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]