Nightlight (Harvard Lampoon) - Vintage Books - 2009 - 154 pages
As parodies go, this one is not the best. It could be that the subject is already a parody of itself. I confess that I have not read any of the Twilight series of novels by Stephenie Meyer; nor have I seen the popular movies. However, it is impossible to avoid the hype. The major focus of this parody is the stream-of- consciousness narration style of protagonist, Belle Goose (not Bella Swan). She is a scatter-brained, semi-popular high school student in search of a vampire boyfriend. Her attention is drawn to awkward and pale Edwart Mullen (not Edward Cullen) who may actually be a vegetarian. We get a constant flow of the trivial workings of Belle's brain. For example: "That night I wrapped my hair in springs from the armchair in our living room to make it curly. I even put in false teeth. On my way to school the next morning, I felt light and bouncy ..." I suppose that this Harvard Lampoon treatment is a hilarious send-up of the teenage vampire craze. However, I just never had an interest. Let me know when Ms. Meyer starts writing about the teenage swamp things. [JAM 12/6/2012]