When I started reading The Host I was very reserved about it. I’m not a Twilight fan and I was “certain” it would be sappy and stupid and not well written. Those were the negative things I’d heard about the Twilight saga. But, for several reasons, I gave it a try anyway and I am very glad I did.
I think the story of The Host is really interesting. It's about a species of aliens that take over the earth by taking up 'host' in humans. Kind of like extraterrestrial parasites. Most humans cease to exist once an alien takes them, but when the narrating character, Wanderer, takes up host in Melanie Stryder, she finds her human host is still very present. The rest of the book is about the interaction and conflict between Wanderer and a group of humans she finds after agreeing to look for Melanie's brother and boyfriend, while they all try to survive in hiding.
I didn’t find it to be sappy or stupid, like I expected. For the most part the writing was well done, I only found a few places where the transitions could have been improved, but other than that I didn't notice any problems. I like the voice given to Wanda’s narration; it’s interesting and works really well with her character and with the story.
I was really surprised by how much I liked this book. For a while I wasn’t even willing to admit how much I really was enjoying the story, but I actually had trouble putting it down. The characters are well developed and I really enjoy “watching” them interact. I think Meyer did a good job of having the people behave realistically; how are different personalities going to behave when an alien controlled body- the enemy they all hate and fear- walks into their lives? This was a question that was fun to explore throughout the book.
I really like the character of Wanda; I think she is one of my favorite fictional females. There are plenty of in your face, tough as nails women in fiction today. Wanda is very gentle and non-confrontational, yet has a definite strength in her gentleness and I like that. It’s a combination we don’t see much of, and I think it makes her character very appealing.
Another criticism I’d heard of Twilight was that neither of the men in Bella’s life were very worthy of attention. (I haven’t read them, so I can’t really comment on that, but it was one of the negative things I had in my mind going into The Host.) I was surprised that eventually, I found both Ian and Jared to be men worth having. Notice I said eventually. I didn’t really like either one of them at the start, particularly Ian. MINOR SPOILER I didn’t trust him at the first and even as it continued, it took me a while to accept that he really was sorry for what he’d done to Wanda and that he now wanted to help her. But in the end, he did become my favorite of the two men. END SPOILER I was pleasantly surprised that, as the story continued, both Ian and Jared, while they have their faults, were both good men and I like both of them.
I can’t believe I almost missed this story because of the Twilight (and resulting Meyer) stigma. I am so glad I tried it- it's become one of my favorite stories- and I'll definitely be reading it again.
As to the movie, I also really enjoyed that. For the most part, the condensation of 600 pages into a two hour film was well handled, though they left out some of the best lines. The acting is excellent all around, particularly Jake Able and Saoirse Ronan's. They were perfect. The Host movie was one of the few book adaptation that I have been, for the most part, happy with and I also recommend you watch it. After reading the book of course. :)
I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes, which comes from The Host:
It's not the face but the expression on it. It's not the voice, but what you say. It's not how you look in that body, but what you do with it. You are beautiful.- Ian O'Shea
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