Fifty Shades of Grey – EL James

Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

 

Mummy porn. That’s what they’re calling the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. After all, women everywhere are taking a fancy to this erotic novel that supposedly connects with them in a way like no other book has.

 

In fact, it’s been recently revealed that prisoners from Guantanamo Bay are finding the book irresistible enough to request their captors for copies of the book.

 

The three books of the series, Fifty Shades of Grey, is, for all practical purposes, an adult novel – and without a doubt, the fastest selling adult novel of all time, in both its ebook and hardcopy versions.

 

But is it really worth all the fuss? I decided to give it a read even if it seems cheesy.

 

The Epic Ridiculousness That Is Christian Grey

 

My first impression in the reading the first few chapters is a sense of irritation, considering how much Anastasia Steele thinks, judges and thinks some more. It almost feels as if she’s borderline obsessive about Christian Grey – a buildup, if you will, to the more ‘juicier’ chapters in the novel.

 

The entire book is written in the first person narrative mode from the perspective of Miss Steele who finds herself very attracted to the near-perfect Mr. Grey. There are people who have criticized the book calling the character and her thoughts being that of a teenage fantasy.

 

But isn’t she still in college, preparing for her exams? It’s believable – the discomfort around a successful and attractive man who is much older than her. It’s only natural that she feels this way, or so I think. After all, who’s hormones weren’t raging at that age?

 

As for the character of Christian Grey himself, he seems to be of the ‘ubermensch’ variety and can do nothing wrong, considering how blinded she seems to be by his charisma and more.

 

It’s this character that somehow seems too good to be true. Being a guy myself, I know better.

 

It’s pretty obvious that the author has really gone out on a limb here to create the perfect male that, to most of us of the same sex, seems to reflect the types that you would come across in countless Mills & Boon novels.

 

So, it’s no surprise that women find this novel and the other two very titillating, if you will.

 

And considering the reviews, whether negative or positive, that it has received so far, it’s now common knowledge that Fifty Shades of Grey is racy, both in terms of content and pace, and is an easy read.

 

Speaking of racy, there’s spanking, BDSM, dominance, submissiveness and so on and so forth thrown in for good measure within the guidelines of a contract – and if that’s not enough, Anastasia is a virgin.

 

Well, that probably explains why she seems ridiculously easy… and eager to please!

 

In Closing

So, is Fifty Shades of Grey worth your time? It’s hard to say, really. If you like novels of the romantic variety, this one could literally take you to the next level. Although, the novel comes across as a personal account or journal  of one’s sexual escapades with little or no effort going into crafting the story as other romance novelists do.

 

Of course, if you don’t have the time, there’s a movie coming out shortly – and God save that poor fool – the guy who will take the role of Christian Grey – if he doesn’t match up to the expectations of women.