Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
Title: Eclipse
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Published: 2007 Pages: 629
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: 4.25/5
"And I pray one prayer-I repeat it till my tongue stiffens-Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest as long as I am living! You said I killed you-haunt me, then! The murdered do hunt their murderers. I believe-I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always-take any form-drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul" (Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights).
Oh the passion! As with my Twilight and New Moon reviews, this review will take form in a mostly self-interview. Many thanks to Jodie and Trisha for providing me with a few questions. I cannot write about this book without spoilers, so consider yourself warned. :)
Hey Trish! :P You were feeling pretty lukewarm towards this series after reading New Moon. How'd you like this one?+
Ugh. New Moon sucked in comparison to this book. I think I even liked this one more than Twilight! I was really in the mood for this one, so I just let myself get wrapped up in the story. Writing wise I'm not sure that this book is any better than the others, but when the mood is right...and boy was my mood right.
Even though you were apprehensive about the whole vampire/werewolf/human love triangle?
Ok, good point. The first third of this book was kind of a groaner, and I hated the whole love triangle. Unfortunately it's a big part of the book, and I wanted to scream at Bella for stringing poor Jacob along. Her whinyness didn't bug me as much as her reluctance to let Jacob go.
So does that mean that you felt Edward is better suited for Bella?+
Who knows. From our past interviews, you know that I have a "thing" for Edward, and that "thing" certainly didn't go away with this book. I was a little irked with his constant forgiveness of Bella's childish behavior, and I don't know how he could stand to have Jacob keep Bella warm in the tent (URG!), but I guess a century of life taught the guy a little patience. Jacob definitely seemed much more immature in comparison.
And you think Bella is mature?? What about her incredible disgust for marrying Edward despite her undying love?+
I can completely sympathize with Bella not wanting to marry Edward so young, but if he's going to change her and she's committing to spending the rest of her life with him, I'm not sure what the big hang-up is. Virtue played such a big part of this book, especially as Bella was continually trying to become more intimate with Edward, and I can't help but think about the underlying message. Even the whole "changing" aspect seemed to be symbolic of Bella losing her virginity. A self-interview seems like a strange place to discuss symbolism, though.
Alright, we'll get on to more superficial questions, then. Your crush for Edward still seems to stand firm, true? Any other characters that you really liked?^+
Oh Edward. Holy cow. Too bad I've got that icky visual of Robert Pattinson stuck in my head! Honestly, I couldn't even begin to tell you why Edward is such an appealing character to me and in many instances he was too patient, too understanding, too perfect. Ick. All in all, though, I really enjoyed getting to know Edward better in this book. I don't feel we really got to know him in Twilight and he was absent in most of New Moon. It was interesting to watch his and Bella's relationship mature and grow. Other characters that I liked? I loved Alice. Even though she's a little too bubbly for my taste, she is so much fun. I love her enthusiasm.
"Icky visual of R. Pattinson" huh? Does that mean that you finally saw the movie?^
Haha! I've seen it twice. I told you that Scott would probably break down and get the movie and I was right. When I was out of town one weekend I returned to find he picked up a used copy. We watched it once and then I watched it with my sister. Cheese city, but I don't know why I would have expected any different. Hopefully New Moon will have a bigger budget and someone will give that poor boy some chapstick--those lips are too ickily red.
Only one more book left! Do you know what to expect?^
It's interesting because I just learned today that it isn't common knowledge that Jacob is a werewolf. I accidentally ruined that for a friend who is about to start New Moon. Knowing that, though, didn't really affect my reading of the book. When Breaking Dawn came out last summer I accidentally read in a review that Edward and Bella get married, but that's all I know. I'm guessing that things will wrap up very nicely. Not really looking forward to hearing Jacob's point of view, though. I've put some space in between all of the books, but I'm going to try and read BD a little sooner--maybe by October.
And vampires? Still hot?
Oh definitely.
+Questions inspired by Trisha
^Questions inspired by Jodie
(Thank you ladies for helping me along)
Resistant towards the series? Why? Which of the Twilight books is your favorite?
29 comments:
I love your self-interviews! This made me chuckle. I ruined the werewolf thing for Taylor too because it's not common knowledge. He wishes he hadn't of know that before he started reading the second book. Can't wait to hear what you think about Breaking Dawn.
Vampires = NOT HOT!!!
Heheh, this was fun. I don't get the whole hangup on the marriage - wasn't she begging him for marriage in the last book? And the one before that? That's just weird.
My mother-in-law and sister-in-law both tell me this is the best one in the series. I'm glad to see you liked it better than the rest so far. Maybe one day, a LONG time from now, I'll read it. Maybe.
Love your self-interviews! Some of your answers made me chuckle.
I like Alice too!
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on BD!! ;)
PS: The first book remains my favourite among all!
Great interview :) Really fun to read. I haven't got round to reading Twilight , too much of publicity and not to mention the fact my friends have practically told me the story in detail , I feel as if I have read them all :)
Hope u have fun reading the Breaking Dawn
I really enjoyed Eclipse too and LOVED the tent scene.
Have fun with Breaking Dawn!
How many times did you say ick (or variations thereof?). I lost count. ;)
I think that it is a misconception make up artists have to give vamps red lips, like it make them more pale. Really it just looks like they're wearing lipstick.
I have a love-hate relationship with these books. I love them, but hate that I love them. I have to admit that I loathe all of the gooey, icky teenage angsty romance bits, but like the action and myth in them. They also tend to be very absorbing and easy to read once you get over the oooo, ick teenage vipire love story thing. I look at them as mindless relaxation I guess. Plus, I think the characters are good and I like most of them - love Alice, but think Jake is an ass a lot of the time. The characters are probably why I've read the books more than once. There's just something about them that makes them a good read.
I liked Breaking Dawn the best, mostly because I think the resolution of the whole situation is really clever and I applaud the way she did it over what might have been a more popular Hollywood type choice. To say more would give it away, so I wont. It IS difficult to talk about these books without spoilers, isn't it?
Haha thanks for answering my questions in there. I've seen the film and read the first book and Alice and Jasper are my clear favourites.
Oh the movie and the cheese wasn't it fab? I think unintentionally hilarious vamp movies are the best (I especially like when Doc Cullen firts turns up, pale as a sheet and yet no one is at all suspicious - I felt like getting up and saying 'he's clearly a vampire!). Oh and the shot in the biology room where it looks like the owl wings are growing out of Edwards head?! On the plus side they avoided that whole creepy carrying Bella like a child thing.
I seriously didn't read the whole thing. I don't want to - coz I want to read the book . I know everyone says New Moon is not that great. And I need to read that as well b4 I can start on this one!
I like the first and the third book, New Moon not so much mostly because I like Edward and there was hardly any of him in it. And I don't like Bella and I don't like Jacob, so that book didn't do anything for me. But yes, Loved Eclipse. I have to get to Breaking Dawn soon though.
I only skimmed your post as I haven't read this yet and wanted to avoid spoilers but I see that in the end vampires are still hot - yay! :-)
I love the self interview book review!! What fun to read! I love vampires but I don't like this series. I just hate Bella too much, she is just so anti everything I would want my own teenage daughter to be (not that I have any daughters). And (you're gonna hate me) I was a Jacob fan.
I read Twilight, New Moon and some of Eclipse before I threw it across the room and gave up the series.
Here's how I wish the story went: Very early on in Book 1 Bella gets killed and we never here mention of her again and the rest of the books are about Edward, Alice and his family with the werewolves joining in to fight a common enemy throughout all five books. No romance, no teenage angst and NO BELLA. (Sorry for shouting)
*Natasha - For as long as I known about the series I've known that Jacob was a werewolf and there's pretty heavy foreshadowing in Twilight, so I had no idea it wasn't common knowledge. :(
*Amanda - Pish posh. :) Ok, in reality, vampires are not hot, but you know...it's all fun right? I liked this the best but the love triangle was REALLY annoying. Not sure what to tell you...
*Melody - I always thought the first would be my favorite as well, but I think this one's surpassed it. Isn't Alice fun?
*Shweta - I was pretty resistant towards the series as well, but they're fun reads. Sometimes it's just what the doctor ordered.
*Suey - I'm guessing your Team Jacob? ;) The tent scene was almost unbearable for me!
*JT Oldfield - Hmmm, I say ick a lot anyway, but sometimes it's just the best word to describe the things that go on in these series. And yes, I agree with the red lips, but it's just so jarring!
*Blacksheep - LOL! Love/Hate is a great way to put it as well. And I'm glad someone else thinks Jacob is an ass--I couldn't believe how obnoxious he was in this book. You've got me really looking forward to BD now--not Hollywood, huh? Uh oh!
*Jodie - Well thank you even more for the questions knowing you haven't read this one! Jasper is too awkward to me, but he plays a pretty big role in this one. There's a lot of background given about the characters in Eclipse, which is partly why I liked it more. And the movie? Oh yuck! Praying New Moon will be better. Are you planning on reading more of the series?
*Veens - No worries--I know you're making your way through the series. Will you be reading New Moon soon?
*Violetcrush - A big part of why I didn't like New Moon was because of Edward's absence as well. I hope you like Breaking Dawn!
*Joanna - LOL! Yes, I think vampires are still hot. Edward plays a really big role in this book and I think my crush has actually grown. :P
*Nicola - haha! Oh my dear, I'm not sure how the series would have gone without Bella. Certainly very different. And I'm not sure I could have my crush on Edward without her. Her whining doesn't bother me, but I was really irritated with her back and forth relationship with Jacob and how she treated her father. I agree--she's a poor example for teenaged readers.
Heh, your reaction is totally the opposite of mine! I enjoyed New Moon the most because there was no Edward. I just couldn't stand him, he got on my nerves and he was far too obsessive and clingy. I didn't like Bella either for that matter. I did like Jacob, though. Sometimes it's hard to believe all the Edward lovers read the same books that I did ... LOL!
I still haven't seen the movie, I mean to though.
Great review, Trish.
I didn't care of Twilight and I haven't read the rest of the series but there's something that bothers me about this entire series. My nieces are both head over heels for the series and after listening to them discuss the books I have a serious question:
What sort of role model is Bella for young girls? Obsessive love isn't something that should be celebrated, is it? And I don't know what else to call the relationship between Bella and Edward - it's obsessive and the idea of a teenager wanting to die for love? Not a great message for young girls, in my opinion.
Anyway, I'd love to hear comments about this - if Trish doesn't mind me hijacking her blog, that is.
cjh
Oh Trish, great post as always. Why is it that Twilight always gets peoples blood flowing? Whether for good or for bad, people care about it? I don't know.... I recently read all four books in like two weeks. I couldn't put them down. I do have to say that Twilight was definately my favorite, and I just kept reading hoping that the remaining 3 books would be like the first. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the whole series as a whole, but none quite as much as the first book. I have to say my second favorite was Eclipse, then Breaking Dawn and then NM. Mainly because I have a thing for Edward too. Anyway, now that you have a novel... Yes I did get your email, but like you have said, I AM A TERRIBLE EMAILER!!! I am getting around to responding but just haven't yet! I miss you!!!
So much of what I would say has already been said, so I'll stick with what is clearly the most important thing to take away from this post...
Robert Pattinson is not Edward. He looks nothing like Edward and feels nothing like Edward.
:)
*Meghan - Ok, maybe he is a little obsessed with Bella for reasons I don't understand, but there's just something about him. Maybe some inner deep wish to be doted on like that? Which is so not like me in real life. :)
*CJ - Feel free to "hijack" any time--that's what this blog is here for! Ok, Bella. I think she's a rotten role model. I try to think of her decision as being less about life than it being about eternal love. BUT, I still don't think that's the message to send teenaged girls. When you're a teenager, you haven't fully grown or matured and even though you think you will love that boy for the rest of your life, you might not. I dated my high school boyfriend into college and for a while my growth was really stunted because of it. I didn't have a chance to learn the independence that is so important now. Bella is no way or shape is independent, which really bugs me. In all honesty, I think she's an incredibly weak character. Not someone I would want my girls to model their behavior after. Besides all of that, her relationship with her mother and father irritate me. I don't think she's an especially disrespectful character, but I think there's a message there that parents don't know anything and they're there to be babied by their children, etc etc. Whew--LOL!! Um, ok, enough from me for now. :) I just try to read and enjoy. ALTHOUGH--with the last book, I will be keeping a tally of all those descriptors of Edward. Yuck yuck yuck!
*Michelle - Isn't it funny how people either love or hate Twilight or don't want to admit that they love or hate it? For me it's all fun. I don't read a lot of stuff like this, so I'm just sitting back and enjoying. And having a little fun with the interview. :)
*Trisha - I love what you say and you've hit it right on the head. I don't know what my image of Edward is--I've never been good at picturing characters while reading, but it certainly isn't Robert Pattinson. Not the way he looks, not the way he acts, not the way he speaks, not the way he feels. You're absolutely right.
What a fun review! A self-interview is a great way to write a review and you really do it well.
I'm glad you enjoyed this book! Awhile back (before my book blog) I ended up devouring the whole series. I guess it was right before the movie came out. I rather hated the movie, though. I don't know that I'll even go see the second one...
Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts and having fun with it!!
Great review! Eclipse was my favorite of the series!! I loved the love triangle though . . .
I can't wait to hear what you think of Breaking Dawn! I just finished it last night. Don't read my review though until afterwards - don't want to alter you in anyway haha!
Hmmm, I thought the werewolf thing was pretty obvious myself.
Also, Robert Pattinson's hair (or would that be Edward's hair?) was downright scary in the movie. Especially in profile. You're so right about the movie being cheesy...I'm actually looking forward to the next one...just so I can mock it. :-D
I definitely love the self interview Trish! You'll have to do this again. I had to go back to my review to refresh my memory on this book. I am a fan of Jacob so I liked New Moon more than Eclipse. I guess I must like werewolves more than vampires or the human like qualities that they have compared to vampires. I got tired of Bella's emotional meltdowns in Eclipse and actually put the book down for awhile before I finished. Personally, I liked Breaking Dawn and look forward to reading your thoughts!
I have the DVD of Twilight sitting here and plan to watch it soon.
By the way, I have an award for you!
Hi Trish - my friend has the whole series (she loved the film and didn't get why I snorted quite so much in the cinema - guess she just hasn't been exposed to enough 80s vamp movies) so I'll be borrowing them all from her. It know and agree with tons of tha rguments against Twilight and the writing sucks in so many places but there's pace, there's sexiness and there's vamps playing baseball for crimeney's sake. How can I not read on?
*Melissa - LOL--thanks! It's really fun to write these self-interviews and it seems to work really well with these books since so many people are familiar with them. I do plan on seeing the second movie, but my expectations aren't very high. :P
*Laura - The love triangle was really uncomfortable to me--reminded me of bad high school things. But so far, this is my favorite in the series as well. Love having so much Edward in the book!
*Miss Remmers - I had to fight every urge this weekend to pick up BD! I'll be sure to pop over when I've finally finished it to see your thoughts.
*Softdrink - I like to think of it as Robert Pattinson's hair rather than Edward's hair. Edward seems much to sensible to have that horrid mop. :) New Moon should be fun.
*Bonnie - I can see the human qualities as being attractive--that and the warmth. But Jacob came across as being really immature and obnoxious, especially in Eclipse. Enjoy the movie--it's pretty cheesy, but I guess that's to be expected. :)
*Melissa - THANK YOU!! :)
*Jodie - Yes, sexiness and baseball playing vampires. The writing isn't great and it's pretty repetitive, but it isn't BAD. Read it in fun--that's the least you can do.
This series really kept my attention! Have fun reading them.
Yup, when the mood is right these books are so easy to get sucked into. Twilight and Eclipse are my favourites. I really disliked a lot of Breaking Dawn but you've gotta read it to see how it all ends up.
I'm looking forward to the movie of New Moon though. It's all cheese... but addictive cheese! :P
The reason I don't like the books is because of Bella. I like Edward, I think he's crush-worthy, but what he (or Jacob) sees in Bella is beyond my imagination. I think if Bella had not been so whiny or self-absorbed, I would have something good to say about the book. But I did like the back stories of all the characters. I didn't really notice it in Twilight and New Moon, but when I thought about it, they were pretty well-constructed.
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