In 2011, author E L James took inspiration from the Twilight series and penned her own trilogy - Fifty Shades. Classed in the erotic genre the series became a huge hit and dominated the Amazon Best Sellers list well into 2012. Although I had no intentions of reading this filth I was raped by an ebook copy of Fifty Shades of Grey on Windows Live Messenger. After reading the books I read many reviews of the series and here I am to give my own thoughts.
Synopsis
A lover and major of classical literature, Anastasia Steele stumbles into the office of egotistical entrepreneur Christian Grey to conduct an interview on behalf of her best friend. Ana's awkwardness triggers a need for Christian to dominate her. Overwhelmed by Christian's predatory behaviour and her own wants, Ana gives in to him and thus sets the tone for three novels revolving around Christian's insatiable desire for BDSM and Ana's battle with her conscience and desire to participate in his 'Fifty Shades of fucked up'.
Critics
Fifty Shades of Grey, the first installment in the series is at the top of both the Amazon Romance and Best Sellers lists. I have seen newspapers rave about it and the ratings are supposedly so good that a movie is to be made by the guys who brought you The Social Network. Matt Bomer and Ian Somerhalder are being considered for the role of Christian Grey and there have been rumours of Emma Watson as Anastasia Steele.
While the reviewers whose lofty opinions matter have been toasting this erotica, the avid readers have had other things to say. I read a blog that was devoted to one woman's reactions as she read through the book. She ranted and raved about it. She tore the style of writing apart, absolutely hated the characters and their development and just about everything that you could complain about, she complained! Tearing the novel apart seemed to be the order of the day for most bloggers. Below is a comic that accurately sums up the first book.
Opinion
I unfortunately will not follow in the footsteps of bloggers before me. I had my reservations about reading the book. I generally dislike books that are written in first person. It worked for Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird but that does not mean everyone should do it. The book follows through in the same vein as literotica (otherwise known as porn without pictures). It appeals to female readers since it is written through the eyes of the heroine and as a result, I enjoyed the book.
Professionally, Christian Grey is the sort of man we would all like to hook up with at some point in life. He is really messed up and has major issues but it gives him this troubled persona that women cannot help but reach out to in an attempt to soothe or fix him. Anastasia Steele is a woman none of us would like to be. She's insipid, terribly clumsy and very awkward. Her character was not the best but since she is modeled after Twilight's Bella Swan I can understand the shallow nature.
The style of writing of the book was in fact horrible. All the characters had the same style of speaking. James was apparently trying to impress us with her vocabulary but I found it very tedious that I had to look up a lot of words on my Kindle. I understand that the protagonists were impeccably educated and well read but realistically no one speaks like that. I am a well educated young woman and I have a friend whose vocabulary can run circles around mine but we have never used any complicated words. That was one of my major faults with the book. Additionally, the series was not consistent as the first installment was where all the kinky stuff happened. James might have been bored and decided she wanted to conform and write about 'vanilla sex'.
What I did enjoy was the kinky aspect of the book. It is supposedly the first of its kind but I have read a lot of porn stories where they actually use the 'dirrty' terms for vagina and penis and I can definitely tell you this is not something new. For me the whole concept of BDSM has been tainted by the fact that a lot of people frown upon it and porn - well that is never a true representation of anything. The book brought the idea into a whole new light for me and I thoroughly enjoyed the Red Room of Pain. However, a lot of the metaphors and similes used were just perplexing. Nevertheless, the rare glimpses of the story from Christian's point-of-view were a saving grace.
In all I think this book is not for everyone. If you are not into the BDSM you will not like it. If you are reading the book just for the fun of it you can enjoy it. If you are highly critical you will not enjoy this book and you will start using Blogger just to rant and rave about this book. Like everything in life, take it with a pinch of salt and if you are judging it, just remember that the inspiration for this book is Twilight. Enough said!
Fifty Shades Trilogy - 2.5/5 (It started off really good minus the overdone writing and language. However, it fizzled out in the end).
Critics
Fifty Shades of Grey, the first installment in the series is at the top of both the Amazon Romance and Best Sellers lists. I have seen newspapers rave about it and the ratings are supposedly so good that a movie is to be made by the guys who brought you The Social Network. Matt Bomer and Ian Somerhalder are being considered for the role of Christian Grey and there have been rumours of Emma Watson as Anastasia Steele.
While the reviewers whose lofty opinions matter have been toasting this erotica, the avid readers have had other things to say. I read a blog that was devoted to one woman's reactions as she read through the book. She ranted and raved about it. She tore the style of writing apart, absolutely hated the characters and their development and just about everything that you could complain about, she complained! Tearing the novel apart seemed to be the order of the day for most bloggers. Below is a comic that accurately sums up the first book.
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| Fifty Shades of Grey in 10 panels BurtonDurand.Tumblr |
Opinion
I unfortunately will not follow in the footsteps of bloggers before me. I had my reservations about reading the book. I generally dislike books that are written in first person. It worked for Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird but that does not mean everyone should do it. The book follows through in the same vein as literotica (otherwise known as porn without pictures). It appeals to female readers since it is written through the eyes of the heroine and as a result, I enjoyed the book.
Professionally, Christian Grey is the sort of man we would all like to hook up with at some point in life. He is really messed up and has major issues but it gives him this troubled persona that women cannot help but reach out to in an attempt to soothe or fix him. Anastasia Steele is a woman none of us would like to be. She's insipid, terribly clumsy and very awkward. Her character was not the best but since she is modeled after Twilight's Bella Swan I can understand the shallow nature.
The style of writing of the book was in fact horrible. All the characters had the same style of speaking. James was apparently trying to impress us with her vocabulary but I found it very tedious that I had to look up a lot of words on my Kindle. I understand that the protagonists were impeccably educated and well read but realistically no one speaks like that. I am a well educated young woman and I have a friend whose vocabulary can run circles around mine but we have never used any complicated words. That was one of my major faults with the book. Additionally, the series was not consistent as the first installment was where all the kinky stuff happened. James might have been bored and decided she wanted to conform and write about 'vanilla sex'.
What I did enjoy was the kinky aspect of the book. It is supposedly the first of its kind but I have read a lot of porn stories where they actually use the 'dirrty' terms for vagina and penis and I can definitely tell you this is not something new. For me the whole concept of BDSM has been tainted by the fact that a lot of people frown upon it and porn - well that is never a true representation of anything. The book brought the idea into a whole new light for me and I thoroughly enjoyed the Red Room of Pain. However, a lot of the metaphors and similes used were just perplexing. Nevertheless, the rare glimpses of the story from Christian's point-of-view were a saving grace.
In all I think this book is not for everyone. If you are not into the BDSM you will not like it. If you are reading the book just for the fun of it you can enjoy it. If you are highly critical you will not enjoy this book and you will start using Blogger just to rant and rave about this book. Like everything in life, take it with a pinch of salt and if you are judging it, just remember that the inspiration for this book is Twilight. Enough said!
Fifty Shades Trilogy - 2.5/5 (It started off really good minus the overdone writing and language. However, it fizzled out in the end).
Matt Bomer and Ian Somerhalder YESSSSSSSSS
ReplyDeleteThe comic strip is hilarious
ReplyDelete