New Moon: The Epilogue

The song for New Moon is

NEAR TO YOU by A FINE FRENZY

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The votes are in: in the midst of over 4500+ total votes, holding hundreds more than the second place (Hate Me by Blue October), the song Near To You by A Fine Frenzy was chosen as the song for New Moon by Twilighters from around the world! With this also is marked the day on which I have finished the epilogue of New Moon, and reached the halfway point in the Twilight Saga.

As with Twilight, I will keep my final review of New Moon short so as to not spoil it with my own comments. This is the review I will be posting in my library and on Amazon.com, so it contains a bit of backstory we  know already:

When reading Twilight, the prequel to New Moon, I was introduced to the story of a human and a vampire who fell in love despite all odds being against them. For a vampire, Edward had more heart than many humans. For an ordinary girl, Bella was more beautiful to Edward than anyone in the world. Their bond seemed unbreakable — and with this assurance, I began New Moon.

I started the second book in the Twilight Saga with a question: if Edward leaves Bella, can either go on living? It is one that I feel many Twilighters asked themselves as they read this book, and one that the story seeks to answer.

Despite what the storyline and action led me to believe at first, I came to the conclusion that the climax of New Moon, to me, wasn’t really when Bella saved Edward from killing himself. Though this was important, and a huge defining moment of the book, it didn’t feel to me like the root of the story. The main essence of the book seemed to come to a peak in Chapter 23: the one called The Truth.

‘The Truth’ are two very hard words which by definition can cause a variety emotions. Some truth is good, and can make us happy. However, another kind of truth is one that brings some type of pain to the person it is told to. Truth can be hurtful, and sometimes many of us would rather go on not knowing what the truth is in favor of an illusion where everything is perfect, when in reality, we are denying what is really going on.

Why did I find this so pivotal to the story of New Moon? Because most of this story is based on truth: or rather, a fear of it.

Since he first saw Bella at school, as far back as Twilight, Edward has been fearful that he is not good for her: that his love will only corrupt her into becoming something as horrible as he is. Since she first stepped foot in Forks, and perhaps even before, Bella has lived with the idea that she is clumsy, normal and undeserving of the type of love that Edward shows to her. It is almost as if Edward only awaits the day that Bella grows up and leaves him; as if Bella only awaits the day when Edward realizes he is better than she can ever be, and leaves her as well.

The truth, however, became evident the moment they were away from each other. It was as if by pulling them apart, each was slowly ripping at half of the other, tearing more with each day they attempted to live in the lie that they could ever be without each other. In the words of Edward Cullen:

“Why can you believe the lie, but not the truth?”

Edward has believed since he first saw Bella, months ago, that by staying near Bella he only continues to draw her further and further away from any hope of keeping her soul untarnished. He all too often sees himself not as a person whose fate is determined by his actions, but as a soulless body whose fate will come no matter what he does.

But does he really believe it? Deep down, does he feel there is no hope for him and Bella to ever be together? We know it isn’t true: Bella tells Edward it himself. If he thought there was no redemption for a vampire, he would never have expected to see Bella after his death.

If there is a epitome of a best friend, then Jacob Black would fit the mold. As a werewolf, the blood enemy of all vampires, he is the farthest, most unlikely place for Bella to find a friend after Edward has left. But despite her previous connection with the Cullens, Jacob holds her through while Edward is gone, hardly asking for anything more than Bella’s love in return. How can Bella attach herself to Edward so much when it seems to everyone else, even her best friend, that he has truly gone?

The truth, however, is that nothing can separate Bella and Edward: no matter how far Edward may go to hide in the self-deceptive hopes that Bella will forget him, she will not. No matter how often Jacob tries to distract Bella from the memories of the vampire family who left her behind, he can not. Like the CD and photographs Bella thought Edward destroyed so she would forget him, Edward’s love for Bella was never really gone, but had been there all along, waiting for them both to uncover the truth. Bella and Edward’s bond is unbreakable, and that is the nature of their love.

At the ending of New Moon, I felt as if a chapter had ended in the story of Bella and Edward; but now, there is a new character in the story. Edward, Bella, and Jacob are together, and yet split apart by the animosity between werewolves and vampires. It has an air of finality that leaves  unresolved anger between the best friend and the true love. As I read on into the third book in the Twilight Saga, the question remains: will the love of Bella and Edward be strong enough to withstand the troubles that lie ahead? Now that they have accepted the truth, I feel it shall.

I will be continuing on to Eclipse shortly, with more craziness and Photoshopping yet to come. Thank you to everyone who has followed along with me so far, and I hope you stick around for the second half of the journey. Now, on to Eclipse!

NOTE: Be sure to check back early Saturday to see the new design for Eclipse