Jazzie - You found me! I agree about the high school social scene, how Edward hates it. My first emotional response in the first few pages is how he is a snob, not likeable (because I'm a human, and was once in a high school cafeteria), however, we quickly learn about him and YES we learn how much he hates himself. This is so important - the turning point is in Denali when he realizes he doesn't hate Bella, he hates himself. (I even got a little choked up when I read that.)Jazz Girl wrote:Susie~ HAHAHA!! I actually loved Edward from the start. I find him utterly fascinating. And, I think you see small glimpses of the real Edward, ie the caring, gracious gentleman that he truly is when away from the tedium of petty high school crap. You see it almost immediately, even with Bella. In that first sort-of interaction in the cafeteria, he wants to step between Jessica and her snarky thoughts and Bella, protect her from Bella's pettiness. I think you are right in that it does give us such a deeper understanding of things that happen in Twilight, his reactions to her, his distance from her.
Bellsuz - I love how you explain the theme of Edward's self-loathing! Since we have grown to love Edward, don't you just want to jump into the story and tell him to quit being so hard on himself?Bellsuz wrote:OH!! You've got to read the rest (unless you're trying to hold out of course!). I know what you mean as well about how Edward seemed unlikeable, but for me personally, I don't think it's him that's unlikeable...it's more like, it's kind of a wake up call to see how much Edward really dislikes himself. It controls his every move and thought. While we knew that about him, it was sort of a jolt to read it on paper. Personally (and I may be biased because I am totally about all things Edward) MS is my favorite piece of the puzzle if you will. I could read it forever if it went on that long. I loved reading what Edward heard in other people's heads and also what he thought about what they were thinking, lol! That was a tongue twister!!
Yes - I will read the rest, and soon, too! This discussion is great, but at this point, I have a limited range of what I can comment on! I'll read some more and then come back to this thread to post.