So, I finished the Twilight saga last night. It's the most absurd series of books I've ever actually finished, but I will give Stephenie Meyer this: Breaking Dawn is absolutely crazy, and deeply disturbing, but it is a significantly better book than Twilight. Even that improvement doesn't make any of the books outright good, or the overall narrative compelling, but Meyer deserves credit for learning how to write a plot, even if she's incapable of actual drama or climax. There can't actually be *SPOILER* a genuine showdown between the theoretically badass vampire authorities in the Twilight universe and the bland-beyond-belief Cullens over Bella Cullen-nee-Swann's freakish half-vampire baby. Nope, there has to be a lot of conversation. And then Vampire Authorities go away, and Bella and her sparkly vampire get to live happily ever after, and Bella's sexy werewolf ends up with her rapidly-maturing daughter because that's not remotely awkward, and everyone is So Very Happy. *SPOILERS OVER*
Maybe I would have understood it ten years ago, or fifteen, when sex seemed distant and dangerous but desirable, and men seemed like objects to watch rather than people to interact with. But I'm not sure it would have been the case even then. Really all I can bring myself to feel is sorry for Kristen Stewart, who I find sort of delightfully guarded, and smart, and internally complicated. And who seems in danger of being devoured by her fans, in the same manner that her character wants to be devoured by her vampire inamorato. I hope she makes it through the next couple of years and couple of movies, which sound like an excruciating experience, so she can go on and continue to do the interesting acting work she's clearly very capable of. For me, Twilight was about a week of sporadic reading. For Stewart, it's going to be a much longer, immersive, more unpleasant experience.