I like the night. Without the dark, we’d never see the stars.
Among the colossal ocean of book genres, comedy and romance are some of the hardest to compose. Due to an oversaturation of tedious storyline or the pure lack of fascination, romantic novels have always fallen short in my reading list until The Twilight series came into the picture.
With memorable characters and an engaging storyline, twilight offers a feast to devour. But what distinguishes this book series from the other candidates is the mythological turn Stephenie Meyer takes. The vampire romance novel is a well baked piece of literature with pristine plots and unprecedented species included. While there have been several attempts to construct a plot around the blood indulging fantasy creatures, only few have managed to reach The Twilight prominence. While most other books concentrates its excellence over the central plot, the characters of Twilight are it’s assets. Being a substantial consumer of nail-biting thrillers the storyline of the series was quite predictable. But the gradual yet meticulous development of the characters is what kept me going.
Unfortunately the series was unable to dodge from the ‘bad-movie-remake’ syndrome. While the movie is commendable it seriously falls short compared to the books. The casting was impressive but the entire series is studded with awkward conversations. While the female lead Bella is full of personality in the book she seems lifeless in the movies. The movies also face another drawback compared to books as it cannot always portray the inner conflict of the characters. This means its entirely up to the actor to present it in such a way that the audience could grasp the emotions off the screen. This was a shortcoming the movie series faced as The Twilight book series elucidates the outlook of each of the characters.
Twilight also presents a rather eccentric case. The plot cannot be acclaimed as the most astounding revelation nor can it be said as the ultimate romance novel. In brief Twilight might not make it into best quality reads. But there is an inconspicuous factor about the saga that attracts the readers and makes it a relish to read.
ISABELLA SWAN or BELLA
The main female lead of the saga is oozing with beauty, stubbornness and dry humor. Bella comes off as rational and realistic but extremely adamant over her choices. She is smooth in rejecting her guy schoolmates of forks but turns head over heels for Edward Cullen, a mystifying impeccable person with outlandish behaviors. Bella is initially crestfallen as Edward shows an extreme revulsion towards her. But all clouds of doubt is scattered when she makes a revelation of Edward being a vampire and they patch up their differences to be madly in love with each other. Bella is a very robust character, not physically but mentally. She had to endure innumerable moments of physical and mental agony but still managed to stay stable and surprisingly optimistic. One of the frustrating factors of Bella is her desire to keep every loved one jubilant and close to her. While this may seem as a positive characteristic it doesn’t do much justice to her best friend Jacob Black. While Jacob is in love with Bella, she and Edward are inseparable. Her rash decisions can be downgraded but somehow leads to affirmative aftermaths.
EDWARD CULLEN
The pale topaz eyed vampire deviates from the stereotypical narrative of a blood hungry monster. Bella’s mysterious schoolmate cannot bear being adjacent to her as he discovers something peculiar about the mortal. Edward, who is about a century old, was mutated into a vampire by Carlisle Cullen when he was on his deathbed. The Cullens identify themselves as ‘vegetarian’ vampires as they feed on animals instead of humans. Even though this takes a great deal of self tame, they manage to live together without causing much pandemonium among the mortals. Edward initially acts repulsive towards Bella as he feels his mind-reading talent falter and mute only in her. But very soon they fall in love with each other and weave an extremely strong connection between them which turns indestructible.
JACOB BLACK
The 15 year old teenage boy initially doesn’t seem different or prominent. But it is in the later books that Jacob shares a spotlight with Bella and Edward. The young boy does seem to know quite a lot about mythological creatures but that could be attributed to his father Bill. Jacob seems like an ideal character when he takes up the role as Bella’s best friend and helps her evade the agony of loneliness. But things begins to tangle up once he becomes werewolf, who are the arch nemesis of vampires. So naturally Jacob starts to become agonistic towards Edward. But the part that crumbles his image as a rational character is when he continues to coax Bella to choose him instead of Edward. Jacob has done a substantial lot of tasks for Bella’s sake and most of which reflects his loyalty as a true friend. But sadly his few irrational and wrong deeds eclipses the good ones.
CULLEN FAMILY
CARLISLE CULLEN
The impeccable and flawless looking doctor of Forks has everyone astounded with his visuals. Being more than 3 centuries old he has established an incredible self control over his vampire instincts. Being the father figure of the family, he has himself converted most of his family members into a vampire to protect them from death. His serene persona is echoed throughout the series.
ESME CULLEN
Though Esme’s character is not as prominent as her husband, she still holds a place in the series as an amiable mother figure. Her story of mutation is referred to later in the books
ALICE CULLEN
The pixie girl of the Cullen family is undoubtedly the most significant Cullen after Edward. The little vampire with an eclectic sense of fashion and an obsession of giving Bella makeovers, is a true sister to her and holds a special place in her heart. Even though little compared to other members her ability to prognosticate brief events of the near future gives her a head start in battles.
JASPER HALE
The young vampire has endured a lot in his murky past. His knowledge about juvenile vampires proves to be of much significance at the crucial scenarios.
ROSALIE HALE
The pulchritudinous blonde female character is mostly depicted as insolent or ignorant. But this description does not give Rose justice as in her case a difference in outlook in necessary. If we were to view the incidents in her perspective then Rose wouldn’t come of as a dislikeable character as the books perceive her to be.
EMMETT CULLEN
Easily the most physically robust member of the family, Emmett is a gaudy and takes pride in his mammoth strength. Due to this he often resolves a problem with strength rather than intelligence and rationality.
With the newest edition to The saga in the form of ‘Midnight Sun’, the series shows no sign of abating in ardent readers and global prominence.
“The right thing isn’t always real obvious. Sometimes the right thing for one person is the wrong thing for someone else. So…good luck figuring that out.”
― Stephenie Meyer, Twilight
