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Right, well then. For three novels I have been quite lovely towards these books. Lovely for me, at least.
I have been quite clear that I enjoyed them, that I got swept away on a Cullen shaped flying carpet, that I read them over and over, that I actually think Meyer has brilliant stories to tell, even if she is lacking in the skills to make them excellent.
But now. It is over. I have a Cullen shaped hole and an enormous amount of feminist rage left over, and no where to direct that energy.
Because here is the thing. All stories, all books, all novels have a message. Whether you think they are trashy or not, there is a always a deeper idea portrayed within the books. Stories are our way of trying to make sense out of a mostly nonsensical world. A good story will take our nonsensical world and shine a little light on some aspects of it. Whether that be conflict, love, family, destruction, sacrifice, war, etc. A good story will ask big questions. It will leave you thinking about it and them for a long time after.
I can not deny that BD left me thinking about it for days after. I am a happy endings girl. I like it when characters don’t die, I like it when things are all wrapped up neat and proper. So I have absolutely no problem with the general lack of conflict in this novel. From a literary point of view is this good literature? Not even close. But I still enjoyed part three.
Sadly, underneath all that there is a worrying message living in these books. This book in particular. When you are constructing a narrative about a romance and you have the female character be the helpless maiden that constantly needs saving. That is a message.
When you have that female do all the cooking and cleaning. That is a message.
When you have that females sexual desires controlled by the male character. That is a message.
When you have that character finally turn into the thing she has wanted all along, and there be no sacrifice for that. That is a message.
When you need your characters to marry and have a child for their to be any kind of plot. That is a message.
When your male character holds his child for a grand total of two times in the novel. That is a message.
Are you getting my point here? BD in particular was uncomfortable in its unsubtle messages. Not least it’s extreme anti-abortion stance. (I don’t even know where to begin with the female werewolf/infertile idea. Or the imprinting.)
This novel definitely left you with questions. But they weren’t big life changing ones. This novel reads as a disturbing ideal of what some people believe to be love. Ignore the vampires and werewolves. You are left with a girl who had to fundamentally alter herself for her love. Who was really rather passive and helpless and treated like a small child for the majority of the series.
Maybe the worst part of it all is that did Meyer release another Cullen novel. I would read it in a heartbeat. Because I miss them.
