I first came across Fifty Shades of Grey on Twitter, as endless tweets appeared from supermodels and the like, declaring their love for a book entitled Fifty Shades of Grey. At first, I shrugged off all curiosity thinking 'oh this must be the latest celebrity craze and in a couple of weeks' time people will stop talking about this'.
But as the weeks rolled on the commentary on E. L. James' trilogy ceased to stop. I was finally "enslaved", like Ana Steele into googling 'Fifty Shades of Grey', discovering that the genre of the book was a lot more exciting than I first thought. OH so this is why hoards of women are reading it, I thought as I came across a blurb for the book online.
I just like many other women found myself fascinated about this book. I'm not usually one to easily jump on the "bandwagon". But, this book struck me as exciting because it focused on a subject which is normally side-lined in literature and that's sex.
From Lady Chatterley's Lover out steps its 21st century descendent, Fifty Shades of Grey. It is arguable that never before has a book caused so much controversy over its erotic content. I for one have never before read anything so openly brazen from start to finish. E. L. James does certainly not hold back, every single sexual detail is graphically explained to the reader.
Whilst, the media have been eager to label the trilogy as 'Mummy porn', I however see it in a different light. This trilogy may be porn to others, but to me it's a love story with a very erotic and shaded sex life thrown in.
Women are not necessarily reading it because they want to read porn, but because the content is refreshingly honest. Essentially, the narrative does not gloss over anything. It covers every detail acutely, charting Ana Steele's sexual encounters as she becomes thrust into an intense sexual and romantic love affair with Christian Grey.
When have we ever read a book which explains a sexual encounter in such detail? The answer for most is probably never. A lot of authors skirt around "intimate encounters", simply hinting that a couple have sex. But Fifty Shades of Grey strikingly explains every detail.
I would argue that Fifty Shades of Grey liberates women. Due to this book, more women are feeling empowered to talk about sex openly. Women no longer feel the need to hide behind the British reserve, which has made many reluctant to talk about such lewd topics.
As someone who has just recently finished reading the Fifty Shades trilogy all I have for this book is admiration. Yes, the book may not have the eloquent metaphors of classic literature, but its narrative is so utterly convincing and moving. I found it hard to put down each book in the trilogy because they are all so gripping.
Here, we have a young innocent girl with the world before her, a crazy sexual relationship, brooding hero and romantic love story. The Fifty Shades trilogy may not be the next Jane Austen but you can't deny that it has all the elements of a classic love story, bar the explicit sexual detail!
LOVE it or LOATHE it the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy has become a national bestseller, outselling the Harry Potter series on Amazon. So what do you think? Do you fancy a shade of grey or a shade of nothing at at all?
I've been fighting the temptation to read this book because like you said I'm not usually one to jump on the bandwagon, but I was on a commuter train to London last week and it was EVERYWHERE! Actually quite funny to think that all those women were openly reading a book that is so well known for being so erotic and explicit!! Rumour has it that it first began to creep up the charts due to Amazon Kindle sales, due to the fact that when you're using a kindle no-one can see what you're reading lol! x
ReplyDeleteI know it's everywhere, but I didn't let that stop me reading it. It has a truly gripping storyline. There is a reason why everyone is reading it! I think there is a lot of snobbery about it because of its lewd content but that would never stop me reading a book. As a reader I find it more refreshing to read an honest, graphic account than one that's not fully explored. I have to say that I was not embarrassed to read it at all and would proudly admit that I've read it. Although on trains I was conscious that people looked at me funny. A lot of people seem to be using Fifty Shades as their train read! You should definitely read it!
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