Book Review: Nightlight: A Parody by The Harvard Lampoon

Review: Nightlight: A Parody

Author: The Harvard Lampoon

No. Of Pages: 154

Release Date: 11 March 2009

About three things I was absolutely certain.

First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe.

Second, there was a vampire part of him – which I assumed was wildly out of his control – that wanted me dead.

And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.

And thus Belle Goose falls in love with the mysterious and sparkly Edwart Mullen in the Harvard Lampoon’s hilarious send-up.

Pale and klutzy, Belle arrives in Switchblade, Oregon, looking for adventure, or at least and undead classmate. She soon discovers Edwart, a super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls. After witnessing a number of strange events – Edwart leaves his chips untouched at lunch! Edwart saves her from a flying snowball! – Belle has a dramatic revelation: Edwart is a vampire. But how can she convince Edwart to bite her and transform her into his eternal bride, especially when he seems to find girls so repulsive?

Complete with romance, danger, insufficient parental guardianship, creepy stalkerlike behaviour, and a vampire prom, Nightlight is the uproarious tale of a vampire-obsessed girl, looking for love in all the wrong places.

My Thoughts:

That description is as close as a Twilight send up that this book comes to.

It’s not that I didn’t like this book, it definitely had its moments, but it was like the kid that goes too far. He tries and tries to be funny, and just doesn’t pull it off.

This is what this book is, yes it is repetitive, like Twilight, and not much happens, like Twilight, but the actual Twilight references are few and far between. When they do crop up though, they aren’t funny.

I was expecting this book to be funny, maybe I have a broken sense of humour, because I wasn’t laughing, I was rolling my eyes.

Belle I think was based more on Kristen Stewart rather than Bella. Self obsessed, broody, massive ego. Not the Bella I remember anyway.

Edwart wasn’t really based on anybody familiar in my opinion, he was awkward and cringe worthy, really disgusting and really girly...well I suppose there is some resemblance.

But it wasn’t obvious parodying which is what I like about my parodies, obvious humour. This was a little too try hard though.

I don’t know it just grated on my nerves reading it. I will admit the second half got a little better, once they finished with the robot, and then I laughed a little more.

I suggest Twilight readers, both lovers and haters; try this out, maybe you might be able to pick up more of the jokes than I did.

I did like the True Blood reference though...that was funny.