’s not the specifics of what happens that make this book great. It’s all about the characters. Bella was riding on life, not really doing much with herself. Then she finds a passion – something she can’t stop thinking about, something that totally engulfs her and makes her yearn for more (Edward). And she goes for it. Isn’t that what life is all about…finding what your passion is? Some people find passion in science, or writing, or connecting with people, and they build their lives around it. Bella found Edward. He was her passion. So really, isn’t it just a book about life, but specifically Bella’s life? So, it’s important to look deeper than the surface, because it’s more than what the reviewer thought, and us Twilight addicts know this :) .

    I think that if the reviewer didn’t like the books, he should have just put them down (why did he read all four if he disliked the first one so much??) …because he’s obviously not enjoying them enough to dig for the real meaning. So there.

  • LT

    It sounds to me like this reviewer and everyone who posted comments on his page in agreement with him are all very cynical in the love and romance department. It’s those of us who still have an open mind and the faith that love like Bella & Edwards could still exist that can appreciate them. Granted, their love is completely fictional, but people can still find love when they’re ready (some people are ready before others).

    As for trying to make Jacob sound like a pedophile, the book clearly says (more than once) that he doesn’t see her in a sexual way. He only wants her to be safe and happy which is what every parent wants for their child – he’s basically like an overprotective uncle.

  • nelys

    well what i think is that this review is a crapy review. for one thing the person who did this review was thinking of racism. why because she thought that bella depended way too much on Edward. and you know what??? he/she might be right. bella does depend on edward, but only because his the love of her life.
    we tennagers sometimes need an encorreying (forgot how 2 spell it)point, where we can say, yeah i have a hope that some day ill find the love of my life, hope because not only careers make your life there are other details, like for instance ………. love…
    and the relationship thing its true we SOMETIMES have to give up a lot of things but some people get lucky and they only have to give up few things. but when you really analyze it bella loses a lot just to get love.
    she loses her dad,her mom and family because she becomes a vampire and can´t be near them.
    sooooooooooooo that person cant look only the neg things

  • http://twilightersanonymous.com/ESTATIC-DAYS-TWILIGHT-SERIES-REVIEW.HTML#comments Naomi

    I say this rev. is just full of crap. How can he say that. I mean I just read this and i find myself thinking “Ok… what the hell? what does this guy he think he is doing is he trying to be funny or trying to get a great fan of mobs after him.” seariously. i got angry for all those awful things it said about the most awsome book i have read in my 16 years.
    I actually wish that kind of suff will happen in our world,I mean its just something diffrent from the other books i’ve read. Of course there are simalarities that you can find in almost every other teen romance book like: jelousy, fights, arguments, romance, passion,with tragity of course, and etc. i mean seriously what did he expect its the best combination of true love it goes to show that not every true love turns out to be as you expect it to be and there are some that true love always have something in the way interfiering them.
    So the hell with you Dawnnoelle. i love the book just the way it is.

  • foxy

    I can see where this review is coming from. I read through the entire series and loved it, but Bella got on my nerves after a bit. It was like, “STOP whining! He loves you, alright?”

    By the fourth book, she seemed rather useless to me. And I found myself thinking, “Do I want my niece to read this and think she should just sit back and let her dream man protect her? And that at some point she’ll have to recreate herself in his image?”

    But then I read the partial draft of Midnight Sun. From Edwards eyes, it becomes clear why he loves her and why others fall in love with her too. It’s just that all the other books are in Bella’s perspective, so she wouldn’t see the things that Edward, Jacob, and Alice do.

    She’s brave, selfless, kind and generous. She takes care of others, hates to be doted on, and worst of all she really doesn’t see herself clearly. And what girl does? I know I’ve always striven to be good, and one little slip would have me picking on myself for days, especially when I was in high school. And I worry now that at some point my niece is going to start thinking she is ugly and stupid and that no one could ever love her. (But I’ll be there to tell her the truth if she ever wavers on just how wonderful she is.)

    So I see where this review is coming from, and it is wrong. Midnight Sun needs to be published so that we can also clearly see Bella.

  • GeneGenie

    I’m a mother of two young teenage girls. Where I live, the local girls are becoming a bit Edward crazy – not in a healthy way. So, I decided to read the books before permitting my daughters to read them. I do agree with the reviewer on some points. With that being stated though, it is fantasy not reality – which I have emphasized to my daughters. The books, for the most part, are a good read. If anything, I believe the books are a great conversation starter about real relationships and how they work. I have no problem escaping reality with an easy read. The Twilight Saga has given us some great chats and laughs & we approach it as entertainment. I would be in trouble if I relied on novels to raise my daughters about careers, relationships, desperation for my soul mate . . . that is my job. I think the reviewer should give us Twilight Fans a break.

  • http://twilightersanonymous.com/ESTATIC-DAYS-TWILIGHT-SERIES-REVIEW.HTML#comments ABCMom

    Well said GeneGenie! Great way to get the conversation going with your daughters. I never once thought of Bella as weak. After reading all the novels I was concerned about one thing – she gave up EVERYTHING but still ended up with everything. Not that she had an easy time of it and never suffered. Not that she doesn’t have a strong sense of who she is and what she wants, but she got everything she wanted in the end, Edward, Jacob, family. Hmmm, does that happen?

  • caludzoriginal

    the dude who made this review is wack. I think it is understandable by the readers that the book is FICTION. Made to entertain and an idea of teenage relationships with a vampire (lol,just dont mind the last statement,we all know its not possible. LOL). It would be really stupid if people believe what Meyer’s writing in there. And I think if they do, it wouldn’t be your problem. :D Well as for me and the other fans out there,the book is really good. Keep up the good work Steph! ^_^

    And the facet that YOU read the book, means??? HAHAHA it may be out of curiousity but hey, you spent your money for the books. It would have been healthier if you HATED it and NEVER READ it. haha okey so yeah

  • neetabug

    Okay, I read Jeff Vandermeer’s review ages ago and it annoyed the heck out of me because it was so ignorant and uninformed. For one thing, what on earth is a man doing reviewing a book written for girls and women? Is he sooo in touch with his feminine side (a term I’ve come to hate with a passion in the last few years) that he thinks he knows what we think and how we feel, and what we like in our fantasies. I really don’t think so.

    As for his ridiculous comment about Jacob’s ‘sexual’ attachment to Renesmee….did he actually read the books? Loathe Jacob as I do (and I really do), he at no point shows any sexual, or otherwise creepy, interest in Renesmee. His attachment is visceral – he can no more help it than he can influence the elements.

    As for Bella being some dependent wuss needing a man to self-actualize. Bollocks!

    …and his contention that it’s unhealthy to encourage young girls to believe in soul mates – mate, you are a sad and pathetic little man if you DON’T believe in a soul mate, and I feel very very sorry for you.

    I met and married my soul mate 18 years ago. We are happier now than ever and our relationship has never ever been hard work. That’s where the ‘soul mate’ thing comes in! You’re in accord and nothing else is as important as your soul mates happiness. He gives to you as you give to him; so no matter what you may disagree upon in principle, compromise is as easy as breathing and you will always come up with a solution that suits you both.

    That’s my experience. We need each other to function – not that we can’t if we have to, but all the colour disappears from our world when we’re not together. That makes our evenings and weekends that much more vibrant and our kids are always going on about how grateful they are that they don’t have to live with the ire their friends put up with. I truly hope they find their soul mates too. We have a saying here, “Don’t settle for someone you can live with…find the one you can’t live without”.

    So to Stephenie Meyer, thank you so much for sharing your fantasy man with us all – I for one love the idea that in this harsh, rude, confrontational world there is still something gentle and pure to strive for.

    To Jeff Vandermeer, please keep your ill-informed venom to yourself; and your gender assumptions.

  • Midori

    Jake doesn’t care for Renesmee that way. He cares about her and wants her to be happy and safe. I know Jake imprinted on Renesmee, but doesn’t mean that they will end up together. Edward never allow than as Jake mentioned in the book. When I hear interpretation of the story, I sometimes wonder, are we readng the same book?

  • Literary student

    Meyer didnt set out to mislead her audience. I wont be letting my little sister read it, but I still see their value. There are a lot of intelligent girls reading these books that are going to be living under the illusion that Edward Cullen is the man for them, that they need to be like Bella Swan (helpless & reckless and dependant on love) and that their lives need to centre around the search for a love like theirs. The pen is mightier than the sword and I just think that the unrealistic images in these books, in conjunction with the powerful imaginations of young women who are trying to find themselves in this world, is a dangerous combination. There are obviously a lot of very ENTHUSIASTIC fans out there that cant tell where fiction ends and reality begins. It is hard too with fiction like this that panders to every girls wildest imaginings of love and destiny.
    Stephenie Meyer has done a BRILLIANT job on these books in terms of their timbre, structure and voice, however she wrote them based on her own imagination. There is a context, and it is our imperfect society and human nature. Art isnt created in a vacuum. Give her a break, dont criticise the book, just treat it the way it should be and read it for what it is. Not true and not plausible, but escapism. Girls, realise that Pattinson is not Edward Cullen. Edward Cullen is an imaginary character.

  • JayneCullen

    Can I just say, I’ve just read the entire article, and burst out laughing.

    As far as I can ascertain from the article, her main problems with the book are:

    1.Bella’s size – the size 14 jibe at the end gave that away a little.

    2.Bella has the affections of a male without being sterotypically pretty

    3.Bella has the choice of two men

    4.Bellas not a girly girl. (she prefers the company of the vamps, and resists alice’s good natured, cling-filmy fashion sense.

    I personally (previous to these books) am completely relationship focused. I’ve never honestly wanted a career, i’ve always wanted the fairy tale I guess and Im lucky enough to have a boyfriend who thinks the same. All I want is a job that I’m comfortable in, and to be married and have a family.

    Can somebody please tell me what is wrong with this goal?

    As for the writer of this article, All I can say is….

    “…It’s a twilight thing, you just don’t get it…”

    Nobody else has to suffer our insanity with these books, except us, and if we’re all fine with it, no one else mattes huh!

    Love to SM x

  • Lilly

    This is the most ill thought-out review I have ever had the displeasure of reading. I center this around one basic though: It’s what Bella WANTS. Saying she isn’t strong is the most idiodic thing! Edward actually doesn’t want her to become a vampire, he wants her to leave him so she’ll be safe. Bella, however, is convinced that Edward is good. She’s not weak, she’s one of the strongest female characters I’ve ever read about.

  • http://www.myspace.com/dazzledtwilighters jessica

    another crap review =]

    Stephenie Meyer is amazing.

  • http://twilightersanonymous.com/ESTATIC-DAYS-TWILIGHT-SERIES-REVIEW.HTML Rubaiyea

    well to start with. I actually enjoyed the book. But say what, it was a light read. escapism as someone earlier mentioned earlier. It had an interesting easy to follow story line throughout the series. What disturbs me is how everyone is trying to pass this on as some sort of thought provoking serious stuff. And they keep praising it for its moral standards. and how a lot of people actually have the audacity to compare it to Harry Potter.
    well I’m sorry but its nothing like Harry Potter, and its criminal to pass this book off as one of the greatest books ever because its as Shallow as Shallow can get. Twilight is what it says and theres nothing more hidden behind the layers of its prose. Its fun no doubt. But its stupid. Its like watching “cardcaptors” and enjoying it but with the full knowledge that it doesn’t hold half the gravity as “Samurai X”.
    I would have been less unsettled if people just saw Twilight as it is and stopped praising it to the heights of Harry Potter or something. Truthfully great writers don’t deserve this.

 

 

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