Twilight (Stephenie Meyer)

I first became aware of Stephenie Meyer's 'Twilight' series about three and a half years ago when a lot of the more bookish students I taught began to ask me if I'd read them. It was hard not to notice the sheer popularity of the series, as the iconic cover, its symbolism so redolent of Eve's Fall from Paradise, was in the hands of so many students around the campus. My curiosity was definitely aroused, and I began thinking I should read these books, given they were such a talking point among the kids, and given that any interest in books needs to be encouraged as much as possible by any English teacher. The point where I went and bought the books was the point when the film adaptation of the first book was a month or so away from coming out. I read an article about it in 'Empire' and decided that I would read the books, see the film and see what the fuss was about.

So it was that between October and November of 2008 I read all four books in the series, and thoroughly enjoyed them. Now, I'm well aware that some people would hold them responsible for the bastardisation of literature and the dumbing down of romantic fiction, but Jesus Christ, don't be so serious. Do you know how many young people who were self-confessed non-readers are now avid readers? Do you know how many young people moved on from the 'Twilight' saga to the likes of 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Jane Eyre', not to mention 'Dracula' and 'Frankenstein'? This series, like Harry Potter before it, is literary catnip to young readers, and the value of that is incalculable. I get to see this on a daily basis and believe me, it's really important. If kids are reading, we live in a world worth living in. Which leads me to why I'm reviewing 'Twilight'  now, when everybody knows about it and has an opinion on it, even if they've neither read the books nor seen the films. What with the first part of the last film just having been released, I decided I wanted to re-read the saga before I watched 'Breaking Dawn: Part One'. So here we are.

I feel I should also defend the series against three other oft-held complaints: one, that it's badly written;  two, that it ruins the literary/mythical construct of the vampire; and three, that it isn't as good as the Harry Potter series. Well look, Meyer's prose style is not likely to be mistaken for George Eliot any time soon, but it's certainly not bad, particularly in the later books. And if it is occasionally overwrought and brimming with angst, bear in mind that this is a book ostensibly written for teenage girls. It's entirely appropriate for that audience. To address complaint number two, the glut of vampire myths from around the world leave any writer plenty of room to play around with the conventions. In my view, Meyer does some very original things with the source material and should be applauded for avoiding the 90s cliché of the "rock star" vampire. And as for the third, well, 'Twilight' is a very different beast to 'Harry Potter' and I'm not sure you can compare them directly. What I will say is that 'Twilight' moves much quicker and is much more economically plotted than Potter is. And if we're comparing stylistics, well, as irritating as Bella's first person narrative voice can get at times, it's certainly no worse than Rowling's bombastic omniscience in the later Potter books. Ultimately, I like both series because they got kids reading and because they're a fun diversion for an older reader taking a break from literary fiction. Because nobody can spend all of their time reading Goethe, after all.

The plotting and world creation is certainly the strongest element of 'Twilight': even if you're a sceptic, open the book, read the first chapter, and I defy you not to want to find out what happens next. For real. Bella Swan is a clumsy, broadly average, academic and underconfident Junior in high school. She moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks in the Pacific Northwest to be with her father, the local police chief, due to her mother marrying a baseball player who moves around regularly to find a spot with a Minor League team. Bella finds the idea of Forks mortifying. It is small, tight knit, rural and above all, rainy- in fact, the rainiest place in mainland America- so her adjustment is difficult. At the local high school, where the school population is the same size as her Junior Class back in Phoenix, she quickly becomes aware of a mysterious group of students who stand aloof from the rest of the school. Eerily beautiful, they fascinate her from the get-go. After becoming lab partners with the most striking of their number, one Edward Cullen, a series of strange events first estrange them but then bring them together. Eventually, Bella comes to an inescapable conclusion: Edward and the whole of his "family" are vampires. And she is in love with one.

'Twilight' makes use of literary tropes from all over the canon. Edward Cullen, tortured and noble, rude but charming, seems based on a synthesis of two creations of the Bronte sisters, Edward Fairfax Rochester and Heathcliff. Edward's decision not to feed on humans echoes that of Louis de Pointe du Lac from 'An Interview with the Vampire'. Bella's own clumsy yet forthright nature is just like Jane Eyre's, while the general sense of Gothic gloominess and mystique is familiar from 'Dracula'. The end section, meanwhile, where the obsessive hunter James explains his dastardly plans to Bella while she's helpless, seems to come straight out of the playbooks of various Bond villains. However it's the original touches Meyer adds that make this book more than the sum of its parts, and the way everything knits together is very satisfying.

Lord knows, 'Twilight' is never going to win the Booker of Bookers or anything. It isn't that sort of book. But there is room on the library shelves for all types of books, and it's important that teens have something accessible and memorable to read. Think about how bad children's literature used to be. Nowadays, there's much more to pique their interest, and thank goodness for that. So I forgive 'Twilight' for its cheesy dialogue, slim characterisation and overwrought emotions...because when it comes down to it, this book is a damned fun read. And there's nothing wrong with that.