The Host (novel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The Host (novel)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Host is a science ction/romance novel by Stephenie Meyer. The book is about Earth being invaded by a parasitic alien race, known as "Souls", and follows one Soul's predicament when the consciousness of her human host refuses to co-operate with the takeover of her body. The Host was released on May 6, 2008,[1] with an initial print run of 750,000 copies.[2] An international version of the novel was released on April 2, 2008, in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and Hong Kong by the UK publishing division.[3] It was translated into Norwegian, Finnish, Estonian, Catalan, Chinese, Japanese, Croatian, Arabic, Czech, Dutch, Persian, Swedish, German, Polish, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Hebrew, Turkish, Slovak, Vietnamese and Danish among others. The prologue and the fourth chapter of the book can be found on Meyer's ocial website.[4]
Publisher Publication date Media type

The Host

First edition cover Author Stephenie Meyer

Cover artist Juliana Lee Country Language Series Genre United States English Book 1 Science Fiction, Romance novel, Thriller Little, Brown & Company May 6, 2008, April 13, 2010 (paperback) Print (hardcover, paperback) e-Book (Kindle) Audio book (CD) Pages ISBN 619 pp 0-316-06804-7

Contents
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Plot summary Main characters Major themes References to other works Sequels Reception Film adaptation

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8 See also 9 References

OCLC

163708271 (//www.worldcat.org /oclc/163708271)

Plot summary

Dewey Decimal LC Class

813/.6 22 PS3613.E979 H67 2008

"Souls", a species of parasitic aliens, have invaded Earth, deeming the humans too violent to deserve the planet. When a Soul is implanted into a host body, the consciousness of the original owner is eventually erased, leaving only their memories and knowledge. Wanderer, a Soul who was given her name for not living more than one host's life on any of eight previous planets, is placed in the body of Melanie Stryder, one of the last few humans who have managed to avoid capture. Melanie tried to commit suicide by jumping down an elevator shaft when pursued by Seekers, but was revived by the Souls' advanced medicine. Wanderer is asked by a Seeker to look through Melanie's memories and see if there is anything that can lead them to other humans, but she is being mentally blocked, leading the Seeker to realize Melanie's consciousness is still alive and resisting control. As time goes by, Melanie's consciousness grows stronger and begins to communicate with Wanderer. Wanderer manages to uncover some of Melanie's memories, mainly about her younger brother Jamie and her boyfriend Jared Howe, another human she met while stealing food some years before. Through Melanie's memories Wanderer begins to love Jared and Jamie as well. Eventually, Melanie's presence becomes too much and Wanderer contemplates being re-implanted in another host, but as she is driving through the desert on the way to consult a Healer on her decision, Melanie inspires her to follow a series of landmarks she remembers to nd her Uncle Jeb, hoping that Jared and Jamie will now be with him. Their quest seems fruitless, however, and Wanderer almost dies of dehydration, until she is happened upon by Uncle Jeb. He realizes Melanie's body has been taken over, but saves her life anyway. He takes her to his hideout; a large set of secret caves housing over thirty humans, including Jared and Jamie. Most of them demand she be killed, fearing she will escape and tell the rest of the Souls where they are, but Jared stops them, not being able to bear the thought of Melanie's body being harmed. After fainting, Wanderer wakes up in a tiny cave with Jared guarding her. Brothers Ian and Kyle O'Shea come to kill her, but Jeb intervenes and tells them that Jared is the one who will decide Wanderer's fate. She is kept in the cramped cave for a week, until Jared has to lead a raid and leaves her in Jeb's care. With Jared gone, Jeb gives her a real room to stay in and lets her help out around the caves. As the weeks go by, the rest of the humans grow used to the Soul living in their community, and Wanderer grows particularly close to Jamie, Jeb, Ian and Doc, who all come to believe that Melanie is still
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present inside her. She is given the nickname "Wanda", and with some encouragement from Jeb begins to tell stories to the group at meal times about the previous worlds she has lived on. Jared, Kyle and the others return, and are furious that their group would let themselves trust an alien. Jared decides he wants to shoot her, but Jeb insists Wanda belongs to Jamie as well, and Jared eventually agrees not to harm her. After hearing Doc, Jamie and Jeb insist that Melanie's consciousness is still alive, he kisses Wanderer to test if it is true, causing Melanie to take control enough to punch him. He takes this as conrmation. Walter, one of the older humans who is slowly dying of bone cancer, asks to see Wanda. She sits by him in the hospital as he talks to her, thinking she is his wife Gladys. After a while she takes a break and goes for a bath. In the bathing area Kyle appears and attacks her. He rst tries to drown her, then throw her down a cavern into the river below. In the ensuing struggle she causes him to hit his head and black out, but the ledge gives way and the two plummet almost to their death. She manages to cling to the edge, but risks her life by holding onto the unconscious Kyle. Ian hears Wanda's cries for help and pulls them up. Wanda is moved back to the hospital to be treated for her injuries, and comforts Walter as Doc gives him a morphine overdose. After Walter's funeral, a trial is held for Kyle. Ian, Jared and a few others want to kick him out for attempted murder, but Wanda lies to protect him, and the majority vote decides he should stay. Ian confesses that he has romantic feelings for Wanda not her host body, but her and kisses her, but Melanie's repulsion and her own feelings for Jared make her confused, and she asks for time to think about it. Jared goes out on another raid and takes Jamie with him. Afterwards, they intentionally keep Wanda away from the hospital, just as they did after the previous raid, making her suspicious. She goes to see what the secret is, and discovers mutilated Souls who have been cut out of their hosts. The image is so traumatic that she hides for three days, remaining silent and not eating anything as a form of mourning. Jeb eventually convinces her to snap out of it and explains that they have been looking for a way to safely remove Souls from human bodies, but each time it has proven fatal for both parties, and he agrees to make sure it never happens again. Wanda then learns that a large cut Jamie got while on the raid has become infected, and remembering what happened when Walter could not be treated, desperately tries to convince the community to steal medication for him. She suggests they use her, as she could acquire it easily and would never be suspected of anything, but the group still does not trust her enough. Jared sneaks her out at night, and they are successful in their mission. Now sure where Wanda's loyalties lie, they allow her to go out on another raid and return with a vast amount of food, all given freely by stores.

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Upon returning they learn that Wanda's Seeker found the caves and fatally shot one of the humans before she could be subdued. Not wanting the Seeker to be killed, Wanda realizes that there is a way to spare her and the host body by revealing how to remove a Soul properly. She agrees to tell Doc this secret, on condition that all Souls be sent to other planets rather than killed. Tired of stealing lives from people, she also asks to be taken out of Melanie and left to die, to which Doc grudgingly agrees, under pledge of secrecy. After the Seeker's human host is restored, Kyle runs o to nd the body of his girlfriend, Jodi. He returns with her, now inhabited by a Soul called Sunny (Sunlight Passing Through the Ice), who has feelings for Kyle the same way Wanda loved Jared. They plan to remove her and revive Jodi, although Sunny does not want to leave Earth. Wanda then reveals her intentions to give Melanie back her body and Ian, believing Wanda is leaving for another planet, tries to convince her to stay. He expresses his love for her and she tells him she loves him too, then sneaks out when he falls asleep. Jared confronts her as she is going to see Doc, but Wanda manages to keep her resolve. As Doc is putting her under she says goodbye to him and Melanie, and peacefully accepts death. Wanda wakes up, now in a new host called "Petals Opening to the Moon", "Pet" for short. Pet is described as having "a face of an angel" and is very fragile and small. She learns that Jared had coerced Doc into saving Wanda and went out with Melanie and Jamie to get a new body for her. Wanda is upset, but they explain that the host did not wake up after they took the Soul out, meaning Wanda is not a parasite. She learns that Jodi did not wake up after Sunny was removed either, so Kyle decided to return Sunny to Jodi's body. In her new body, Wanda nally gains wide acceptance from the humans and is free to be in a relationship with Ian. Months later, Wanda is heading out on a raid with Ian, Jared and Melanie, when they meet another group of humans who also have a Soul in their group. The story concludes with Wanda and the Soul Burns (Burns Living Flowers), agreeing on the strangeness of Earth.

Main characters
Main article: List of The Host characters Wanderer "Wanda" Wanderer is the protagonist, a parasitic alien Soul who is inserted into Melanie Stryder's body. She received her name because of the number of planets she has lived on, having never settled on one she truly liked. She is later nicknamed "Wanda" by Mel's Uncle Jeb. Initially only interested in enjoying her new life, Melanie's love for her brother and boyfriend spills over to Wanda and she nds herself abandoning her kind to seek them out in the desert. She slowly develops sympathy for humans, eventually acknowledging that they have a right to their own lives, and attempting to sacrice herself so that Melanie can have her life back. Like all Souls, she is naturally altruistic, horried by violence, and nds it dicult to believably lie (to humans). She hates upsetting

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people and so suers endlessly trying to be as little of a burden as possible. Melanie Stryder Melanie is a human rebel who was captured and implanted with a Soul after years of evading the Seekers. Melanie's consciousness survives and resists Wanderer's control as best she can. She likes the feeling of being physically strong and berates Wanderer for neglecting to keep her that way. She has a temper and is often quick to use threats of violence, much to Wanda's displeasure. Melanie is passionately in love with Jared and shares a strong bond with her brother, Jamie, of whom she is ercely protective. Despite initial anger at Wanderer for stealing her life, their shared love of Jamie and Jared turns them into unwilling allies. Their relationship grows to the point where Melanie tearfully begs Wanda not to give her body back, knowing the alien plans to kill herself once removed. Melanie is described as having hazel eyes, dark hair and tan skin and is half Latina on her mother's side.[5] Ian O'Shea Wanderer calls Ian "as kind as a Soul, but strong as only a human could be". Like most of the group, he has a strong dislike of the Souls in the beginning, but quickly abandons it once he begins to empathize with Wanderer. Other characters seem to view him as mostly level-headed. Ian befriends Wanderer and gradually falls in love with her because of her personality, insisting he cares very little about Mel's body. He is constantly annoyed at how seless and self-sacricing she is, worrying that she is willing to do things she does not want because she thinks it will make others happy. Once Wanda is put into a new host they begin a relationship. He does not help Melanie nd a new body for Wanda, which surprises Melanie. Ian said that he did not care what she looked like; he loved Wanda for her personality. He is described as being tall and muscular, with black hair, sapphire blue eyes and fair skin. Jared Howe Melanie's lover. Jared met Melanie while they were both stealing food from the same house, each believing the other to be a Soul; when he realized he had found another human he was so excited he kissed her. Loving, aggressive and somewhat excitable in Melanie's memories, by the time Wanderer meets him he has become bitter and hardened. He originally despises Wanda for taking Mel's life, but he cannot bring himself to let Doc experiment on her. He starts to change his views on the Soul when he sees her comforting a dying friend. His survival skills are an asset to the group, and he is often charged with leading the raids because of his rationality and levelheadedness. He has a somewhat parental relationship with Jamie, whom he continued to care for after Melanie's capture. He is described as being muscular and tall, with tan skin, sienna-colored eyes and naturally dark, but sun-bleached hair. Jamie Stryder Jamie is Melanie's younger brother. Unlike most characters, he holds no animosity towards Wanderer for stealing his sister's body or life and quickly comes to view her as a substitute sibling. He is fascinated with Wanda's stories about the other planets and the species that live on them. Despite his apparent innocence and naivete, Jamie wants to be treated like an adult; he
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yearns to go on raids with the others, and is uncomfortable with the coddling he receives when he is injured. Uncle Jeb Jebediah "Jeb" is Melanie's eccentric uncle. A paranoid survivalist before the invasion, Jeb had constructed an elaborate hide-out in caves beneath the Arizona desert. He maintains strict control over the hide-out by virtue of having the only rearm. He believes Wanderer can t in with the humans and pushes for this to the point of creating great strain within the group. He is calm and deliberate in his decision-making, and despite being one of the most welcoming towards Wanderer, nonetheless does not hesitate to explain and justify the human perspective to her. The Seeker The Soul who originally caught Melanie. Her calling is to search for and track down humans who have managed to avoid implantation, although she takes her job more seriously than most others. Mutual spite towards the Seeker is the basis of Melanie and Wanderer's early relationship. She is unusually irritable and edgy for her species, at one point even shooting a human in cold blood, despite most Souls not being able to even pick up a gun. She mocks Wanderer for not being able to completely drive out Melanie's conscious. This is later revealed to be because of her insecurity at having failed to subdue her own host, Lacey, who speaks to her like Melanie does to Wanda. It is noted that Lacey is just as abrasive as the Seeker. Kyle O'Shea Kyle, Ian's brother, is impulsive, quick-tempered, and often considered a pain by the others. His hate for Souls is extreme, even among the group. He tries to kill Wanda, despite being warned not to hurt her, and ironically has to be saved by her from falling to his death after he is knocked out in the struggle. When he realizes the Seeker's host was able to get her body back, he leaves to kidnap Sunny, the Soul now inhabiting Jodi's body, and takes her back to the cave to see if he can get Jodi back. He is shocked to discover that Sunny is not scared and feels an attachment to him, the way Wanderer did to Jared. When Jodi does not wake up after Sunny is removed, he allows Sunny to stay. Although still wishing Jodi could return, he becomes close to Sunny and they are described as being inseparable. Doc A tall, slim human who was a surgeon and serves as the group's doctor. Wanda's initial impression of him is that he is a cold-hearted torturer, but he is later shown as being deeply aected by the suering of his patients and is one of the rst humans to accept Wanda. He is fascinated by how eective Soul medicine is and is desperate to nd a way to remove Souls without killing either the parasite or the host. Doc is prone to alcoholic binges when he fails in these endeavors. His real name is Eustace, as he mentioned to Wanda before he removed her from her host. A man of his word, Doc is only stopped from letting Wanda die like he promised her because Jared threatens him with a hunting knife. Some of his characteristics were inuenced by Meyer's younger brother, Seth. [6]

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Major themes
In an interview with Vogue, Meyer stated that body image was a major aspect of her novel. She noted that she is "very critical" of her body, but not others'. In The Host, she tried to convey "what a gift it is to just have a body, and really love it". This is something most humans would take for granted before being captured, and something of which Melanie is all-too aware once she loses control of her body.[7] Other themes Meyer explored were the mother/child bond, the need to change our lives for the ones we love or because our community expects of us something other than what we want, and not tting in.[8] In other interviews, various themes were noted including the value of the Soul and faith in a world that has been destroyed,[6] tolerance, forgiveness and understanding.[9] Identity issues are also frequently mentioned, as Wanderer notes whether other characters dierentiate between her personality and Melanie's identity as they interact with her.

References to other works

Like Meyer's other books, The Host includes a poem at the beginning of the novel. The poem, by May Swenson, is titled Question, and ties into the idea of the mind's reliance on the existence of the body, just as Melanie experiences when inhabited by Wanderer.

Sequels
Meyer has said that she is working on additional books in The Host series and that she intends to write a trilogy. She said in an interview that, if published, the rst sequel would be entitled The Seeker and the second The Soul. [10] In November 2009, she said, "I'd like to eventually have The Host be part of a trilogy."[11] In a Q&A session in Kansas City, Meyer said that she has outlines for the sequels and has done some writing on them, but she has some qualms since The Host universe is a "dangerous place" where characters might die, and she is not sure if she wants to kill them o.[8]

Reception
In a review of the book for The Guardian, Keith Brooke wrote, "When it's good, the novel works well, and will appeal to fans of the author's hugely bestselling Twilight series, but it is little more than a half-decent doorstep-sized chunk of light entertainment."[12]

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The Host was a #1 New York Times best seller,[13] and remained on this list for 26 weeks.[14] It also spent over 36 weeks on the Los Angeles Times bestseller list. [15] The novel was #1 on Maclean's Magazine's list of 10 top-selling ction books in Canada.[16] The Host was named one of the "Best Books of May" by Amazon.com.[17]

Film adaptation
Main article: The Host (2013 lm) The Host was developed into a lm with Andrew Niccol as director and Saoirse Ronan as Melanie.[18][19] The project was rst announced in September 2009 when the producers Nick Wechsler, Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz used independent nancing to acquire lm rights to The Host. Niccol was hired to write the screenplay and to direct the lm.[20] In early 2011, before the start of lming, Susanna White had replaced Niccol as the director,[21] but Niccol resumed his role of director in May 2011.[18] In the same month, Ronan was cast to play Melanie in the adaptation.[19] On June 27, it was announced that the lm would be released on March 29, 2013, with principal photography to start in February 2012 in Louisiana and New Mexico.[22] Open Road Films acquired the U.S. distribution rights for the lm and Meyer acted as producer along with Wechsler, Steve Schwartz, and Paula Mae Schwartz.[23]

See also
Invasion of the Body Snatchers

References
1. ^ "StephenieMeyer.com:The Host" (http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/thehost.html). Retrieved October 24, 2007. 2. ^ "Stephenie Meyer By the Numbers" (http://www.publishersweekly.com/article /CA6559505.html). Publishers Weekly. May 12, 2008. Retrieved November 7, 2008. 3. ^ Twilight Lexicon | The Host in multiple forms (http://www.twilightlexiconblog.com /?p=814) 4. ^ The Host excerpt (http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/pdf/thehost_chapter4.pdf) 5. ^ Luciano, LeAura (March 28, 2013). "5 Things You Should Know About 'The Host' " (http://www.latina.com/entertainment/movies/things-you-should-know-about-host). Latina (magazine). Retrieved March 28, 2013. 6. ^
a b

"The Host Tour - Frisco, Texas" (http://thehostlexicon.com/thehostinterviews

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/the-host-tour-frisco-texas/). The Host Lexicon. February 12, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011. 7. ^ "Vogue Magazine Interview" (http://www.style.com/vogue/feature /2009_March_Stephenie_Meyer/). Vogue. Retrieved August 17, 2011. 8. ^ a b "The Host Tour - Kansas City" (http://thehostlexicon.com/thehostinterviews /the-host-tour-kansas-city/). The Host Lexicon. February 12, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011. 9. ^ "The Host Tour - Portland, Oregon" (http://thehostlexicon.com/thehostinterviews /the-host-tour-portland-oregon/). The Host Lexicon. February 12, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011. 10. ^ 'Twilight' Writer Stephenie Meyer Wants Matt Damon For 'Host' Movie (http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1585112/story.jhtml), MTV Movie News 11. ^ Extra chapter FAQ (http://thehostthesoulandtheseeker.blogspot.com/2009/12/extrachapter-to-be-included-in.html) 12. ^ Keith Brooke, "The Host by Stephenie Meyer" (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books /2009/aug/01/host-stephenie-meyer-review), The Guardian, August 1, 2009 13. ^ Books - Best-Seller Lists - New York Times (http://query.nytimes.com /gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE3DE1639F936A15756C0A96E9C8B63&scp=3& sq=may%2025th%20best%20sellers&st=cse) 14. ^ "The 25 Entertainers of the Year" (http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery /0,,20152943_20153287_20239984_20,00.html). Entertainment Weekly. 2008-11-13. Retrieved November 13, 2008. 15. ^ "Los Angeles Times bestsellers for May 3, 2009" (http://www.latimes.com /entertainment/news/la-caw-bestsellers3-2009may03,0,1638631.story). Los Angeles Times. May 3, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2009. 16. ^ The Canadian Press: "Careless in Red" by Elizabeth George tops Maclean's ction list (http://canadianpress.google.com/article /ALeqM5g0wGxdA9OA47E2YeaTevfnwzUZ9A) 17. ^ Best of the Month (http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000225081) 18. ^ a b McNary, Dave (May 12, 2011). "Meyer's 'Host' nds a helmer" (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118036925). Variety. 19. ^ a b Staskiewicz, Keith (May 3, 2011). "Saoirse Ronan cast in lm of Stephenie Meyer's 'The Host' " (http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/05/03/saoirse-ronan-the-host/). Entertainment Weekly. 20. ^ Fleming, Michael (September 22, 2009). "Producers acquire Meyer's 'Host' " (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118008985). Variety. 21. ^ Sneider, Je (February 10, 2011). "Director set for 'Twilight' author's 'Host' " (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118031978). Variety. 22. ^ " 'The Host' Lands Release Date: Here's What We Know About Stephenie Meyer Adaptation" (http://hollywoodcrush.mtv.com/2011/06/27/the-host-release-date). MTV.com. June 27, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011. 23. ^ " 'The Host' to be Released by Open Road Films in March 2013" (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/host-be-released-by-open-205856). Hollywood Reporter.com. June 27, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.

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