Monday 1 October 2012

BOOK: FIFTY SHADES OF THE MIND BOGGLES




I usually go out of my way to avoid 'buzz' books. I refuse categorically to read The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) or The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson) as they have been so raved about and reviewed so often that I feel I already know the books without having ever picked them up. Books such as The Help (Kathryn Stockett) and One Day (David Nichols) were books that I read before the films and celebrities became involved, before they hit number one on the bestseller lists.


So why, when a customer at the pub offered me the opportunity to borrow Fifty Shades of Grey (E.L. James) from her, did I accept?


Curiosity. That is the only reason I have for it in complete honesty.


I have read clit-lit before. All that genre tends to read as is thinly veiled fantasies of men writing under female pseudonyms - the plumber need to unblock a pipe wink wink? YAWN. In case you were interested the books that I read were from a series called Black Lace that I 'borrowed' from a friend and subsequently returned as quickly as I took them. I was 17.


So what do I think of this new front-of-the-book-store erotica? Possibly most talked about piece of publishing of 2012?


Firstly I didn't enjoy reading it at all. It felt uncomfortable because I couldn't actually relate to any of the characters in the book. Can I relate to Jane Austen's Emma? Yes. Even though she was conjured into existence nearly 200 years ago the way she meddles in her friend's love lives and the way she acts is believable and fitting with the themes of that age. Can I relate to Anastasia Steele? No.


I've been 21 and I can assure you that almost every girl I know is not virginal by that age (although there will be some exceptions obviously). I can't bring myself to sit there and believe that a Caucasian American female, with friends a vivacious as Kate and an education that seems to be a very well read and vast one, would a) never have heard of any form of BDSM before, b) have never had a boyfriend if she looks as beautiful as Christian Grey continually reaffirms that she is or c) just be that naive.


That being said there are parts of Christian's character that I do see as realistic: the need for control, the wealth at his age (if Mark Zuckerberg can do it...) and those expressions that look like he's having a private joke (Dave looks like that on a regular basis although in a less sinister way).


As for the writing itself: it's incredibly repetitive. If Ana 'flushed' that often she would walk around with a face as red as a raspberry. It was irritating if I'm going to be completely honest and I simply couldn't get to grips with the sentence structures or the descriptive imagery. There were chapters written in the style of a B-grade GCSE student where the vocabulary read simply as grouped together synonyms and a few sex scenes thrown in but there were also chapters where I felt that I could read and read and read because the eloquence of the writing flowed beautifully.


And the sex?


I clinched my own thighs together in mock-pain sometimes but over all I think those scenes were better written than anything I have read like this before. It was good to see emotion added to the situation, a woman's touch from a female author - something male authors find incredibly difficult to articulate into words (and therefore the giveaway as to men writing for Black Lace in my opinion). Some of it was a little unnecessary but I suppose if the book is about Dominant and Submissive relationships there obviously has to be a certain amount of spanking alluded to - even if not a lot of it was actually carried out (vanilla? anyone?).


Over all I am on the fence about this book: I didn't enjoy reading it but the concept was a great idea. It was good to see a female author choosing to ignore the usual male fantasy guidelines for how erotica should be written and has set a bench mark for future publishings of this nature.


Do I think that this will empower women into asking for what they want/openly admitting these are the relationships they secretly want? I'm not getting into the whole feminist debate over this - too many opinions and ideas have already been shouted out. For now all I shall say is that this is one woman's fantasy that has turned into million of women's fantasies through publishing and PR. Just because other's like it doesn't mean I want my boyfriend to control me or whip me.


Would I recommend it to someone who hasn't read it? Um, well yes and no. It would depend on the person - how open minded they can be and what their usual tendencies towards literature are. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that likes their books to be well written though.


I doubt I will be reading the other two in this trilogy but at least I can now say that I have the read the first and it was 'an experience'. Now please excuse me whilst I indulge myself in a spot of Oscar Wilde...


These are all of my own views and opinions, which may differ greatly from others. I am not a scholarly expert in English or Creative Writing.  Please take that into consideration if you comment below as I know that my view is not the popular view of this book. Thank you.

14 comments:

  1. Over all the first two books in my opinion were OK. The third, was pointless, felt like she was rushing to finish it. Yes, it's repetitive but you can sort of cope with it in the first two, but by the third I wanted to throw the book out of the window. I felt I was forced to finish it even though I was losing interest. I was very disappointed. I like saucy books/erotic novels etc, but I felt let down by this trilogy. I agree its also very hard to believe within the female character persona.
    Great review Helen :) xo

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    1. Thank you lovely - I won't be reading the second and definitely not the third if it was rushed like you say. It would drive me mad! xxx

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    2. I agree with Vicky, by the third book I had completely lost interest and was barely bothered about reading it!!
      Great post, agree with so many of the things you've said! xx

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    3. Thank you very much :) I hope to be doing some more book reviews very soon :) also I have resigned myself to never touching the second or third book now as everyone says that it's o bad! xxx

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  2. I am in the middle of reading this book, and so far I am feeling exactly the same. I only got it to see what all the fuss was about and I am having to force myself to read it as it really isn't that interesting and I hate leaving books unfinished. I also find it incredibly repetitive and I think that's why I am finding it a bit boring. I do dislike the main character a bit: Never been drunk before, never had sex before, stupidly innocent.. come on! She is a final year university student. She shouldn't be that naive!! It's not all bad, I do like the story line a little, tiny bit. So I will carry on reading to see if it picks up.

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    1. Yup - I agree with what you mean about Ana! Completely unbelievable! Thanks for commenting :) xxx

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  3. I refuse to read this book, mainly because of people claiming it is 'life changing and new', anyone read lady Chatterlys lover, gah it winds me up that people think this. Ohwell if you like it, you like it!

    Sophierosehearts x

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    1. I know the book you're referring to! I never thought to add a comparison to that! It isn't new or life changing - you're right about that but I do think that it changes the way erotica will be viewed for the next few generations maybe... Thank you for commenting :) xxx

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  4. I read the books for the same reason - to see what all the fuss was about. I had been planning to write my own reviews of the 2nd and 3rd books, but yours puts my thoughts into words exactly! Your review is so brilliantly written, I don't feel the need to write mine now! I love the way you write, you have such a great style. x

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    1. Aww thank you but you should write them if you were planning to - a lot of people would love to read what you think! Thank you for saying you love the way I write - I write how I think and speak haha which always sounds a little scathing in my head :| But thank you very much - glad you liked the review! xxx

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  5. I completely agree! There are points you mentioned (Ana being as naive and inexperienced relationship wise etc) which I never really picked up on but definitely agree with! I thought tons of sentences were repeated, even more so in the next two. A popular one is 'my thighs clenched deliciously' which I always smother at because the adjective sounds out of place. Heh. The first is the best, though I must admit towards the end of the third I could not put it down because so much crazy, unrealistic yet interesting stuff happens. There really is no point to the second. I want to move on to The Story of O by Pauline Reage. That's supposes to be good and came out in the 1930's so won't be as far fetched I imagine! Have you heard of it?
    I loved this post by the way! :)
    Mia x

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    1. 'Flush', 'Delicious', 'Mouth twitched', 'Insides ignited' (or whatever she says) - basically there is nothing new and it's all a bit boring. I haven't heard of that book before but you've piqued my interest with it so I will have to investigate now! Thanks for the tip Mia :) xxx

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    2. Haha, that is very true! I haven't read it by the way, I need to get my mittens on it! :) x

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  6. Ahh, so you did read it then! Ugh, isn't it just so cringeworthy and rubbish? I absolutely hated the character of Anastasia, she was just so irritating and unconvincing - as you say, no one is that naive. I didn't find the sex erotic, I found it plain embarrassing, especially as it was described through Anastasia's eyes.
    All the lip-biting and head-cocking was ridiculously repetitive and by about chapter 20 (and I'm surprisedI got that far) I put itdown, never to be picked up again. I just can't bring myselfto be remotely arsed about what happens next and I can safely say that I will not be reading either of the other two books in the trilogy.
    Mel xx

    melswallofmirrors.blogspot.co.uk

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