Breaking Dawn

Article by Clara

Breaking Dawn is the fourth and final novel in Stephenie Meyer’s hugely popular Twilight saga. With all the hype surrounding the release of Breaking Dawn I doubt that there is anyone left on the planet that isn’t aware of the books publication! However, readers who haven’t read any of the previous books in this saga should not be tempted to start here – you really need to read these books in order since the story continues over the series.

For readers who have read Stephenie Meyer’s previous offerings Breaking Dawn is the long awaited and highly anticipated end to the compelling tale of vampire Edward and human Bella’s impossible romance. Beginnings can be tricky but Twilight got this series off to a fantastic start with its modern day fairy tale quality and heart stopping romance. New Moon further built on that with Bella and Edward’s bleakly painful separation and subsequent happy reunion – but since the end of New Moon the romantic tension that had been driving the story into the heady heights compelling reading has been lacking.

As a result Eclipse was a different novel – it was clear that what ever happened in Eclipse Edward and Bella would be together forever – and the stresses on their relationship came from outside forces rather than from within the relationship itself. Breaking Dawn is similar. The romantic tension between Edward and Bella is non-existent – it is clear that whatever happens to them (death, Jacob, mutant vampire baby) their love is non-negotiable and to a certain extent this alters the feel of the story, losing some of the romantic magic of Twilight in the process.

In Breaking Dawn Stephenie Meyer addresses one of the major issues that some readers had with Bella’s character – namely that she wasn’t independent enough. This novel sees Bella coming into her own power and proving that she is more that capable of independent thought and action. While the Cullen family vampires have always been kind to Bella, it has been clear that she was no match for this talented bunch – but Bella’s character gains strengths that make her just as unique and talented as the rest of her new family.

Breaking Dawn is a weighty novel, weighing in at over 750 pages but it doesn’t feel like a long read. The story is well paced and well balanced, with a mixture of exciting supernatural action as well as good character development and romance.

The strength of Stephenie Meyer’s writing as ever lies in her exploration of love in its many guises and Breaking Dawn gives her the opportunity to examine the relationships between mother and child, father and daughter, husband and wife and the bonds of friendship.www.bubok.co.uk

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