Phase in Jacob Black

http://twilightsource.com/tsgallery/?level=album&id=5&plog_page=3

SPOILER WARNING!

When Jacob Black first appeared in Twilight (maybe I'm repeating myself, but anyway), I didn't think he'll pay such a major role in the series. He turns out to be a werewolf, an Alpha, a born leader, though he didn't want that birthright.

From the very begining, he's likable and easy-going and Bella often says that it's so easy to be with him. Thinking about him, I was struck by how much he changes since Twilight. Initially he is carefree and entertaining company, then after he learns that all the werewolf legends are true, he goes through a period of denial and fear of rejection. He becomes a bit more comfortable when Bella doesn't abandon him because he can now transform into a giant wolf, but his struggles have only just began. He's one of the characters (if not the one) that I empathise most with. He knows that he loves Bella and that she loves him back, but that she loves a vampire and is prepared to become one herself in order to always live with Edward. One of the problems is that vampires are mortal enemies to the werewolves and Jacob feels a real aversion for the person (ok, vampire) Bella cannot live without. In the course of the series, he manages to overcome that aversion so as not to lose Bella. He is devasted by the knowledge that she wants to become a vampire, but eventually, when her life is in danger, he would accept even that, so that she can continue to exist. Her personality does not change much after the transformation, so that is a comfort, but still, Jacob is ina pretty bad situation: his love is doomed: even though Bella loves him, she can never choose him over Edward. Jacob is more of a friend or family to her. He saved her from the desperation and depression following Edward's departure. Edward started tolerating him initially because of that.

But what can the future hold for Jacob after Bella's transformation? And then he imprints on Bella's half-human, half-vampire daughter and that drives her crazy.

I'll see how this one will turn out, but I think this is a pretty good outcome for Jacob, at least now he has any chance of being happy with a person closer to Bella than anyone. What's more, this imprinting bridges so many gaps: among the human, the vampire and the werewolf worlds. Bella thought the feud between werewolves and vampires unnecessary and Jacob's falling for a half-vampire girl emphasizes that idea. Maybe there will be a happily ever after for Jacob as well.

Breaking Dawn

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilightseries.html

SPOILER WARNING!

Did it again. OK, didn't make it quite to dawn, though it was pretty much morning when I put down Breaking Dawn, half-way through. This blog suspiciously look like a Twilight fan blog, but it's not. It just takes time to go through the thousands of pages that make up the series.

This last book is the size of a brick and it's pretty dramatic, I must say. Bella's wedding and pregnancy, and transformation, Jacob's imprinting ... I can't say I'm so surpirised with that: he's a too good character to be left to howling in the distance ...

Eclipse in the night

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/eclipse.html

SPOILER WARNING!

I've got quite a few favourite books, but it is not often the case that they keep me up till 3.a.m.
That was Eclipse's job. Part of it had to do with the fact that I know I'd have very little time for reading today (I was right). The bigger part was that I couldn't just put it down. OK, I pronounce it my favourite from the Twilight series so far (having not read Breaking Dawn yet, though I leafed through it). That has not so much to do with what happens next and how it ends. I know that this isn't the end since there's one more book. It's more to do with why it happens. How it turns out for Bella, for Jacob, for the Cullens.
Thinking about it, I'd have to admit, I'd pick The Half-blood Prince as my favourite from the Harry Potter series and it's the penultimate book, just like Eclipse. Both are not so much action driven, but more like emotion-driven, will-driven. It's more or less clear what will happen towards the end in both: Harry learns he has to find all the Horcruxes, while Bella knows that sooner or later Victoria will lcome for her. In Eclipse it is very interesting to see how the dynamic between Bella, Edward and Jacob turns out, between the Cullens and the werewolves, etc. Bella has to make some really definng decision, she can't be split in two or three, even: between the human, the vampire and the werewolf worlds.

To be continued ...

P.S. I wonder what's with the cover? This one and the New Moon's are the two that I find the most curious ...

Eclipse

Already sank my teeth into Eclipse.

It's good to see Bella somehow reconciling the Jacob part of her life with the vampireful rest of it ...

Enter Bella Swan

http://twilightsource.com/tsgallery/?level=album&id=5

SPOILER WARNING!

The more I think about Bella, the more I find that there is more to her than meets the eye.

Starting with her looks: she sees herself as rather plain and 'klutzy', but as Edward says, she doesn't see herself clearly. Even though I was spoilt by the pictures of Kristen Stewart (who plays her in the Twilight movie, http://www.twilightthemovie.com/), I didn't imagine her like that (and still don't). I think Kristen is prettier, though she captures the unusualness quite well. Anyway, what Stephanie Meyer says about Bella's appearance on her site draws my attention:

I have decided to tell you what she looks like to me. But I want to stress, Bella's looks are open to interpretation. ( http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_faq.html#bella)

Shall I take this to mean that it's the reader and not the author who interprets the text and that the author has almost no say in how their own creation is interpreted? I like that, but not to the extreme: every reader has his/her own view, but the author can always say what their intention was and how they pictured the character, the plot, etc.

Anyway, back to Bella. I side with Edward on the point that she's not as ordinary as she thinks. And she's been through a lot. She had to learn to take care of herself early on, because her parents got divorced and she had to look after herself and her carefree mother. And she didn't seem to complain, not even through her teenage years, when everyone complains a lot about everything. When she moved to her father, she again was quite capable of taking care of both.

What is quite striking is that she is not afraid of vampires. What's more, she wants to be one of them, even though she is told that it's extrememly painful, even though she sees that it's very difficult to get the better of the thirst for human blood, etc. And she seems extraordinally detached from humans: she is quite capable of forming relationships with vampires (and werewolves later on), but not people. Vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies (or should I say immortal?) and yet she is friends with both. But that's not all. The fact that Edward's talent to read thoughts, Aro's talent to read minds, Jane's talent to torture do not work on her make me think that she is not ordinary at all and that she has some talent, which will surface when she becomes a vampire. I think she will, because it looks like Aro's guard will track her down eventually if she doesn't. (I'm getting to the end of New Moon).

In Twilight, she is ready to let James kill her to save her mother (and arguably Edward) and in New Moon she is ready to save Edward, even though there's a slim chance of success and a strong likelihood of being killed. Her sacrifice reminds me of Harry's in Deathly Hallows in a way. Only when they surrender to the thought that this is what they should do and that's the end of it, does the sacrifice really work. Harry saves the day, while Bella has to be saved by the Cullens. Still, she manages to escape from Alice and Jasper's watchful eyes and she really accpes the fact that James will kill her.

I didn't expect the Cullens to leave her. But I am still more amazed that she manages to get out of the severe depression she sinks after that. True, with a lot of help from Jacob, but it takes quite some strength of character and recklessness, as it turns out.

So, these are my first jumbled thoughts on Bella. I'm sure there will be more of them as I read on.

Coming Soon ...

I am not sure what I do with the time, but it's certainly gone before I know it these days.
Anyways, I've got lots of posts on Twilight on their way!
I thought of starting with some first thoughts on characters, which will be fleshed out as I read along.
So I want to start with Bella, Edward and then the rest of the Cullens.
On a separate note, I've got some really good sites I want to link; they are more Harry Potter-related, but not only.
It occurs to me that the lack of movie discussion is conspicuously missing from my (at least partially) movie-dedicated blog. I certainly haven't given them up for good, but there is a reason (not to my liking), which I'll dwell on later.
There. My blog post plan. Kind of.

Update: I don't know how I missed out on Jacob Black, but after New Moon, I'd say any discussion without him will fail poorly. I suspect his part in the series will get even more important.

On the Scent

http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Book-1-Stephenie-Meyer/dp/0316160172/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224446862&sr=1-1

Yeah, I know -- it's been too long. One of the reasons (the best one) is that I've been reading the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer (yes, the very same one that brought about this blog; for further details, see my first post).

Twilight spoiler warning: some book details may be revealed whenever I discuss the books or the movie, so beware:)

I still cannot quite get used to the idea that I find a vampire book so unputdownable, but, really, it's riveting. Part of it is the suspense of what happens next, no doubt. That's not all, though: I'm sure I'll be going back to these books more than once. There are many Whys here, but I'll deal with them in other posts.

It's been a while since I read an American novel and that has its own attractions -- it's in the usage; she uses expressions that I simply don't see in contemporary British writing. The author herself said that the book is quite visual and having finished Twilight, I see what she means: it's her description technique -- it's really easy for my imagination to picture a scene or whatever it is she is describing.

I'm now racing through New Moon and must admit that the Volterra adventure was a bit too much for my no-fan-of-vampire-books self, but I guess I'll recover; I still got hundreds of pages to the end of Breaking Dawn (the last book).

I decided not too get too much into the Twilight fandom stuff until I finish the series so I don't get spoiled, but my curiosity may get the better of me: I'm already leafing through the end of New Moon ...

And on that note, I put a stop now (I don't need to yawn all day tomorrow).