Attending schools in Korea, I had came across only two books which all students decided to read. One is the Harry Potter Series, with the legendary record of being the best selling book of the time. These days, the Harry Potter Series seems to be replaced by another one - the Twilight Series, at least among girls. The series is well-read among females because it deals with dangerous, but indispensable romance between a human and a vampire. I enjoyed reading the series as well, but it stroke me as merely an addictive time killer.
It is a fantasy novel so it obviously does not provide any practical information. What is more, the love described in the book, I think, is something that can not exist in reality. Not because it is between two different races, but the way the two characters love each other is unrealistic.
They love each other more than anyone else in the world. The heroine, Bella even decides to become a vampire so that she can live with her soul mate for good. A teenage girl may think that her love will last forever, but isn't it too much that she desires to transform herself into a dangerous creature and abandon her family? I believe in passionate love, and that my priority must be love. However, it should be accompanied by some sense of responsibility as well. She also justifies the fact that he is a vampire and used to kill humans for their blood. I don't think I would be able to love someone so much that I can turn the cold shoulder on serious crimes such as murder. According to Art of Loving written by Erich Fromm, the way parents love their children is the only unconditional love there can be. Love between men and women is different. I don't believe in platonic love, regarding love as an emotion built up when the conditions which people consider are ideal and pursue are met. In other words, I do believe in intense loves but don't think there is destined love, but rather there are always innate reasons though some people may be unaware of it.
Although the Twilight Series was truly a page turner, I regard it as an English version of Internet novels of Korea or girlish comic books.