Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Why New Moon is My Favorite Book of the Series

STY (bff)Jerkface FINALLY gave me back my damn books this weekend. She also invited me over to dinner that same day and I plopped my ass on her couch while she cooked me a mean steak and potatoes (Fine, you're not a Jerkface, anymore) [note from STY: hey i made you veggies, too! asparagus!! and balsamic-marinated onions, you wench!]. DH was in the basement playing guitar and I don't watch TV so, naturally, I brought New Moon with me to read.

As a general rule, I almost always carry reading material with me. Maybe it's because I'm a commuter but I feel naked without something to read. Hey, you never know when you'll be sitting there like a lump stuck on the train thinking, 'boy, I sure wish I had something to read!' I'm a good girl scout - I like to be prepared (actually, I got kicked out of girl scouts but that's a whole other story).

Anyhoo - it's been awhile since I read New Moon. And realized, as I was reading it this weekend, that it is my favorite one out of all of them.

Why, you might ask? Because it's depressing as fuck, that's why. Ok, that's not really why, though I will be the first to admit that I'm often drawn to dark, depressing stories. I even bought an anthology of short stories called Dumped (ML saw it and said, 'um, is there something you should be telling me?'). Maybe this is just part of my German heritage. Have you read real German fairy tales? Let's put it this way - in the original 'Little Mermaid' the Mermaid doesn't get the prince, she gets a whole lot of pain.

I just think Stephenie Meyer does a good job at describing Bella's pain over the loss of Edward. I think maybe I even got some chest pains during the October-November-December... part. And if I feel it, then the writing is effective. Not only that, but losing someone you love and getting rejected are common experiences that everyone shares.

We've all been dumped at some point. It sucks. It hurts. Sometimes people get really depressed and wander around like zombies for a few months. Others retaliate by, say, forking their ex's front lawn or something like that (I may or may not have done this). Regardless, breaking up is never a fun thing. Unless you're a sadistic bastard, that is. Then it's tons of fun.

(Side note - it just occurred to me how suitable this picture is. Forks, get it? Get it?!)


I have been critical of Stephenie Meyer's writing style before, but I think that she did an excellent job with portraying Bella's healing process in New Moon. We learn that Bella's just a little stronger than we think. My only complaint is Bella's need for a relationship - how she was willing to 'settle' for Jacob when she thought she would never get Edward back. It's always bothered me when women are portrayed as not whole because they don't have a lover.

And that, my friends, is my official two cents of the day...

24 comments:

  1. Hmmm, interesting post.

    I never really saw Bella as 'settling' for Jacob, but more 'coming to the realization that she believed Edward wasn't coming back and she had to move on with her life.'

    It's not like Jacob was a bad guy or anything, so I guess I didn't view her as 'settling' (and I didn't see her as thinking she was 'settling,') but moreso that she was beginning to accept that she had to consider moving on . . . and to what?

    Interesting, though.
    I've only read NM once and plan to again soon, so I will think about this more as I read again. :)

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  2. New Moon has always been my least fav of the series.... but when you put it that way....hmmm....now I need to go read it again!

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  3. @JennJam - I am always interested to hear other people's takes on stories. I think we each bring our own opinions/experiences to novels we read and that effects how we perceive them.

    Actually, I really like the Jacob character immensely in New Moon - he's light whereas Edward is darkness.

    @SEJ207 - I tend to read stories over and over again. I think you always get something new out of them. I can't tell how many times I read Atlas Shrugged!

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  4. Okay....you must post every freakin day! Just doooo it!

    "Regardless, breaking up is never a fun thing. Unless you're a sadistic bastard, that is. Then it's tons of fun." - uh...I think I may have once been a sadistic bastard. Maybe.

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  5. @Tasha - I think I've gone the sadistic bastard route once (or twice) myself. lol.

    And I really did fork someone's yard. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. LOL.

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  6. why am I just now hearing about this "forking" yards? i would have SO used that back in the day...which was a wednesday by the way (name that quote) dang, if I knew then what I know now!

    I really hated New Moon the first time I read it. However, the second time around I really learned to appreciate it. I really like Jacob.
    but my favorite part is Italy, I have read and re-read that part several times.

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  7. Ok, anyone who uses a someecard on their blog is a friend of mine....

    Aside from that (really, someecards rock!) I think there are some thing that are wonderful about each book. A friend of mine mentioned she couldn't understand how Bella fell apart after Edward left. Apparently she's never felt the "tear my heart out of my chest, step all over it and spit on it for good measure" experience of unrequited love. Poor girl ;)

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  8. @Jenny Jerkface (or should I say, "From one JJ to another?" ha ha) . . . it was in 'Eclipse' that I first started really warming up to Jacob . . . from the chapter 'Fire and Ice' on, I was amazed at how I felt about him!

    Now, don't mistake things - - I'm OME!
    But Jacob really GOT to me in that chapter, and on . . .

    (I was definitely one of those who FLEW through the middle of New Moon, my head screaming "WHERE IS EDWAAAARRRRDDDDD??!!!!!"

    I look forward to reading it again, knowing the answer to that and also what is to come.)

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  9. I knew I loved you ladies! New Moon ties for me (with Eclipse) as my favorite (depending on which one I'm re-reading). For anyone who's survived a soul-crushing loss/relationship, New Moon speaks to that part of you that just fell apart for days/weeks/months. It's fascinating to read something that can connect with you on that level and I think New Moon does a good job of that.

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  10. @KDgrimmer - you were probably a nice kid, that's why. I was a jerk.

    Actually, it was extremely time consuming (our handiwork was pathetic compared to that picture I above, lol)but, dammit, we were proud!! What can I say, I was a teenager and I was bored.

    @Marybeth - I LOVE someecards!! I'm glad you liked. And lucky for your friend, I think. lol.

    @JJ (ha!) - I love how everyone has such a different take on the books! I thought Jacob was such a sap in the third book (actually, same goes for Edward)and that Bella was being kind of a jerk. LOL! Still loved it, though. Eclipse is definitely my second favorite one.

    @Heather - Yay! Someone who also knows what it's like to have someone take a gigantic shit on your heart. lol. There was just something resonating for me in New Moon. Once I'm done reading NM, I'm going to start Eclipse.

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  11. Shiiiuuut! I did more than fork a yard!

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  12. @Tasha - LOL! I suspect that there are a few of us out there that could probably start a new blog entitled 'The Totally Effed Up Shit I Did When I Was Younger'.

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  13. This is true. Very true! Although, I'm gonna need to check with the hubs on certain statute of limitations...heheheheee!

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  14. I think ,my fave has to be Twilight... hey, I mean it´s like the portal right?...Like the weed that gets you hooked on other +harder+ ilegal substances....like say...exactly my brand of heroine. (Hmmm...where have I heard that befo´?)
    Well anyway...but I LOVED New Moon too! I´ve never been Team anything...well , maybe team let´s go out drinking on saturday, but that´s beside the point. So NM was awesome for me.The first time reading it (oh you now that entire day it took me to get it done) I was in such a haze it didn´t really sink in. Second time I was so excited to read it again, it didn´t kill me so much. Third time...it hit me...I´m so glad my hubby was sleeping he would´ve called 911! And those empty months....wrenched at my heart so badly that the day after Italy was like walking barefoot in heaven!
    Still, that page where Bella almost turned to kiss Jake´s shoulder was awesome...I was totally rooting for it to happen! (the three times)!!

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  15. @Emmes - LOL! Team let's go out drinking on Saturday - that killed me. I'm definitely part of that team too.

    Twilight really is the gateway drug.

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  16. Huh, well, NM is my least fav of the series-However on the 4th reading (so 'least' is used pretty loosely here) I kinda started to appreciate Jake a little more. So thats not a bad thing. I am guilty of ignoring the poor sod most of the time. But I get why NM is allot of readers fav, like there needs to be ying for yang to exist.

    Nice post, cheers
    -Corr

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  17. The first time I read New Moon, it killed me! Waiting and waiting and waiting for Edward, however, I took Stephenie's advice to read it twice and I definitely appreciated it more the 2nd time around. I am just finishing reading it for the . . . um (actually I quit counting after the 5th time!). Looking forward to Eclipse, its my favourite - loved the tent scene!!

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  18. When I first read the Twilight series, it took me two days/book to read. I knew I'd missed a lot so I recently decided it was time to read through them again especially because of the movie coming out this year. I appreciate New Moon so much more than I did when I first read it mainly because of how disappointed I was that Edward was barely in the book. I found myself both then and now, angry with Edward for promising he'd never leave Bella and then doing that just that. I was angry with Bella for using Jacob and I adored Jacob for doing his best to stick by Bella, even when he knew his feelings for her were stronger.

    And as I think about it, and I know I'm not alone, I think why people are so drawn to this series is that despite the fantasy and the unrealistic parts, people can relate so well to the various relationships in the books and how well Stephenie Meyer can translate that from thoughts to paper.

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  19. I loved Eclipse, New Moon torn my heart out and made me re-live my heartbreaking breakup with my boyfriend.

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  20. In the beginning, Eclipse was my fav of the series. I think it was because everyone's flaws were out on the table, on display. Edward was a little pushy and bossy, Jacob was way manipulative and Bella was selfish and greedy. To me, Eclipse showed how two good things (the stories in Twilight and New Moon) could be blown all to hell just because, as screwed up individuals, we try too hard to make everything perfect and try make people behave how we want them to. I do freakin' love New Moon though. The most moving part of the book to me? October-November-December-January......I felt like I had been punched in the gut.

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  21. @ anon & Kat - Eclipse was good - definitely my second favorite but, as anon said, man did NM kill me. Kat, I swear my heart skipped a beat when I flipped through those months. While i have my complaints about SM's writing - that was an incredibly effective technique.

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  22. Yeah, I totally agree...I couldn't believe it when I flipped the page and it was just the name of the month, again and again. I felt it in my gut and it hurt. Good stuff, for sure.

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  23. JJ - You forking ROCK for forking someone's yard!!! I used to do this quite frequently in my long ago teenage years! We did it to our friend's houses as practical jokes! You are the first person outside my forking buddies who gets it! It is tons of fun!!

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  24. The first time I read New Moon, it killed me! Waiting and waiting and waiting for Edward, however, I took Stephenie's advice to read it twice and I definitely appreciated it more the 2nd time around. I am just finishing reading it for the . . . um (actually I quit counting after the 5th time!). Looking forward to Eclipse, its my favourite - loved the tent scene!!

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