Judith Woods
Breaking Dawn, the fourth and final book (we think!) in the Twilight saga leaves something to be desired. Gone is the free-flow-of-reading that made Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse such incredible page turners. Author, Stephenie Meyer, works hard to resolve all of the still-opened conflicts from previous books but seems to tie them up too quickly and neatly to maintain the same magical authenticity that made Twilight such an instant hit. Meyer stretches even the most die-hard fan’s loyalty (I can say that because I am one) by adding some of the most ‘out there’ elements yet in the series.
Bella has now made her decision to commit herself to Edward, despite her profound connection to her best friend and werewolf, Jacob Black. The book opens with the impending nuptials of Bella, and her oh-so-handsome and blood-thirsty, vampire fiancé, Edward. After their quickie wedding (‘quickie’ due to the lack of reader build up), the next several-hundred pages are dedicated to their new life together as man and wife, their subsequent romantic, island honeymoon and the little “surprise” that they discover while still on said honeymoon.
It is that little surprise that lends itself to creating some of the bloodiest and most horrifying scenes imaginable. After reading Breaking Dawn, anyone can clearly see where Meyer utilizes her description talents and probably wish – just as I did – that she had saved them for other areas in the book. Meyer quickly wraps up all earlier plot twists without the description and attention to detail that she so beautifully provided in her previous novels. Maybe it was that lack of deep storytelling that made me FORCE myself to keep reading, rather than not being able to put the book down – which was the case with her previous novels.
One huge strong point of Breaking Dawn was the break-away middle section, told through Jacob’s incredulous eyes. I will admit that I was more than a little miffed when I hit page 139 and realized that the next 228 pages (yup, I actually flipped ahead to see how long it was) were not going to be told from Bella’s perspective. Yet, after reading just a few pages in, I realized that I was beginning to get a kick out of hearing the thoughts in young Jacob’s head. Rather than seeing his loving, albeit sometimes immature, behavior through Bella’s eyes; Meyer provides a clear view of Jacob’s tormented decision making through his own uncensored voice. And who knew that Jacob had such a great sense of humor.
Despite the issues that I have with thoroughness, I must give Stephenie Meyer huge props for being able to write - the same story – from several different perspectives. The girl has some serious skills in the character development department.
The conclusion of Breaking Dawn takes place with one final anticlimactic conflict that, once again, is built-up and resolved much too quickly. This entire book made me wonder if Meyer (who was still writing Breaking Dawn as Twilight-the movie was being filmed) did not have a bit of pressure to write this novel more for the silver screen than for her readers.
Breaking Dawn stretches the limits of the bizarre and outlandish – even for a novel about vampires. With some macabre and outrageous elements, this book left me feeling a little queasy (and I don’t just mean from the gory details). The one redeeming quality: Jacob’s perspective provided a breath of fresh air in this otherwise fast-paced, skimming-over-the-details novel. The quick and painless resolution to all of the open issues that have been gathering from previous novels left me feeling cheated and yearning for more. Who knows, with the undeniable success of the Twilight saga (even despite a few bad reviews), I might just get my wish.
2 comments:
I only managed to get through about 1/3 of the first Twilight book. I simply just can't get into the character of Bella. I guess it's because I like my characters with more powerful flaws, rather than just "clumsiness." Neither her or Edward feel the least bit believable to me. I feel I might have missed the "Twilight" boat by a couple of years. :/
I agree with Julie but I thought this was a great review. Pretty balanced considering that you're a fan. I did finish the first book though simply to quench my curiosity and see what all the hype was about...annndd...well, I still don't quite have the answer to that. Meyer's characterization is shallow, her plot twists predictable and her twists on the vampire lore is laughable.
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