EL James milks 50 Shades but Grey is flaccid

A review of Grey the latest book by EL James, author of the 50 Shades trilogy

Grey released on 18 June (Christian Grey’s birthday) the latest installment from EL James, author of the 50 Shades Trilogy, is already topping the best seller charts but be warned that you’ll probably suffer from buyer’s remorse because it will leave you hanging.

James claims that the fans begged for this book. Of course based on the sheer global numbers of people who bought the trilogy (around 125 million) and the additional people who contributed to the US$288 million in tickets sales for the movie, it is forgone conclusion that Grey would be a chart topper and an opportunity that James could not pass up even though her efforts disappoint.

In Grey, Christian Grey comes across as a husk of a man, hollow on the inside. He has the same internal dialogue that Ana had in the previous books, clearly James’ writing style and although the book is marketed as the story from Christian Grey’s perspective, it is flat and lacking.

If it was written by someone else, they would be hauled off for plagiarism as Grey recounts the story, mostly in exactly the same way it was told in 50 Shades of Grey (the first book). My biggest gripe is that it is a woman’s perspective on what a man’s thought processes are and because of this Grey comes across as indecisive and insecure, not traits one would associate with a control-freak and an uber-successful person. James attempt to humanise Grey in fact diminishes and somewhat annihilates his allure and personality that readers would have deduced from the earlier three books.

It covers the same ‘scenes’ with about 80% of the content feeling de ja vu because the reader is in Grey’s head and hearing his internal processing of the parts of the book that they would have read from Anna’s perspective before. There are very few scenes where it is new information (mostly Grey recounting his happy memories in his grandfather’s apple orchard and one scene where he reminisces in a dream of being Elana’s submissive).

There is no new ‘blanks’ filled in as the reader already knows the backstory. He also comes across as a pissy, whiny girl who can’t make up his mind. He likes to keep his staff guessing about how he likes his coffee and this isn’t a sign of a control-freak who knows what he wants and when he wants it. He also comes across as obnoxious and deliberately insensitive and rude towards his staff for no particular reason other than wanting to enforce his authority as the boss.

James was quoted as saying that she’s working on another book and I anticipate that we can expect at least two more books from Christian’s perspective as Grey concludes when he tries to win Anastasia back after he belted her as punishment for the first time and she leaves him.   

 

Fifty shades a pop (porn) culture phenomenon

50 Shades has definitely been an enigma that has die-hard fans (a woman read it 73 times!) and has equally confounded many who seem to question its popularity. Critics abound, they've disparaged the writing, the story, the authenticity of the characters and it's even been dubbed mommy porn.  Let's face it... men love visuals and women love to visualise. We are seduced by words and like our imaginations to run wild. We also buy into the fairytales that we were told as kids like Snow White and Cinderella. Although we are smart enough to know better, many women still believe in 'prince charming' even though he's a figment of our imagination. Fifty Shades is a modern day fairytale and it is a pop culture phenomenon.

There's something about Fifty Shades that piqued my interest. I remember when I read it in 2011 on a flight to San Francisco undeterred by the fact that I was seated next to a nun. At every airport and in every plane on my journey, women were glued to the pages of Fifty Shades or the screens of their iPads.

50 Shades has caused somewhat of a sexual awakening among women and got many to talk and even experiment with the suggestions in the book. While James is not the pioneer of the genre as there have been tons of books along the same lines, her books have definitely popularised the subject. It has piqued womens' interest in BDSM, handcuffs, riding crops and sex toys.  The release of her books spiked sales in the sex toy industry, which was expected to boom even further after the release of the 50 Shades movie and James capitalised on this opportunity as well releasing her own range of 50 Shades toys.

I'm no sexologist, but of course any rational thinking person would take from the trilogy what most resonated with them. I don't know much about the BDSM scene and therefore I will not judge it. Although Christian says to Anastasia that it is more about pleasure than punishment, my  take out from the book was that the difference between the activities Christian and Ana engage in is that it is consensual rather than abusive, when one partner does not agree to it.

James’ books will rub the feminist in you up the wrong way as it perpetuates the ‘traditional’ roles of men as the provider, protector and care-giver. Ana’s confliction about her and Christian’s relationship is that she feels like a whore, having to accept extravagant gifts in exchange for her obedience and submission. But this seems to be acceptable in this type of relationship.

Of course it goes without saying that each relationship is different and you should communicate about what you want, what your limits are, what is pleasurable and what's not...  You need to find the healthy balance regarding what you are ok with.

I found the psychology of the submissive fascinating and went on to read The Diary of a Submissive, which is a real-life story by Sophie Morgan who succumbs to the BDSM lifestyle.

What is 50 Shades about?

Fifty Shades is about soon-to-graduate Anastatia Steele who interviews the megalomanic Christian Grey and the intertwining of their paths subsequently. For her it is pretty much love at first sight, literally not having had a boyfriend before, and for him an opportunity to acquire a new sub.

But at the heart of the story, the irony being that he proclaims he doesn't have one, it is the story of someone saving someone. However, it's not who you imagine the saviour being. So Christian is unbelievably beautiful but with the same token is equally as emotionally scarred. He is beyond filthy rich, apparently earning $100 000 per day or per hour, I can't remember, and also an unbelievable philanthropist who is saving half of Africa. While Ana is quite naive and insecure, wrestling with her subconscious and her inner goddess, she is somewhat of a Florence Nightingale determined to rescue and save Christian. Some of the writing is a lot of dribble and exaggerated, like Ana's first fellatio experience, which is as believable as Snow White being jolted awake when the piece of apple is dislodged from her throat. 

But yet, there is something about James' writing in the trilogy that makes you sit for hours and turn the pages and not want to stop reading, testament to her TV-screenwriting days. It's not the typical book I read, I haven't grown up on an unhealthy dose of Mills and Boons, the stuff I read is titled 'self-help' on the catergory boards in bookstores or biographies. I love peoples' stories and books about improving yourself. But Fifty Shades is a holiday read. It's a page-turner that doesn't require you to expend any brain cells. It's entertaining and will leave you as wet and wanton as Ana!!!