Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)
by Stephenie Meyer
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Book Reviews of Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3)
Book Review: I wouldn't recommend it
Summary: 2 Stars
I've spent the past half hour or so reading other reviews and skimming the reader forum, and it's been quite amusing. The usual gushing fans, the fewer critics, and the anti-critics. Well, I'm writing this to people who read these reviews for the same reasons I do: to help them decide whether they should buy this book or not. And I'd have to say to such people, I wouldn't recommend it. Check it out at the library first and see what you think.
If you're interested enough to read this, you've probably read (or at least heard about) the rest of the Twilight series. Stephanie Meyer's strength in these works is the character development, and that's why I found this third book disappointing. It's important to me to like the characters, and in Eclipse I found them turning into people I couldn't stand.
First, Bella. She spends most of the book crying, fainting, yelling, worrying, and agonizing. Every other spare moment is spent analyzing how perfect Edward is. Geez am I tired of that. My favorite trait in her was how quick she was to observe, but she's pretty slow on the uptake in this book, unless it's observing Edward's flawlessness. Bella just seems very immature; it's no wonder Edward, Jacob, and everyone else treats her like a two-year-old. Jacob's right, her relationship with Edward is like a drug, and it leaves her in no condition to make a mature decision about going vampire.
I loved Edward in the first book, but after reading a few hundred pages of Zombie Bella in the second, I wasn't quite as willing as she was to forgive him. And Edward in this book didn't win me back over. I was startled at how controlling and manipulative he was in the first part of this book, shocked that Bella didn't seem to care. I was hoping that some new, dark side of Edward would be discovered, something to put Jacob on more equal footing. That would have been more interesting than what actually happened: Edward apologized and turned back to perfect. Boooring. And as usual, though Bella drives herself nearly insane with worry, nothing permanently bad ever happens to her virtually indestructible friends.
I guess you can tell that I prefer Jacob. Yes, he did refuse to take a hint, and he steals a kiss that he really, really shouldn't have. But he's more lively, vibrant, and interesting than Edward. He seems more straightforward, less cold and calculating. I think he sees Bella and her decision with more maturity than Bella herself.
As a note to parents or people who just don't want to read this kind of thing, there is an almost sex scene in it. I was pretty surprised how steamy some parts of this book were. Add that to Bella's hatred of marriage, and we have one endorsement of extramarital sex, coming right up. Bella's ideas on marriage reveal just how immature she is, like a middle school kid saying, "Sure, I love him, but I don't know if I . . . LIKE him." If Edward hadn't spoken up for virtue, I'd have tossed the book aside.
There were some parts I liked about the book. I found Jacob's persistence entertaining, and I was surprised how far he was able to get. (Of course, there's never any real contest on that score. It was a total eclipse.) I was glad that the werewolves and the Cullens eventually fought side by side, even though the battle was rather anticlimactic. I enjoyed learning more about Rosalie and Jasper, though their stories, particularly Rosalie's, didn't seem terribly important to the plot. I get the idea that Meyer, an English lit graduate, wanted to echo Wuthering Heights some more by incorporating some long internal narratives typical of the Romantic period.
I probably won't buy the fourth book, but I'm curious enough to know what happens to Jacob (and grudgingly to Bella--does she grow a backbone? Does she stop becoming a danger and love magnet once she's a vampire? Does she achieve emotional stability?) that I'll probably read it. If it's as disappointing as Eclipse, though, I'm abandoning the series.
So those are one person's thoughts. Take em as you will, and I hope you're not disappointed!
Book Review: *sigh* downward slope
Summary: 1 Stars
i'm begining to get really annoyed with the heroine.
i loved twlight, it got me into reading after going through something of a slump in that department. the characters were all interesting and the story was one we all know (if you're into the vampire romance scene) but given a fresh spin so that your interested. the second book was not as good as the first, but still had a good story and though bella was beginning to get on my nerves a bit, i could deal with it, though a lot of her flaws were illustrated and brought to light in that one. don't get me wrong, i love flawed characters, i just recently finished breakfast of champions by vonnegut, is there one character in that book that isn't flawed? but that doesn't matter because their flaws are made known to the reader... and i guess celebrated for what they are in a way. in this instance, it seems like no one in the book can see bellas flaws, she is the 'ultimate possesion' everyone either wants her or hates her because others want her, because she is of course the ultimate, and therefore has no flaws (by the by, i'm being sarcastic, but in the best way possible), and because her flaws were not recognized, they were glaringly apparent, and extreemly annoying. but still the story kept my interest and was in no way a disapointment as a whole.
now in the third book, she's getting on my nerves. firstly, right off the bat, one of the main parts in this installment of the series is bella's relationship with jacob black. now, if i were to start reading the series now, i would be able to accept their relationship as it is, but having read a supposed 'history', where did this relationship come from? in the last book bella spent a week or two with jacob and only searched him out ever so that she could escape her problems and maybe get closer to what she percieved as 'edward', and then all of a sudden no one knows jacob like her? give me a break! that would make more sense if they had some sort of history before twilight, which they do, but she said that she barely remembered him the first time they met in book 1, and even then she used him to her own ends. so in my opinion, that relationship, at least on her side, doesn't make sense or doesn't really resonate with me as a deep and meaningful relationship that would inerfere with her relationship with edward, but she somehow makes it, which makes you wonder the level of her commitment to him. speaking of that, sometimes in this book i didn't really feel bella's connection with edward was something 'real'. its ok that bella's relationships with other people are weak in a romance, so long as she has a strong relationship with her lover. and she doesn't have a strong connection with anybody, except edward, and thats fine, its a romance, no one else is supposed to be connected. but somewhere in the third book we have bella pushing edward away? i mean she isn't supposed to cling to him (never that), but she starts resenting his feelings. she gets her back up that one time, in the entire series, that he makes a request of her, that is for her own benefit. but she wines to him every night to stay with her while she's sleeping.
i guess my problem is that it seems bella is extreemly selfish and expects people to what she says without really reciprocating. in fact shes quite passive throughout the entire series, surprisingly. there is alot of things happening, so you almost miss it with all of the action, but the action is happening around her or because of her, but she never takes an active role, and yet she's so selfish and demanding. thats what bugs me. (and it took a whole three books to figure it out).
alright, my big schpeal out of the way, bella and her interactions with the other characters was the only thing i didn't like about this series. if she had been removed from it i think i would have loved this series and would have been damanding more. i have been reading that there will be a third book and another with edward narrating this time, maybe those will be better, but then again... am i willing to risk the time and possibly money?
Book Review: What went wrong?
Summary: 2 Stars
Eclipse, for those not yet acquainted with the teen romance saga, is the third instalment in the Twilight series centred around Bella, a human girl, and her relationships with Edward, the unearthly beautiful and gifted vampire who is also the love of her life, and Jacob, brooding rebel and recently turned werewolf who comforts Bella when Edward abandons her. At the end of Book Two (New Moon) it transpires that Edward left Bella in an attempt to protect her from himself and his vampire family, but later returned, re-uniting the pair. Jacob, by now deeply in love with Bella despite her assertion of being "just friends", is left vengeful and broken-hearted by the idea that Bella wishes to become a vampire herself.
The series already boasts an impressively large fanbase and the release of Eclipse was anticipated with feverish excitement - comparisons were even being made, in hushed tones, to the famed Harry Potter.
It is with some surprise, then, that the reception of above-mentioned tome can only be described as lukewarm. Even previously loyal fans have expressed disappointment. One ponders the question: What went wrong?
Whilst Stephenie Meyer is certainly no Jane Austen, her writing style bears testimony to a literary background and is fueled by a rich imagination; I don't believe this is what let her down.
Part of the answer lies in the comparison thrust, perhaps unfairly, upon the shoulders of Bella and her beaus, with the Boy Who Lived. Unlike JK Rowling's creations, the inhabitants of Forks, Washington, have not matured or evolved in any noticeable way. Bella appears to have regressed, if anything at all. Much of the narrative is dedicated to her internal struggles, becoming frankly tiresome at times. Her ambivalence to the idea of marriage, her uncertainty regarding the trade of her mortal life for the undead, fretting over Jacob's hurt feelings and the resulting downward spiral of guilt and self-loathing entirely overshadows the thinly veiled suspense plot, which hardly deserves a mention. For all her introspection, she appears no wiser. Her actions remain rash, her behaviour petulant and her judgement poor.
Edward, formerly darkly dangerous beneath his gentlemanly veneer, always torn between his love for Bella and his vampiric nature, seems to have been stripped of all depth. Apart from his ever-expressive eyebrows, he shows hardly any emotion or passion. As for his issues regarding physical intimacy: he and Bella have always maintained a chaste relationship, made necessary by the obvious risks to her. This was beautifully symbolic in its own right and needed nothing more. Sadly, in Eclipse this has been cast aside. Following what can only be described as foreplay, Edward refuses to take her virtue on grounds of his moral beliefs. The scene could have been taken from a sex education video. Furthermore, his preoccupation with her safety and meek acceptance of her "love" for Jacob portrays him more as a father figure than a boyfriend.
As for the werewolf man-boy Jacob, he is a likeable enough supporting character, who has added an interesting dimension to the tale, but has outgrown his place like an unruly ficus. Here, I believe, lies the answer as to What Went Wrong: the unexpected success of Twilight, forcing Meyer to push the story further than she first intended. If we are honest, we must admit that boy-meets-girl-love-forever-after cannot support a series of three, let alone four volumes. So the skewed love triangle is inserted, after the fact and so obviously not part of the original plan, like bunny ears pinned to a cat.
A lost cause, then? This will be determined by the fourth and, hopefully, last book in the series. Breaking Dawn is due for release next year. Perhaps Bella will surprise us with some powers of her own, be they supernatural or not, and earn her spot on centre-stage. Perhaps Edward will return to his former smouldering glory, causing us to forgive everything else.
I am ever the optimist.
Book Review: Love Eclipsed by Co-Dependency
Summary: 3 Stars
All great stories, especially memorable love stories, have certain tying denominators. They have fully fleshed out characters with flaws, the love experienced by the couple transcends time and space, and the main obstacle the couple faces tends to reveal elements and commentary about life. Good love stories are allegorical.
This love story...the one we all desperately wanted to find out more about seemed to fizzle out. Instead of a loving bond growing between Edward and Bella, the relationship morphs into one of co-dependency. One can not live without the other. They both manipulate each other under the guise of, "I can't bear to not be with you. I'm doing it for love," or something to that extent.
I suppose what truly made me question the love between Bella and Edward was her reluctance to get married. She wants to become a vampire so that she may be with Edward forever, but marriage scares her? A piece of paper scares her? She says she's ready to become a vampire, but yet at one point in the novel realizes she's in love with another man.
All the while Bella continues to be selfish, manipulating Edward and Jacob so that she may get her way. She claims that it's a passionate love. One that causes her to not be whole without Edward, but you start to wonder if she's simply trying to fill in an empty part of her. Any one who has been in relationships can tell you that seeking a relationship to feel whole is never the way to go and that seems to be what Bella is doing.
For all of Bella's emotional immaturity, that can almost be forgiven. She's 18. However, at one point I started questioning if Edward truly loved her or if anyone willing to convert Bella to a vampire truly cared about her emotional well being. If I were Edward or anyone else, I wouldn't change her. She seems to be doing it out of this desperate need to belong. However, if she were emotionally secure with herself she wouldn't want to become a vampire for that reason alone.
She may state otherwise, but that's how her actions and thoughts come across. Bella becomes a needy, emotionally starved, desperate girl who wants it all. This isn't to say that there are any vampires around to ask for their objective opinion, but one would assume you'd only convert the person you love to a vampire if the person in question was emotionally ready for such a change. Bella is far from ready. If I were Edward or any other Cullen for that matter, I would force her to wait as her love for Edward at times comes across as desperate, needy, and unhealthy.
I think the biggest failure with the book was the way that Edward and Jacob were portrayed in order to show that one love was more passionate than the other. That only one of the boys could make her happy, but unwillingly Jacob destroys Meyer's argument that the love between Edward and Bella is complete and whole. Jacob tells Bella, he could have been so good for her-so healthy for her.
It's Meyer's interpretation that true love, passionate love, lacks that healthy emotional aspect, that makes you lose interest in the love story. Meyer so badly wants to convince you that Edward and Bella are experiencing true love that she downplays the Seattle murder sub plot and haphazardly addresses it as long as it ties into the theme, "Edward and Bella are forever." I was actually disappointed to see who was behind the Seattle mayhem. It just seemed to be used as a focal point to convince the reader that Edward and Bella are right for each other.
You'll notice some out of character moments with certain key players, but that is easily over looked when the main disappointment, is the relationship between Bella and Edward.
You almost wish that Bella would have chosen Jacob, but more than that, you simply want Bella to become her own person and be strong enough to survive on her own with the presence of any man. And sadly, as long as Edward is in her life, I don't see Bella evolving into strong young woman, just a shell of what her love wants her to be.
Book Review: Has Ms. Meyer's Talent Been Eclipsed by her Bad Characterization?
Summary: 2 Stars
The most infuriating feeling in the world is to dive headfirst into a book, expecting to love it, and then leaving the book behind feeling as though you could have skipped it altogether and not been any worse for wear. And that, sadly, is how I felt about "Eclipse."
I'll skip the summarizing (bloodthirsty newborn vampires recruited to hunt for Bella and Co., the return of Jacob Black, Bella's so-called romantic dilemma) and start right off with how I felt as I read more about these characters I came to know in "Twilight" and "New Moon." This may be redundant, seeing as so many reviewers have said it already, but I think we've lost Edward. Seriously. He's turned into the nightmare of all boyfriends, and not because he can't control his vampiristic urges to suck out Bella's life force - quite the opposite. Instead, he's gotten so protective, so stalker-ish, so controlling; that he seems almost HUMAN. TOO human, for a guy who rips one of his kind to pieces not long after telling his girlfriend he more or less believes that having pre-marital sex would damn his soul (Stephenie Meyer has said that she and Edward share the same fundamental beliefs, and in this sense I believe she was using him as a mouthpiece to voice her opinion that even teenagers their age -- 17 and near-19 -- should stay away from the horizontal macarena). Edward no longer possesses the same smart-mouthed, elusive, not-quite-arrogant-but-getting-there air that we were introduced to in the beginning. He's gotten overly gushy. His omnipresence in Bella's everyday existence has crossed the border over to supremely annoying. Combined with Meyer's repetitive descriptions of his tragic good looks, and you have the potential to piss off many readers who are looking for more depth in their heroines than internal narratives which read along the lines of: "IF HE LEAVES ME, I'LL DIE", and "I lost my train of thought as I stared into his smoldering topaz eyes."
Really, Bella? Has he got you that stoned (there's a comparison late in the novel: Jacob Black is her sun, Edward is her drug) that even when he disassembles your car so you'll stay away from your best friend the werewolf, it's easy to forgive him?
Bella's personality is totally warped in this installment of the series. I can't believe she's actually REGRESSING back into a spoiled, bratty, narrow-minded child. It's even more difficult to believe that she sees herself as being more mature than her mother, who has the good sense to point out the obsessive oddity of her relationship with Edward. The final straw, for me, was her resistance to marry him. Come on. You're planning on becoming one of the undead so that you can spend eternity with the guy. At least pretend to be jazzed when he offers to make an honest woman out of you.
When she punched Jacob - who gets a bad wrap for being persistent, though in my opinion he's not nearly as obnoxious as his rival Edward - I felt gratified, not for her but because she ended up breaking her knuckles
in the process. People will say he's the manipulative one, but I believe he's a better person all-around than Bella's other boy-toy. He's warmer, less stifling, and he allows Bella to participate in events that Edward would consider to be dangerous. Still, as good as he was, the whole love triangle deal felt a bit contrived. And it makes the concept of "true love" between Bella and Edward seem sullied, especially by the end.
The best thing about "Eclipse" is that it shows Bella experiencing major doubts about leaving her human life behind. It's kind of incongrous with her childish attitude for her to be so preoccupied with consequences, but it fits the thoughtful nature she is supposed to have.
My hope for "Breaking Dawn" is that Stephenie will give us back the characters we were expecting this time around. Also, that Bella will make the choice that's best for herself and finalize her story in the appropriate manner. Make us CARE where she ends up.