Before I begin today's topic, I wanted to follow up on a comment to my post "One by One" in which Chuck reminded himself to write a defense of torture porn on his blog. To read his perspective on this horror sub-genre, head over to nogameforme.blogspot.com and check out the entry for July 23, 2009.
Now, I have a confession to make. I have read, and enjoyed, all of the books in the Harry Potter series, and have seen all the associated movies. Not to the level of attending book releases or movies on opening night in costume or anything of that nature, but I do have an appreciation for the works; I suppose I would be what you might call a casual fan. I resisted for quite some time, but finally gave in, and am glad that I did so. I find the plots complex but coherent, the characters for the most part very well developed, and writing style fit to appeal to a very wide audience. Plus, they are just a fun read. It seems to me that the films are most appropriate as a companion or supplement to the books. They are well-made, with an impressive depth of acting talent, particularly among the adult actors, who are always restrained enough not to take the spotlight away from the younger ones. However, as there is no way to cram 600+ pages worth of details into 2.5 hours, many plot points are left out and would likely cause confusion amongst the uninitiated. So all in all, a thumbs up from me on the question of Harry Potter.
I also have another confession to make. I've read the entire Twilight series. I wasn't even aware that these books existed until I saw a trailer for the first movie last year. My curiosity was piqued, as I tend to enjoy stories of the supernatural. I was also employed by Borders as a seasonal worker, so I figured it would be a good idea to have some clue as to what teenage girls, and many adults too, were going so crazy about. I, like many others, went through all the books at a rapid pace. I will give Stephenie Meyer credit for creating a story that engendered such an addiction in so many. However, I find the books intensely problematic, both stylistically and in elements of the story itself.
The writing in general grated on me as I was reading. It seemed to be obviously written toward the narrow audience of the teenage girl. Granted, the narrator and central character is herself a teenage girl, but let me illustrate my point by comparing to the brilliant The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Both are written nominally for a young adult audience, but the Gaiman work is written in such a sophisticated manner as to be appreciated as much, or even more so, by adults. The writing skill is apparent in every line. To a lesser degree, the Harry Potter works also display a higher level of sophistication. The Twilight books have indeed captured a large adult audience, but this seems to be caused more by content than by writing style (which I will address in a future post). The writing in Twilight veers from somewhat simplistic to flowery and melodramatic, the latter shown particularly in the descriptions of the overwhelming beauty of the vampire characters.
I realize that I will have many who vociferously disagree with me on my view of the Twilight series (and more to come when I continue to comment on what irked me about the plot itself!). I welcome any comments that take a different view; I always love hearing a perspective unlike my own and having a good discussion!
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