Title: Book Review- Fifty Shades Of Grey
By: E.L James
This review is sponsored by: http:/www.mysmartprice.com
About the Author (From the book):
E L James is a TV executive, wife
and mother of two, based in West London. Since early childhood, she dreamt of
writing stories that readers would fall in love with, but put those dreams on
hold to focus on her family and her career. She finally plucked up the courage
to put pen to paper with her first novel, Fifty Shades of Grey. She is also the
author of Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.
ISBN: 9780099579939
Cover Price: Rs.
399.00
Rating: 3/5
Something about the book (from the Book’s cover):
When literature student Anastasia
Steele interviews successful entrepreneur Christian Grey, she finds him very
attractive and deeply intimidating. Convinced that their meeting went badly,
she tries to put him out of her mind- until he turns up at the store where she
works part-time, and invites her out.
Unworldly and innocent, Ana is
shocked to find she wants this man. And, when he warns her to keep her
distance, it only makes her want him more.
But Grey is tormented by inner
demons, and consumed by the need to control. As they embark on a passionate
love affair, Ana discovers more about her own desires, as well as the dark
secrets he keeps hidden from public view.
Now for my View:
Fifty
Shades of Grey, the first installment of the Fifty Shades Trilogy, was first published in the year 2011 and
since then it has reportedly sold over 65 million copies worldwide. In-fact it
has also evidently surpassed the Harry Potter series as the fastest selling paperback
of all time. As a result of the clamor around it, I also decided to give it a
try. I wanted to see what the reason was for the book to be talked about sarcastically
in literary circles when it had topped bestseller lists around the world. The whole
equation seemed conflicting to me but then again if Chetan Bhagat could be ‘successful’, E.L James authoring a best
seller was very much an acceptable concept to me! Also, my research on the
internet about the series had augmented my curiosity manifolds; again for the
simple reason that the book, which apparently sold millions and millions of
copies, had more negative than positive reviews. So I picked up the book to
discover, if I might say so, the mystery behind the overwhelming success of fifty shades of Grey!
Being an erotic romance novel, it wasn't a surprise that the book was based on sexual tension, passion and
submission between the two main characters, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steel.
There have been erotic novels around for a long time but I don’t recall reading
about any other book of the same variety garnering success equivalent to Fifty Shades of Grey. E.L James has managed
to write on a subject that is often spoken in hushed tones accompanied with
raised eyebrows. There is an unwritten code apparently when it comes to talking
about fiction such as this. In-fact there always has been some sort of
apprehension among people from even coming forth and admitting that they have actually
read the book. It is wrong to pick up the book knowing that it is erotic
fiction and expect it to be some sort of an intellectual read. For those who
are not truly comfortable about reading nuances of intimacy between a man and woman,
the book might be uncomfortable to hold on to. The same was the case with me
too but it was a challenge as well to read it with an open and unbiased mind. In
doing so I managed to find the book honest in terms of fiction on the subject
it dealt with.
The book is about a twenty two year
old young girl, Anastasia, who falls head over heels in love with a young billionaire
businessman, Christian. But is that love or just raw sexual attraction? The
pull however is not one sided for Christian too seems to feel an uncontrollable
urge to be with her. The conflict of whether the strange draw they feel is love
or some sort of erotic power play is basically the central story line of this
book. It also had depictions of restraint, sensory stimulation, role-playing,
and a variety of interpersonal dynamics between these two consenting adults. It
is a herculean task indeed to speak about sex in a novel and not be explicit
about it. E.L James has managed to do it in a non-metaphorical and verbatim manner,
which is brave perhaps considering it was her first book! Fifty Shades of Grey could actually be referred to as the Mills & Boon packaged specifically for
this generation.
What perhaps is the bone of
contention among readers is the quality of the language used in the book.
Whether it could have been better? Certainly, there are times when you would wish
that the language was superior. Whether it is too kinky to be even called a
bestseller? Well, since the genre of the book is erotic fiction it would be
silly to expect it to not dwell extensively on the subject. So in that genre it
certainly could be and has been so for over a year! Whether the depiction of
the female protagonist as too submissive is a good thing? Certainly not and the
female protagonist’s character could have been carved in a manner that didn't objectify her urges; or her whole personality. The characters in the book
including Christian Grey too could have been sketched in a better manner. A lot
of British colloquialisms as well have been used in a story about American
characters which could have been avoided with some research.
Read it to find out what is it that
makes the book tick. A word of advice however, this book should not be read with
the expectation to find an underlying message about relationships and intimacy.
Nevertheless there must be something in Fifty
Shades of Grey for every other book that is published doesn't go on to become
a bestseller, does it? But this certainly has in-spite of all the flak!
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