As most of my faithful blog readers know, I've always enjoyed looking at the deeper possibilities of the "Twilight" novels. In fact, the main reason I read the series was because of a intriguing review by Regina Doman and the fact that the very first words in the book are from the Biblical book of Genesis. When I saw that, I was hooked, and had to pick it up and start mining its pages for more than just "Edward and Bella Mushiness." (You can read more about my experience and thoughts here: http://elenatintil.blogspot.com/2008/08/twilight-part-one-non-spoiler.html)Now I am delighted to inform you that another Christain has taken this one step further and gone on to put his findings into a book for the rest of the world to enjoy. The best part is that he is none other than John Granger, perhaps one of the most well known Christain defendants of the Harry Potter series. (You can read more of his Twilight thoughts here: http://fhsprofessor.com/)
(And for those of you who are Regina Doman fans, the only reason I know about John Granger is because of Regina, and it is her copy of "Spotlight" that I read.)
"Spotlight" is an absolutely fascinating book. While I may not agree with every single connection Granger makes, for the most part I think he is pretty brilliant at finding things that the rest of us miss. Most interestingly of all, he paints a very clear and fascinating picture of exactly how Stephanie Meyer's Mormon faith directly impacted her writing. For instance, did you know that Edward Cullen is uncannily like Joseph Smith Jr, founder of Mormonism?
From the back of the book:
(Early Reviewer's copy, the published copy might be a bit differant)
John Granger, author of "Unlockign Harry Potter: Seven Keys for the Serious
Reader," explains in "Spotlight" the literary backdrop, the themes, the
artistry, and the meaning of the four Bella Swan adventures. Twilight readers
will learn in "Spotlight"
- Why the Book Covers are Black, White and Red
- How Edward can read thoughts and the La Push Wolf Pack can have a shared
mind- What influence the X-Men, Night of the Living Dead, and Plato's Republic had
on Twilight- Why the Volturi live in Italy and hate the Cullens' 'Lifestyle Choices'
- Why Bella's 'empty chest' is mentioned thihrty-seven times in "New
Moon."- Why so many key Twilight Saga scenes take place in Mountain Meadows.
- What Role the Quileute 'Protectors' play in Meyer's re-telling of
Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet"- How Carlisle's birth in sixteenth century London explains why the Cullens
are vegetarians- Why the James and Bella confrontation in Twilight takes place in a ballet
studio- Why Jacob and Edward are discribed consistantly as Bella's sun and moon
- Why books and films about Bella Swan and Harry Potter are such blockbuster
hits.
Trust me. This book is absolutely fascinating and is a must read for any "Twilight" fan, or a serious reader who wants to know what makes books popular in this day and age. It does, however, contain spoilers for all four books, so do NOT read unless you have already read the books. Also, it referances the half-finished manuscript of "Midnight Sun" that Meyer posted online a year ago, so it is also helpful to read that prior to looking at Granger's book.
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