Surprise, surprise. Twilight is popular because the boy meets girl, girl meets boy, and the two fall in love trope works or so discovers a blogger for the Christian Science Monitor. Actually Marjorie Kehe is just discovering the theorizing of Alex Carnevale from Gawker:
She writes: “Bookstores have been known to shelve the Twilight books in both the children’s and the science fiction/fantasy sections, but they are — in essence and most particulars — romance novels, and despite their gothic trappings represent a resurrection of the most old-fashioned incarnation of the genre. They summon a world in which love is passionate, yet (relatively) chaste, girls need be nothing more than fetchingly vulnerable, and masterful men can be depended upon to protect and worship them for it.”
Funny this should come up yet again, but I was having this same discussion last night with a friend who asked why Twilight was so popular when you take into consideration the actual writing and editing. My response was plain and simple: teen angst, damsel in distress, and a tall dark and brooding prince charming who rescues said damsel. I’m still surprised that people are still wondering about this. *sigh*
@Ann-Kat: My favorite comments are those by readers and authors who say things like “I love Twilight but would never read those awful romance novels.”
A lot of romances do real well when they are marketed as mainstream stories and not one of those “awful romance novels”. It helps if they are written by a man.
*gigglesnort*
Ah, the good old days of Johanna Lindsey and Janelle Taylor…how I miss thee!
oh i am so addicted to watching Twilight movie on my portable DVD player and laptop. Twilight is the best ever movie for me ^
I cannot get enough of the movie Twilight. This is the best movie that i have ever watched. I love the chemistry between Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson *