#318
Title:
Midnight Sun (partial MS)
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Copyright: 2008
Publisher: Unpublished; available:
http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html or
http://photo.goodreads.com/documents/1240130749books/4502877.pdf264 pages
This
manuscript is a draft that was leaked; Meyer decided to make it
available formally. Because it hasn't had the benefit of editing, my
only style comment is that it continues the series's trend toward
formulaic and predictable writing. In fact, it is considerably worse
than some of the talented and imaginative fan fiction that the series
has generated.
The conceit here is that we are now seeing the events of
Twilight from Edward's perspective. This technique was used by Orson Scott Card when he retold
Ender's Game as Bean's story in
Ender's Shadow.
Bean's tale was convincing and his account added depth and complexity
to the events as Ender understood them. Card gave the reader new insight
into Ender and his circumstances while giving Bean a warm and
humanizing voice. Through Bean, the reader learned about even more
complex and interlocking facets of Ender's story.
Sadly, none of these is true of
Midnight Sun,
at least as far as this manuscript demonstrates. Yes, some additional
events are added, none especially significant. Yes, the reader learns
more back story on Edward, particularly about the Cullens' family
relationships. However, it is more of a character sketch of Edward than
it is a new story intertwined with
Twilight.
Thus, events are boringly retold and the plot plods along predictably,
going over the same conversations from a nominally different
perspective.
Sadly, this extended look into Edward's point of
view reveals several problems. Meyer has a hard time giving her
characters distinct voices, so Edward's voice and personality are
muddily depicted. In this regard the section in
Breaking Dawn
from Jacob's point of view stands out even more as a refreshing shift
of tone and focus. Edward's narrative is like a stuffy version of
Bella's, with the same repetitive refrain of "But s/he smells so good!"
This good-smellingness is clearly the basis of his attraction, though he
later finds or rationalizes other things to like about her. It cannot
be argued, however, that he would have been at all interested were it
not for her vampire-attracting pheromones.
Troublingly, the more
we learn about Edward, the clearer it is that early reviewers were
correct: He is a judgmental, over-controlling, petulant, abusive hothead
who does what he wants (grabbing, constraining, confining, breaking and
entering, and putting Bella and his family in danger) while castigating
himself as a monster. Yes, he is, and it's a shame that Bella convinces
him otherwise.
