Comments on: Books I Don’t Think Are Worth Reading, But Understand Why People Do: Twilight http://www.petermball.com/2009/08/12/books-i-dont-think-are-worth-reading-but-understand-why-people-do-twilight/ Writer, Gamer, and Angry Nerd Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:16:20 +0000 hourly 1 By: PeterMBall http://www.petermball.com/2009/08/12/books-i-dont-think-are-worth-reading-but-understand-why-people-do-twilight/comment-page-1/#comment-326 PeterMBall Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:26:51 +0000 http://www.petermball.com/?p=667#comment-326 I write pulp noir novellas about faeries and unicorns - I'm hardly the type to hold it against a book just because it isn't equisite and noble fine artistry :) The problem I have with your analogy largely comes down to the fact that Edward isn't the passive, blow-up doll of the relationship in the book (which perfectly in keeping with the gothic romance tradition, but is one of those things I find vaguely upsetting if the story's being consumed without any hint of questioning the idea). I can see the books appeal as the equivalent of porn, just like I could see the appeal of Pamela Anderson when I was thirteen. It doesn't mean that I'm going to buy into it, or stop being bewildered by the fact that hundreds of people have Pamela posters on their walls well into adulthood... I write pulp noir novellas about faeries and unicorns – I’m hardly the type to hold it against a book just because it isn’t equisite and noble fine artistry :)

The problem I have with your analogy largely comes down to the fact that Edward isn’t the passive, blow-up doll of the relationship in the book (which perfectly in keeping with the gothic romance tradition, but is one of those things I find vaguely upsetting if the story’s being consumed without any hint of questioning the idea).

I can see the books appeal as the equivalent of porn, just like I could see the appeal of Pamela Anderson when I was thirteen. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to buy into it, or stop being bewildered by the fact that hundreds of people have Pamela posters on their walls well into adulthood…

]]> By: Laura McDougall http://www.petermball.com/2009/08/12/books-i-dont-think-are-worth-reading-but-understand-why-people-do-twilight/comment-page-1/#comment-325 Laura McDougall Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:07:55 +0000 http://www.petermball.com/?p=667#comment-325 The human condition is broader than the exquisite and noble sentiments captured by high art. Someone once said that romance novels are porn for women and I'm inclined to agree. There's a large demographic of giddy, under-loved but optimistic women for whom the character of Edward Cullen is the equivalent of a blow up doll. That's what makes something like Twilight so popular and so addictive from book to book. Like porn, it satisfies a primal, unmet emotional need in its readers. The human condition is broader than the exquisite and noble sentiments captured by high art. Someone once said that romance novels are porn for women and I’m inclined to agree. There’s a large demographic of giddy, under-loved but optimistic women for whom the character of Edward Cullen is the equivalent of a blow up doll.

That’s what makes something like Twilight so popular and so addictive from book to book. Like porn, it satisfies a primal, unmet emotional need in its readers.

]]> By: Uninvoked http://www.petermball.com/2009/08/12/books-i-dont-think-are-worth-reading-but-understand-why-people-do-twilight/comment-page-1/#comment-304 Uninvoked Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:27:26 +0000 http://www.petermball.com/?p=667#comment-304 A book like Twilight has been due for a long, long time. It may not be the greatest book ever written, but look at it this way: On Quizilla (and other popular teen writing sites) Vampire fiction is THE thing to write, right up there with fan fic and imagining romances with My Chemical Romance or some other popular band. No matter how awful the writing is...it is read by everyone on earth, religiously. You can misspell every word, paragraph everything in a solid block of text, and follow a plotline more stereotypical than a regency romance. It will still be popular. I won't even start my rant about how stupid the FMC of these stories get. (Suffice it to say when they sense themselves being stalked, doors to their house being left open, etc. they don't call the cops, oh no, they go for a nice refreshing walk (alone) down a dark alley at 2AM.) Twilight takes these sad attempts at writing, sorts out the story into something more or less plausible, and writes it in a professional manner. That's why it is popular. It is the unanimous voice of the teen population, written in something besides chat speak. Ok. I'm done now. *climbs off soap box* A book like Twilight has been due for a long, long time. It may not be the greatest book ever written, but look at it this way:

On Quizilla (and other popular teen writing sites) Vampire fiction is THE thing to write, right up there with fan fic and imagining romances with My Chemical Romance or some other popular band.

No matter how awful the writing is…it is read by everyone on earth, religiously. You can misspell every word, paragraph everything in a solid block of text, and follow a plotline more stereotypical than a regency romance. It will still be popular.

I won’t even start my rant about how stupid the FMC of these stories get. (Suffice it to say when they sense themselves being stalked, doors to their house being left open, etc. they don’t call the cops, oh no, they go for a nice refreshing walk (alone) down a dark alley at 2AM.)

Twilight takes these sad attempts at writing, sorts out the story into something more or less plausible, and writes it in a professional manner. That’s why it is popular. It is the unanimous voice of the teen population, written in something besides chat speak.

Ok. I’m done now. *climbs off soap box*

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