Handcuffs: Not for me, thanks.
Few literary successes shock me at this point in my life, but the trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey selling 20 million copies in the first year is mindboggling. A friend “loaned” me the first Fifty Shades, telling me she couldn’t get through it. She wanted my opinion. The first thing I noticed was how badly it was written, and how repetitious. By the time I got to the handcuffs and spanking, I was too caught up in the sophomoric phrases like, “my inner goddess tells me, no,” and the constant repetition of “oh crap,” among other things to get into the porn side of it. Maybe it’s a function of having lived a full and satisfying life that makes me perplexed as to why anyone would want to read this—well—“crap.”
I spoke to my friend, also in her sixties who raised 4 children in a small Ohio town. She told me that while she was stuck in the house on snowy grey days in winter, she “escaped” into romance novels. Where is the romance in S&M and bondage?
It’s disturbing to imagine how many young women are reading these books. Women have come so far, but fantasize about being dominated?
I’m happy for the author, E.L. James. I’d be happier if it were my personal success—but with a different subject matter. I guess at my age, I want simple, uncomplicated and happy good reading and not kinky. Life is too short for bad books.
2 Comments
I’m on the third book. I agree that it is poorly written, very repetitious, and well un-realistic and often time disgusting. However, it is a good book in that it’s a very easy read, it’s not serious, and after a long day at work when my brain is fried and done thinking, I can easily pick up this book and forget about my day and read something that is totally silly and easy to read because it doesn’t take much brain power to get through it…sort of like the Shopaholic series. But I also do read a lot of other “good” books too (Kite Runner, Freakonomics, The Glass Castle, etc.). I don’t discriminate; it just depends on my mood.
By book two of fifty shades I was just skipping the sex parts because to be honest I was just over it, same thing over and over again, but what kept me reading is the love story part of it and also the revenge plot, and well everyone is talking about it so I wanted in on the “gossip”. Does this book make me go out and want S&M or be dominated? No. But then again I am 31 and not impressionable. Should teenage girl be reading this? Probably not. I can see why you don’t like it, after-all you are an author so your take on books is going to be different then mine, but sometimes, a girl just needs some crappy books to take the edge off 🙂
Great response. Thanks. Tia