T.02.02 Stitches

In Which This Book's Car Crash Happens

The car crash in book 1 was the spark for a long, slow, tedious storyline involving Bella discovering / being spoon fed information to finally reveal Edward's vampirism. This appears to be this book's "car crash" catalyst event. Thankfully, this version doesn't lack the previous one in skill of execution.

Jasper is held back by Emmett, then dragged outside to cool off by Emmett and Rosalie while Carlisle takes Bella into the kitchen to clean & treat her arm. Edward exits to avoid the temptation of all this blood. I will not rant about the climax of book 1. I will not...

What follows is a long conversation between Carlisle and Bella that is, quite frankly, the best bit of dialogue I've encountered in the books thus far. It might even be the best bit of -anything- in the books, certainly the length of good dialogue helps. This is far and away better than any conversation in the first book, and it's essentially just Carlisle distracting Bella while he pulls glass out of her arm and stitches her up. There are motives, concerns, philosophy, religion, character backgrounds and beliefs. It flows, there are moments of humor and concern and it even ends with Bella suggesting that Carlisle could wahmpirize her and his amused refusal. Carlisle even tells Bella (and us) more about Edward's history. His pre vamp name was Edward Mason. He had green eyes. His parents died in the Flu pandemic. Ed's mom asked Carlise to save her son somehow and Carlisle struggled with the idea of converting him to save him because Carlisle questioned whether or not he was damning Edward's eternal soul. This means something later on, but by Lewis' tonsils, that's some real conversation, dang it! Why is this in chapter 2 of book 2!?! Where was this Meyer back when Bella and Edward were moaning about how hard it all was? When Edward was telling Bella that he wasn't spiderman? Did she hire a new editor? GODS WOMAN, you've been holding out on me!

Bella changes clothes and the party breaks up. Edward drives her home in a bad mood and agrees to stay the night and she opens her presents. Carlisle and Esme have bought her plane tickets to visit her mom in Florida. Edward has given her a mix tape. Ok, it's really a CD of him playing the piano to his own compositions, which I admit is an order of magnitude more romatic. I swear I started to write "mix tape?!?" in my notes before I got through the entire description and it made me laugh.

Big kiss and Bella goes to bed. Before she falls asleep, she has a bad feeling. One that no doubt we'll explore in the next chapter.


SumUp: A
And inching toward A+

For the conversation with Carlisle alone, this chapter borders on an A. The wrestling with a blood-enraged Jasper, the reactions of the rest of the wahmpires (almost promoted, thanks to this chapter) and the surrounding story holding up make this perhaps my favorite chapter ever. Carlisle got characterization! Alice got a little. Jasper becomes more real. The vampires do what they should have done in the last book! It's almost good stuff from start to finish and whatever grumbles I have (mostly statuary nonsense) can't drag it down.

It's a whole new world. I'm very encouraged.