"To dislike this book is to have no idea what 'fiction' means..."

[Toni]

...What?

I am very sick of hearing people spout this nonsense. I know what fiction is and isn't, and I'm sure almost every member of this site can say the same. So why suggest something so insulting to our intelligence?

[Kat]

When I first saw this thread under your name, toni, I was kinda shocked. I thought "but she's made so much sense up till now!"

But yeah, I completely agree.

Fiction means literature that isn't true. We accept that Edward is a vampire, and we accept that Jacob is a werewolf, because this book is fiction.

Fiction does NOT mean you can just say whatever you want and none of it has to back itself up in any way. The excuse of fiction does not allow us to accept the idea of a vampire without any bodily functions somehow impregnating his girlfriend - at least not without some explanation.

Some people seem to expect others to just read for fun, and not to apply any thought to it. If I have to suspend logic to enjoy a book, though, I say there's a problem with the book.

[Toni]

Heh, sorry to throw you off. ;) I was just quoting what I'd been hearing until now.

"Some people seem to expect others to just read for fun, and not to apply any thought to it. If I have to suspend logic to enjoy a book, though, I say there's a problem with the book."

Completely agree. Being able to appreciate fiction does not and should not mean suspending logic (and common sense where applicable), because logic is something that adapts itself to whatever is acceptable in the story's universe; it doesn't just magically disappear.

Another problem I have with the "It's fiction!" excuse is that it doesn't account for persons who liked the first book but hated this last one. Are we to believe that between books 1-4 these people forgot the meaning of the word?

Also, there's the lack of acknowledgment that this series (gasp) might not be the first work of fiction readers who did not like it have read. Not speaking for anyone else, I can honestly say it's not the first work of fiction featuring vampires and werewolves (and Mary Sues) that I've read.

[Shannon]

Toni, when I read the name of the thread I was totally gearing up for a fight! Instead, you've taken the words right out of my mouth. Way to go!

[Sarah]

Not to mention that logic aside, if it isn't well-written (whether fiction or not), then the reader is not going to connect with it. It has to be believeable within the context of the fictional world it takes place in in order for the majority of readers to connect with it.

[Toni]

Good point, Sarah.

[Jennyfurann]

I've been very torn on this topic. A lot of people really hated this book and have had some great arguments for their displeasure. But, frankly, I did enjoy it. I liked the "find out what happens" aspect of it. I liked getting to spend more time with some of my favorite characters. I don't regret reading it.

Now the happy stuff aside, I was dissapointed in Mrs Meyers choices in Breaking Dawn. She made the rules of her world, and she chose to suspend them to make everything fit into the neat little package that she wanted in the end. Why make rules if you're going to break them? If you are going to break them, you better come up with some more in depth answers that can explain to your audience... I could keep going but it's been said.

I just wanted to say that the literary / logical side of you doesn't always have to agree with the emotional side of you. In my case, it doesn't at all.

[Kat]

Jennyfurann - that's exactly how I felt about the book. Well said :-)

[Toni]

Jennyfurann, I appreciate your comment. You can certainly have something appeal to you emotionally, even if your head is going, "WTF?!". I think the closest I came to feeling this way with the series was with the first book, "Twilight". Even though the grown up feminist and avid reader in me went, "Meh", the younger part of me that appreciated teenaged romances when I was younger really warmed up to it, especially the fantasy element.

I guess it's that part of me that was upset by the ending. I felt cheated. :( But then, the series had begun to sour to me during and after New Moon. Even so, I expected much more in regards to the ending.

[Charlie]

I loved the book. Simple as that.

[Shannon]

Good for you, Charlie. I wish I had loved it too.

[Toni]

@ Charlie

Congratulations, but that doesn't actually add to the discussion.