From the acclaimed character author Stephanie Meyer, creator of the Twilight series, is another book that is not as well known. Midnight Sun is a remake of the book Twilight. But why remake an already incredible book? It can only be for of a love for her characters. Stephanie Meyer’s unique first person writing style allows her to recreate Twilight in a way that is far from boring. Twilight is written from Bella’s point of view. Midnight Sun is written from the perspective of our most beloved Edward Cullen. As incredible as this sounds, don’t get too excited yet. Midnight Sun has two major drawbacks: it is only available on the internet, and it is unfinished.
Through a violation of her rights as an author, Midnight Sun was leaked before it was finished. It saddened Stephanie Meyer to the point of not being able to continue the book. The unfinished copy has been made available by Stephanie Meyer on her website, but the Midnight sun project is on hold indefinitely. It is a shame that this turn of events happened because Midnight Sun is worth finishing.
In Midnight Sun, we learn more about the Cullen family, what it’s truly like to be a 100 year old vampire, and most importantly, Edward. Only Edward can tell what the first day of school was really like when Bella entered into his previously boring existence. Bella couldn’t understand the turmoil that constantly brewed just underneath the surface of Edward’s calm façade. She never knew that her life was almost ended by Jasper and Rosalie for learning the Cullen’s secret. She never knew that Edward envisioned killing her himself in a 100 different ways to sate the monster within him. She didn’t see the instant that Edward shifted from hunter to protector when she was almost crushed by Tyler Crowley’s van. Nor did she ever truly understand how close she came to being killed by the serial rapist and murderer that night in Port Angeles or that Carlisle and Edward arranged for the authorities to arrest him later that night. Though of all the things that she couldn’t comprehend, the greatest was the depth of the love that Edward felt for her.
The more time he spent with her, the more Edward realized something about Bella-she was “good”. She was “kind, self-effacing, unselfish, loving, brave” and all that and more added up to make her truly good. Beyond that, Edward explained what initially attracted him to Bella, the plain human girl by his siblings’ estimation. According to Edward, Bella possessed “A ridiculously potent scent to demand y attention, a silent mind to enflame my curiosity, a quiet beauty to hold my eyes, a selfless soul to earn my awe. Leave out the natural sense of self-preservation-so that Bella could bear to be near me-and, finally, add a wide streak of appallingly bad luck.” Edward felt that if Bella were to survive, then she would need a protector with supernatural abilities. He gladly stepped into this role as an excuse to continue to be around her instead of doing what he considered to be the right thing and leaving her forever. It wasn’t until almost a year later in New Moon, that he could leave Bella for her benefit.
After reading Midnight Sun, it is impossible for anyone to dislike Edward or see him as something evil. Meyer does a wonderful job at further solidifying Edward as the epitome of male perfection. Now that I have a new understanding of Edward’s nature, I look forward to rereading the Twilight Saga with a fresh perspective and picking up on what he means behind his usually cryptic responses. Hopefully someday soon we will be allowed to finish this book and fall in love with the Twilight Saga all over again.
Quotes taken from Midnight Sun.
Stephanie Meyer. Midnight Sun. StephanieMeyer.com
