Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Fifty Shades of Fluff...

So in the news... E. L. James... "Fifty Shades of Grey" and the other two fifty books... Caught my eye... supposedly the hottest new best seller... very graphic... rumored to have ignited libidos across America... reputed to have "saved some marriages???"  And hints at BDSM??? Okay... can't pass that up. 

Downloaded the digital version to my Kindle app.  Writing nothing to rave about but easy to read... and in my opinion the craft should never over shadow the story... starts out like any fluffy romance novel.  Premises hard to believe... Anastasia (why oh why are the female protagonists given such extravagant names) is still a virgin as she is about to graduate from college.  Seems oblivious about this fact being somewhat unusual.  (In fact, Anastasia seems pretty damn oblivious about a lot of stuff.  Like birth control...)  Christian Grey is handsome beyond description and rich... super billionaire rich... super, super, super billionaire rich... hard to believe for someone not yet thirty.

At first meeting there is instant and knee melting (not to mention loins) attraction.   

But I must say that James does manage to communicate sexual tension very well... and it is a page turner. 

Christian Grey instantly turns into some kind of stalker and instead of being creeped out... Anastasia cannot help but get swept off her feet.  Well what girl could turn down a helicopter trip for a first date.

But this Christian Grey guy seems to have some secrets, and some seriously quirky things going on... oh my what is wrong with him...

Turns out he is seriously into D/s... Secret dungeon in his penthouse and everything.  (Oh, no's).

And he insists she sign a contract agreeing to be his submissive before he even touches her.  (Classic off the internet contract... soft limits... hard limits... safe words...  Pulease...).

So there she is, contract in hand... getting tours of kink dungeons... and a VIRGIN... and she does not run screaming from the building.  Well, to tell you the truth... he is a billionaire and very handsome... and of course she has already fallen in love at first sight...

And of course when she confesses her complete lack of experience he cannot resist touching... without contract or commitments... And once again I must admit... that E. L. James lady can write a sex scene.  Worked for me... just enough emotion mixed in with sensation, not too graphic... (I am starting to appreciate the fine art of euphamism.)

The rest of the book is about this evolving love story... Anastasia must find out what made him like this... what horrible things happened to him that made him broken and how can she fix him.  And Christian had some seriously bad things happen... childhood neglect and torture... teenage sexual victimazation by a cougar that was seriously into D/s and taught him everything she knew. 

The love story is fairly predicable... if the timeline is seriously accelerated.  The sex is frequent and just graphic enough to get my motor running. 

Anastasia has no problems with bondage or kinky sex... (such a dirty girl) though learns she cannot ever be a "heavy bottom" (though James never uses that kind of verbage)... What Anastasia cannot do is accept the heavy control issues Christian has outside the bedroom.  And it is her goal to 'fix' him with her love.

I think my biggest complaint is the assumption that there is something wrong with him... something that must be fixed.  And the rediculousness of how insanely rich or handsome or beautiful everyone has to be. 

Would I recommend it?  Sure... great wank fodder.  Story is classic romance... the kinkiness is pretty bland kinky... vanilla with a few sprinkles... that Christian guy is not all that bent, take my word for it.

Would it save a marriage?  I doubt it... but I must confess being a lot more snuggly while I read it.   

6 comments:

  1. yep, that was my view of the book too. Sigh... it pisses me off that the author thinks he needs fixing.

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  2. I don't think he's far off the mark here. Let's face it, we're all (me included) are into BDSM due to some psychological trauma or another. There isn't one person I know into the D/s scene that hasn't experienced some sort of tragic event, bad relationship, physical/sexual/emotional abuse - or otherwise. I'm not saying this lifestyle is bad, but I think it's awfully bold to state that none of us needs fixing mentally.

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  3. I think you nailed it. Pretty dead on characterization of the book.

    My biggest issue was not that he was broken, but that she felt she could fix him. That is such a horrible stereotype, that all a broken man needs is the love of a good woman.Terrible things for girls to learn and internalize.So untrue.

    Is there anyone that has never experienced a tragic event, some kind of abuse (bullying?),or a bad relationship? It's life.

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  4. "Is there anyone that has never experienced a tragic event, some kind of abuse (bullying?),or a bad relationship? It's life."

    @little monkey - Exactly. So it's stupid to say he (or anyone in real life) doesn't need fixing.

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  5. Oh, and P.S. Not only she was a virgin, but she had never masturbated, but was instantly and multiply orgasmic... um... never??? Pulease.

    Weighing in on the "fixing the broken man" thing... well I think we all respond to our traumas in a myriad of ways... and you can infer that his compulsion to control was just another way to protect himself from further injury... but I question the premis that "all" people who are into BDSM are somehow coming to it from a place of trauma... there has to be some body who was just born kinky.

    And I have to second Monkey's opinion that broken or not... that the "love of a good woman will fix everything"... again... PULEASE.

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  6. And youall already said everything that needs to be said. All i need to do is agree.

    Haven't read it yet, and won't put it at the top of my list, but might have to try it. Thanks for the review, Xantu!

    aisha

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