For the first time in 40 years, The Harvard Lampoon will publish a parody novel, this time putting a tongue-in-cheek spin on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling Twilight series. Random House’s Vintage Books plans to release Nightlight as a paperback original on Nov. 3, just in time for the Nov. 20 opening of the Twilight movie sequel New Moon. “‘Funny’ might get you a blog post these days, but it’s the Lampoon-level of satire that makes Nightlight worth every pseudo-bloodsucking, angst-ridden page,” says a Vintage press release. “Nightlight stakes at the heart of what makes Twilight tick…or, really, cuts to the core of it…. Brooding and hilarious, let Nightlight be your guide through the Twilight fandom that has eclipsed the mind of every teenager you have ever met.” The last Harvard Lampoon satirical novel, a J.R.R. Tolkien send-up titled Bored of the Rings, was published in 1969.
According to the Vintage release, Nightlight follows a “pale and klutzy” girl named Belle Goose, who moves to Switchblade, Oregon, and meets Edwart Mullen, a “super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls.” The vampire-obsessed Belle becomes convinced Edwart is one of the undead after witnessing events she considers otherworldly (“Edwart leaves his Tater Tots™ untouched at lunch! Edwart saves her from a flying snowball!”).
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And EW continues its quest to cover EACH AND EVERY angle of this worthless teen trash.
you are so right, lol
Why do you let it get to you? Let the people who like Twilight enjoy it. And you don’t like it, so don’t read stories about it. Just let it go…
agreed. if you dont like it don’t read it. how hard can that be. i on the other hand love Twilight. so i think this article is pretty funny.
ha ha but they’re making a parody…. it’s like making fun of twilight which i love!
I don’t know if it’s that groundbreaking. I’ve seen a handful of other Twilight parody novels, and the humor seems about the same as The Harvard Lampoon’s.
What other Twilight parody novels are out there? This is the first I’ve seen something like this….
my favorite one the most popular book in the whole world
There are HUNDREDS more written by small time authors and published on the internet. It’s just not as huge of a thing as this one
I’ve lost a lot of respect for Harvard since their students harassed Emma Watson. I’m not surprised they would be silly enough to do something like this. Their standards have really gone down.
You’re absolutely right. If they’re going to parody something, they could at least do a satire of something of actual literary value. Where are the standards?!
I’m not a fan of Twilight, but I think it’s ridiculous when people assume that just because they don’t like something, it has “no value”.
Many of my friends (who are not teenagers) love this series, and even though I’m not a fan, I respect their opinions and would never say that the series “has no value”. I guess I have too much respect for the experience of reading to just assume that just because I don’t like something, it’s worthless.
Olivia, I actually LIKE reading Twilight, and I STILL think it has no literary value. It’s junk food reading that’s fun for awhile but it’s still crap at its core. It’s fun, but that’s it.
I think Hannah’s point, however, snarky, was that most satire is focused on “high-brow” LITERATURE, and that Harvard is kind of dumpster-diving by parodying Twilight. Which I agree with. As other people on here have said, making fun of Twilight is too easy.
I still disagree. To me, if a novel connects with people on a deep level, it does have value, whether I like it or not. I guess I don’t believe in writing off other peoples’ opinions.
The guidelines that establish what is and isn’t good literature change over time. In one decade what is considered a “guilty pleasure” may be seen completely differently later in time.
However, like I said, I don’t presume to make judgments as to which books are “worthless”. I respect that everyone enjoys and connects with different things.
“The guidelines that establish what is and isn’t good literature change over time. In one decade what is considered a “guilty pleasure” may be seen completely differently later in time.”
Fair enough, but if you’re insinuating that Twilight is destined to become some future generation’s Wuthering Heights, I have to vehemently, although respectfully, disagree. I think it’ll fall off the map as soon as the last film comes out and the kids find the next Big Thing. There are some modern young adult books (Harry Potter, His Dark Materials) that I think have staying power, but not these.
I am a Twilight fan, and regardless of what Twilight will be in the future, it will always have fans who truly love it.
I connect with the story, and it means something to me.
I wish there were more people like Olivia who could at the very least respect that opinion.
to Kelsey-
I’m not a fan of Twilight, so I’m not saying that it will be a classic.
Although, to play devil’s advocate, at the time of publication, nobody thought that Wuthering Heights would ever be a “classic”.
I’m also not a fan of Harry Potter, so I’ll have to disagree with you there.
My point is this:
I respect that different people connect with and relate to different books. I would never write off something that people love as “worthless” just because I’m not a fan of it.
LOL, I’ve had to deal with the Harry Potter craze for a lot longer than the Twilight craze…but in both cases I understand it. People are just able to connect to those stories, even though I don’t feel the same way.
If you like reading it, isn’t that value? What’s wrong with entertainment and pleasure as valuable in and of themselves?
To proclaim anything has “no value” seems a little snobby.
Kelsy, I completely agree with you. I’ve read all four books several times, and I’m too interested for my own good. However, I have always been able to realize that while Stephenie Meyer has hit a nerve in our current culture, her skill as a writer could be called poor at best. Her dialogue is embarrassing, and her prose is incredibly redundant. I feel like Harvard is taking the easy way out and choosing a novel that is childishly simple to parody, not to mention the fact that they are obviously trying to cash in on the current craze. Surely they don’t expect us to be excited and in awe of the fact that they are finally doing another satirical novel, when it’s obviously more of a marketing ploy than anything else.
I completely agree with Olivia. To me, something that has affected as many people as Twilight has, is definitely of value. I also don’t believe in deeming something “worthless” just because I’m not a fan of it.
I’m with Kelsey and Mary Q. I read the first two and yes, enjoyed them- well I finished them. But I felt like I’d downed a bag of Oreo Cookies. While I understand Olivia’s point that these books are somehow connecting with people, I wonder if that’s a good thing in this case. the plot lines are completely ludicrous. I never bought that Edward is so obsessed with Bella just b/c she smells nice. And couldn’t Bella be unique beyond being clumsy. And this idea that the vampires are trying to be normal, so they go to high school is ridiculous– who wants to go back to high school? I don’t think Meyer challenged herself while writing them- in terms of constructing the plot or the individual sentences. I think she just tapped into a fantasy that a lot of women have, namely, that some hot vampire, our culture’s paragon of souless violence, will be so captivated by our beauty that they’ll want to be good and use their superhuman strength to protect us. It’s pretty caveman and reminds me of women who marry men on death row or tell themselves that the guy with anger issues would never hurt “me”. If you ask me it isn’t healthy. It’s one thing to write knowingly about unhealthy relationships, as Bronte did, but Meyers seems to be doing this accidentally, which is the main reason these books can’t be described as having literary value.
And yes, they are an easy target, Harvard should set its sites higher.
Honestly? I bet every single kid who contributed to writing this parody is doing 10 other things that are meaningful and insightful. Let them write a light-hearted parody. Just because they go to Harvard doesn’t mean they have to be spouting Shakespeare all the time and coming up with the next great American novel.
It’s the Harvard Lampoon. Their entire purpose is parody. To say that the entire school is lowering their standards with a light-hearted parody is like saying that an Oscar winning movie can’t also have low-brow comedy in it.
And you know? I think what’s even more annoying than the Twilight phenomenon (because as much as I enjoy the series and think the mass-hysteria surrounding it is fascinating, it has its annoying moments), is the fact that everyone has to criticize something that’s getting teenagers interested in books again. Yes, it’s a ridiculous story, but it’s fantasy. It’s supposed to be ‘ridiculous.’ High schoolers are using their imaginations again. In my opinion, between fantasy novels topping the hardcover charts for upwards of 60 weeks and TV shows about glee clubs killing in the ratings, this is where the creative minds start ruling the pop culture world. So can we please take a breather from all the negative energy? There has to be something that you nay-sayers are obsessed with… some guilty pleasures? Yeah, and I’m sure you don’t want people knocking them all the time, either.
I love you, Katy. Especially about others’ guilty pleasures; that’s EXACTLY what I’ve always been trying to say.
But I do love the irony of all these deep and meaningful analytical discussions on Twilight’s social and literary purpose, while the book in itself is quite possibly the most simplistic formulation of badly-constructed sentences ever, which the author evidently did not look at twice. Live a little, people.
I’m curious as to how you parody something that is already a barely contained parody of itself.
Hah!
Hmm, sounds like they sre ripping off fanfic.com, there are already thousands of highly amusing stories available free online.
This isn’t “fan fiction,” it’s satire. There’s a difference. And satire like this has been around LONG before fanfiction.net.
“satire”… “fan fic” Tomayto, tomahto… “Satire” is just a snooty word for “condescension.” Satire ain’t art.
To Em,
Webster’s online dictionary defines ’satire’ as “a literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn” or “trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly.” They define ‘parody’ as “a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule.” This does not necessarily equal condescension.
A GOOD work of satire or parody is extremely difficult to pull of and is a type of art. Have you ever seen a Mel Brooks movie? When you watch them and think about it, they are incredibly clever. THAT is good parody.
And I did read “Bored of the Rings” a few years ago and found it to be very well done.
Making fun of Twilight is like making fun of Sarah Palin or David Letterman. Way, way, way too easy. The Lampoon is getting lazy.
I’m a huge fan of Twilight (the books, not the movie)…but this could be funny.
The LOTR one was definitely entertaining, LOL.
Also, the only thing more annoying than EW covering every single piece of Twilight-related news, is all the people who feel the need to come on here and complain about it.
It baffles me that some people have enough free time to read and comment on an article about something they don’t like.
Don’t be so sure these people actually read the article.
And if readers (many of whom, including myself, pay good subscription money to keep EW writers employed) are legitimately sick of coverage, whether it be Michael Jackson, Jon and Kate, or Twilight, they’re well within their rights to TELL EW through whatever means they choose. How else is EW going to know what its readers want if they don’t provide feedback? I don’t want them thinking we’re all pro-Twilight fangirls, which is what the perception would be if only Twihards were allowed to comment on Twilight articles.
@ Katie:
I think everyone should be allowed to comment on articles. However, I guess my take on it is that I wouldn’t continuously comment on articles about a book/movie that I can’t stand. That would just make me angry and bitter. I try to spend my time commenting on articles about things that I actually enjoy. That’s just me though.
In terms of EW readers, there are clearly a lot of Twilight fan who do read these articles. If you’re not one of them, there are PLENTY of other articles to choose from. EW writes articles on a huge number of television shows, films, books, and celebrities.
I guess I just wouldn’t waste my time reading articles about a topic that makes me angry and bitter. If you don’t like Twilight, there are PLENTY of articles on many other topics that you could read on ew.com.
Sorry for the second comment, I wasn’t sure if the first one had posted.
Dear EW,
More Twilight, please.
… On the other hand, you’re counting on EW carefully perusing the comments page. If they just look at pageviews/# of comments, you’re giving them the idea that Twilight = more pageviews = more better.
I love Twilight…but I’m tired of Entertainment Weekly posting DAILY articles about Twilight.
I’m a huge fan of Twilight, but I agree that the coverage of Twilight is getting excessive.
I just wish that others who feel the same way could express that without being rude and belittling to those who love Twilight.
I think a problem is that Twilight fans seem to take ANYTHING critical of Twilight as being a personal affront to them. I rarely see any posts complaining about excessive Twilight coverage and also PERSONALLY insulting its readers. When I do, I disagree with it. If I say that, in my opinion, Twilight isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on, there are “fans” on here who’d say that I was being mean and insulting to them. Grow a thicker skin.
I’ve seen MANY commenters personally insult Twilight fans by saying that the ones who aren’t teenagers are “housewives with nothing better to do”. I think that’s a very insulting generalization, and I’ve heard it many times. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but I guess asking people to show respect for each other is to much to ask.
I’m a Twilight fan. I am also a fan of satire (the more the better!), and when it comes down to Twilight, why not? A parody seems like an amazing idea, but in all honesty, this one doesn’t seem…all that hilarious (just by the description, at least). I’d read it, yes, but I’m sure someone could have come up with a more comedic version. Only when I start reading it in store, will I see if it is worthy of my hard earned cash.
Ditto that.
I don’t know about you all, but I read “Bored of the Rings” and thought it was hilarious.
Can’t stand Harvard, but at least they’re smart enough to do something like this in book form.
I have liked everything that I’ve read so far that makes fun of TWILIGHT, but there have only been things online making fun of it. I’m sure this won’t disappoint as a book.
To be clear, I’ve read the Twilight books, and I neither love them nor hate them. I guess I’m somewhere in the middle.
I agree with anyone who says that the writing is far from being great. However, I completely get why people love the series. Even with all its imperfections, it’s like the books have a living, beating “heart’ that drives the story forward. I like the way the New York Times described it…it has that “intangible” quality that makes people want to crawl into the world written by the author.
People deeply connect to the characters, and the depth of the love between them.
The series isn’t for me, but I still completely understand why there are so many obsessed fans.
People need to relax. If people want to read and enjoy Twilight let them. It doesn’t make you cool or different just to hate it because its popular. Same type of people who won’t listen to a band anymore after their songs are played on the radio..they are just way too cool for that.
Beware, Im a witch. I would at this point rather wipe my backside with Twilight than read it. I hear about it when no one really cares. Do you know what that is called- OVEREXPOSURE! It turns people off fast.
I think everyone is taking this thing WAYYY to serious. if you like it, great! If you dont, then why bother?
Its a fictional novel … nothing more, nothing less!!
Okay I get that Twilight fans can be a little annoying and slightly delusional, but as one of the Twihard masses, I can’t understand why people who don’t like it won’t let it go. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. Don’t watch it. Don’t read stories about it. Leave Twilight fans alone! They are no different that Trekkies or Star Wars fans. GET OVER IT. Move on. Let us love it.
In my opinion, my problem is when people treat twilight as though its amazing when it really isn’t and the people who are too ignorant to acknowledge the flaws of the books.
That’s my problem. Plus, most of the twilight fans can be really rude.
Not ALL, but definitely a large amount.
The reason i continued reading it even though i hated it was to see if it got any better and was really disappointed when it wasn’t.
You can like it if you want, but just acknowledge that its not on this pedestal that some people put it on.
Of course they’re ignorant, those people fall into the 8-14 age gap. I was an idiot at that age and wouldn’t know if good music or good literature slapped me in the face, and I’m sure you couldn’t have either.
If Twilight was written by an Eastern European author with lots of z’s and h’s in their name, or someone scandinavian with lots of umlauts in their name, it would be considered to have great literary value. But it is American, so it must be crap, deal with it.
No, because Stephanie Meyer is overly fond of purple prose, awkward phrasing and tired cliches, it’s crap.
It’s one thing to like the novel. It’s another to actually consider it well-written.
What if Twilight had been written by Mötley Crüe?
Not really. Stephen King is considered an amazing writer,is praised worldwide,is called the “king of horror” and he’s American.
If its a good writer, the book will be good.
Smeyer is NOT a good writer.
Not really. Stephen King is considered an amazing writer,is praised worldwide,is called the “king of horror” and he’s American.
If its a good writer, the book will be good.
Smeyer is NOT a good writer.
Being American has nothing to do with it. Although I will admit, American Writers aren’t exactly known for having amazing writing and more for fluff.
But i’m sure there are tons of amazing writers who just aren’t praised enough.
oops sorry for the double comments.
It doesn’t matter WHO wrote it, it’s a very poorly written book/series. It’s written by exactly who you think would write it: a housewife with no other real skills and an obsession with a thesaurus.
Sounds to me like putting down the Twilight series makes some of you guys feel really smart. If you’re so smart, why don’t you do something better with your time.
Because we’re smart enough to multi-task.
Oh, snap.
I agree with JenD.
How can something that has people obsessed(I knew a girl who put about about ten Twilight posters in her room, wore the clothing and jewelry, had other stupid trinkets, and stole Twilight items because she couldn’t afford them) be something valuable? It’s more obsession about something that doesn’t exist, or for the movies, actors that are unattainable. Edward is dangerous(in a, oh yeah, I really can’t control myself and I could kill you at any second. I could accidently kill you) and does anyone really buy that a VAMPIRE would be able to be around a human that he wanted so much and not drink her blood? Have you ever been on a diet? Self control is one thing, when food that’s bad for you isn’t readily available in your home, but if you had your favorite snacks, candy, chips, treats, drinks, etc just laying around, you’re bound to mess up. And it won’t take long.
Also, one thing I would love to ask Stephenie Meyer about Breaking Dawn. Just how does a vampire in your world, with no blood or bodily fluids get someone pregnant? No blood=no erection, no bodily fluids=no seamen or anything of the like. FAIL.
I used to like these books. But after some time I realized something, something that makes us non-fans all ‘hate’ on Twilight. They’re completely ridiculous.
It is not healthy to obsess of fantasy.
I agree with you. However, I personally think that if your OVERLY excited about something that IS of Literary value, then its ok.
Such as… Harry Potter, Which in my opinion, does have literary value.
I also agree that the books have many flaws and that’s my main problem with twilight.
Its being treated as though its amazing, when its really CRAP.
It’s an obsession to the extreme, but it will pass. At that age I think everyone gets unhealthily obsessed with something for a while. Then, 5 or 10 years later, they realise what they were doing and go, “ew.”
There is already a Twilight Parody book out. It’s called “Twilite”, it’s been out for awhile. This is nothing new.
Twilight is a crappy novel.
that’s all i’ll say.
I know i’m late but I am looking forward to reading this book. It looks to be pretty amusing.
If you want to read a really good parody thats already been written the check out “Twilite: A Parody”. By stepen Jenner. Its awesome!
I agree – Twilite: A Parody rocks! I read it in one sitting!
That nice that The Harvard Lampoon is creating things again after 40 years, but EW, the world is so SO tired of Twilight. And this is coming from someone who actually has read the books and actually liked the first 3 books (Breaking Dawn was an abomination to literature), before all this magazine/movie hype. Please find something fresh to cove. UGH.
so is this “nightlight” book any good or not?
please tell me.
stop complaininh about how much you love/hate twilight and GIVE ME AN ANSWER! please and thankyou.
Im a fan of Twilight, but i brought the book yesterday and its sooo cool!
if it’s worthless, why are you even reading it or replying, just move along honey. you saying this is worthless just makes your own self look worthless.
this is going to be great. it’s going to be a really cool book who love twilight so much that they can enjoy a sense of comedy or parody over it. im so buying this,