Everyone else has an opinion on the 'Fifty Shades Trilogy’ by E.L. James so I thought it was time for mine.
According to Zoe Williams from theguardian.co.uk 'It's the fastest selling adult novel of all time.' This obviously shows the type of fiction the masses of the 21st Century want to read, albeit mainly women. It’s even a source of relaxation for the Olympians! Alicia Coutts Australian swimmer says in The Herald Sun 'Most of the swimming girls are reading Fifty Shades of Grey. We’re all talking about it.' However the majority of the reviews have been quite negative and dismissive. The books have been universally labelled as 'Mummy Porn' tying in with the creation of 'TwiMoms' from the 'Twilight Saga' of Stephanie Meyer. Which incidentally, the fifty shades books originated from in fan-fiction form.
You can see that the plot of this trilogy does loosely follow that of the saga, minus the vampires and in the place of abstinence, Fifty Shades of course has S&M. Set in Seattle; it follows Anastasia Steel a university student who covers for her room-mate last minute to interview Christian Grey a gorgeous business mogul. Evidently a romance ensues, and it depicts Christian as the unbelievably rich sadist with the dark past and Ana as the virgin student who is clumsy with low self-esteem (remind you of anyone... *cough* Bella)
Escapeintolife.com finds her character lacking 'First of all, Ana manages to graduate college without ever being drunk, ever having sex, and without owning a laptop.' Personally I think there are other ways to criticise the characters as owing to personality and financial means, all of the above could actually be possible. As the recent Channel 4 documentary highlighted, Ana has sex on a very regular basis and never seems to contract cystitis! We can also allow that she is aroused frequently given that Christian is supposed to be an Adonis; however the books suggest that she can orgasm on cue, repeatedly! A feat most women would admit is not altogether realistic!
When it comes to Christian I am less affronted by his bedroom habits and more by his traits as a boyfriend. The perks of his wealth may be that Ana has access to every technical gadget on the market, but that also means that he is always aware of her whereabouts and practically stalks her to ensure her safety. Irrelevant of his looks, I have to hope that most young women of today wouldn’t desire this trait in a boyfriend.
The negative hype circling these books refers not only to the implausible storyline but also the repetitive language used. 'if you drink every time the author uses “wicked grin” and “flushed crimson” you will be blackout-drunk by Chapter 4' escapeintolife.com. I am still a firm champion of the book, as it has made me laugh out loud on several occasions with witty humour and I find I can relate to the character of Ana. However, I must admit that even I am now getting a tad bored with the reoccurrence of themes and sentence structure. I mean, how many times can you read about a body shattering orgasm? 'I shatter once more, pulsing around him' Ana Steele.
However there are some reviewers that have tried so hard to dislike the books that they have moved past exaggeration and hurled straight into the ridiculous! Physiologist Carole Sawo in The Daily Mail has labelled the book as 'glorified sex abuse', She goes on to say that young fans will 'learn of the many faces of sickness only when it's their own blood on the bedroom carpet' Furthermore, she proudly admits 'I haven’t read the book and never will' Why should we even listen to your opinion then? I was outraged at the Daily Mail for even printing it! (I hope she publishes a book one day so I can slate it without reading it.)
I believe that these books, like Twilight are a fantasy. They provide some light relief from the daily grind. Well, for those that aren’t opposed to reading about BDSM, spanking and butt plugs (all consensual of course). I honestly can't see what people are getting so hot and bothered about. It’s not real-life it’s a fantasy and Christian doesn’t force Ana into anything. Throughout the book each character has a choice and now you have one too. You could be like our friend Carole Sawo and read the reviews and decide, or actually read the books and make up your own mind.
Either way always remember the famous quote; (I havent a clue who said it as I have only heard it from my Dad!)
'Opinions are like assholes. Everybody's got one and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks.'
I'm sure E.L James is laughing her way to the bank and doesn’t care either way!
