Blogging Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse

Let me just begin by saying that I am vindicated! In my first posting about Stephenie Meyer, I called the Twilight series Bronte-esque. Sure enough, I have learned that one of Meyer's favorite books is Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and she explicitly references Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights in her latest novel, Eclipse.

Eclipse is, quite simply, wonderful. Sometimes by the third novel, a series begins to run out of steam, but Meyer's imagination continues to astonish me. I should also admit that Edward, the vampire love interest, has finally won me over. I didn't like him much at all in the first book, Twilight: he was so cold, superior, and remote, even in his love scenes with Bella, the protagonist. In fact, Bella was the one who insisted on his superiority: "You're so beautiful and perfect and wonderful, let me throw away my worthless life for you." Grr. By the end of the second book, New Moon, I'd warmed up to Edward considerably, although I still preferred Jacob, the werewolf who also falls in love with Bella.

In Eclipse, Edward fully redeems himself (in my eyes, that is; I know there are plenty of readers who share Bella's belief that he's perfect just the way he is). Not only does Edward drop the superior act, but even he expresses annoyance with Bella's idolization of him. "The way you regard me is ludicrous," he growls. (You'd better believe I stood up and cheered when I read that!) I still have a soft spot for Jacob, but as the love triangle emerged, I found myself more torn, just as Bella is.

No spoilers, but here's a brief synopsis for those who are still waiting their turn for the library copy:

In their senior year of high school, Edward pushes Bella to apply for college and plan a normal life, but Bella is eager to become a vampire so that they can truly be together. When she attracts a mysterious stalker as well as the attention of the Volturi (the supreme authorities in the vampire world), Edward reluctantly admits that Bella might be safer undead. Even so, he insists on one condition before the conversion, and this is a decision Bella is not prepared to make. Meanwhile, Jacob declares his love for Bella and challenges her to confront her true feelings for him. Just at the moment when it seems Bella must make her most difficult decision, a new threat forces ancient enemies into an uneasy alliance.