SPOILER ALERT!! If you haven't read the books yet and don't want to know what happens, don't read this!
Fifty Shades of Grey - what is all the fuss about? This was a question that kept cropping up in my mind as I saw various people talking about this trilogy of books online. Without doing too much digging I found out it was a series of books written about kinky sex originally written as Twilight fan fiction. Most people (and by people I mean women) who had read the books were in two camps; first camp were huge fans and addicted to the series, the second slated the books as poorly written, thinly disguised fan fiction. Intrigued, and intent on making my own mind up, I bought the first book from Amazon.
Fifty Shades of Grey took me about 48 hours to read. It is one of those books you read and think 'just one more chapter' before realising you've been sat on the sofa for 6 hours reading and have forgotten to eat, feed the cat or even go to the toilet. It does keep you wanting to read a little bit more and makes you wonder what will happen next while you're not reading it. It is compelling and easy to read, although I wouldn't recommend reading it on the bus.
The main character, Ana, really frustrated me in the first book; she was foolish, clumsy and made lots of mistakes. I often found myself mentally screaming "NOOOOO!" or "what are you doing?" as she blundered through the story. I did however, give her the benefit of the doubt. She was a young woman with no experience in dating or sex, no real idea of who she was or what she wanted to do. She had little self confidence and did not even seem slightly interested in the various young men in her life that wanted to be involved with her. I had high hopes that she would evolve into a stronger, more confident woman as the series progressed. In short, she was a blank canvas that just screamed out for some paint.
Mr Grey, on the other hand, was a different story. An exceedingly rich and confident man, oozing control and sexuality, he decided what he wanted and that he would have it. In this case, he wanted Ana and he was going to have her no matter what. Not used to being told no, he pursues her as she stumbles through finishing university and getting her fist job. Early on we start to see little cracks in his armour though; he has second thoughts about being with Ana and warns her off, only to be drawn to her again. He then explains what he wants from her and that's when the 'kinky fuckery' begins. As the books progress we see more chinks in Christian Grey's carefully constructed facade and we begin to understand why he is this way. Underneath the cold exterior is a little lost boy.
The kinky fuckery (as coined by the book) is probably the reason the books have done so well and I can't fault it at all. (Who would?) We get an introduction to the world of BDSM and what it entails, although Ana doesn't seem to fully grasp the complete concept all at once. A contract is drawn up and various 'soft' and 'hard' limits are discussed, as well as 'safewords' (to be used if she wasn't enjoying it and was hurt). It was explained well and the inclusion of the contract and clauses word for word in the book was a plus. I'd have hated a brief description. Once the sex starts it is aptly described and well thought out. As she is a virgin to start with, the first time is 'vanilla' - pretty straight with no frills. Once we get to the point where the characters enter the 'playroom' things really go up several notches and gets very sexual.
As the first book drew to a close I was wondering how it would end, with only a few pages left. I was in for a bit of a shock and was left mentally shouting "NOOOO you idiot!" quite a bit. Once it was finished I was left with a lot of questions and felt a little like I'd had sex but no orgasm (ha ha). I was angry at Ana for being an idiot and walking out, especially when she didn't use the safeword and expected Mr Grey to be something other than what he was. She asked him to do what he did and then basically had a huge hissy fit and left.
I bought Fifty Shades Darker a week later (after reading a different book in between) and again spent about 2 days reading it. Obviously the two get back together, after both realising that they can't function without the other. We start to see more of Christian's vulnerability and his feelings start to surface, something that has in the past been controlled and held in check. Ana starts to become more independent and has less bouts of blushing and stumbling about (thank goodness!). There were of course still moments where my subconscious was yelling "Noooo!" but they were becoming less frequent although Ana does make a few huge blunders that left me asking "What the fuck is she doing?" She also starts to accept Christian's outrageously expensive gifts (I mean who wouldn't?) with more grace and begins to find her own style of dressing and appearance as well as some sense of who she is and what she wants to do. The canvas has a splash of colour on it. She does still have hang ups about Christian's various exes and his past but if we remind ourselves this is her first boyfriend then this could be forgiven. As a side note I had my first boyfriend at 14 and would have probably reacted in a similar fashion.
The email and text exchanges between Ana and Christian are great, I like the witty responses, the fact that things are changes such as the title of the email or the signature, and sometimes this wouldn't be obvious until you go back and check. I was actually giggling off and on at some parts. By now the relationship has progressed and it never entered the contract phase, instead becoming something neither character has experienced before - boyfriend and girlfriend. They grope their way through their feelings and experiences, both making mistakes along the way. Christian becomes more vulnerable the more his wounds from the past are opened but he is making progress, becoming more open and loving with his family as well as Ana. An element of danger is also introduced; this isn't just a love story any more, someone is trying to kill Christian. I made a short list and when the suspect is revealed at the end of book 2, this person is on my list. Christian asks Ana to marry him (it's been just a few weeks since they met) but in the end she says yes and it's all happy smiling faces. Well, apart from the bitchy ex Dom of Christian's and the stalker/psycho who wants to kill them.
Fifty Shades Freed is the third and final part. It's 3 months after the proposal and the couple are on their honeymoon. We get a brief reminiscence of what the wedding was like before coming back to the present to discover what is happening. There are the usual blunders (Ana seems intent of making silly mistakes and not thinking things through) which make the usual screaming noise inside my head, but as the book progresses she finally does start to think about things more before going off the deep end although this doesn't really happen until nearly the end. Better late than never! We learn more about Christian's dark past and see him start to understand his own turmoil and he does try not to be so controlling and angry.
I have to say though, I noted on page 92 that Ana was acting a bit odd (hormonal) and said to myself I bet she's pregnant. 350 pages later she found out she was. She should have asked me! I would have told her. Anyway, this book also has the element of danger as the psycho tries again to cause trouble, starting fires, following them and attempting to kidnap Ana. At one point I was reminded of the 80s show 'Hart to Hart' where the rich couple were always in danger from people trying to get their money or after the pretty wife. But it made the plot more interesting and obviously gave them both the mental breakthroughs they needed to get past their hang ups and have a more 'normal' life (or as normal a life as a bajillionaire and his missus can have).
The thing about Ana is that she was a little predictable, as far as her reactions to Christian's rules and ideas. The thing about Christian was that you never knew how he was going to react at all to any given situation (apart from sex that is) so it made for an interesting and unpredictable plot. There would be times when you'd think 'he's going to go mad' and he wouldn't, and times when he would get mad over the smallest thing. But the unpredictability made it a book that was hard to put down (another 48 hour turnaround for me). They were a little like order and chaos, with Christian being order and Ana being chaos. As they progress the roles are somewhat reversed and Christian becomes the chaotic one whilst Ana is more orderly. The character progression is good, and although very little real time passes, the changes are encouraging. The blank canvas from book one is now a picture worth looking at. Of course there's a happy ending (although personally I don't see 'married with kids' as the ultimate female goal but that's just me) and once finished I do think there isn't anything more to add. All the questions are answered and life is complete.
The things I really liked about the book were;
1. the emails/letters/texts in full detail (some were funny and they delivered, I like as much info as I can get and then discern my own ideas and clues about what is to come)
2. the 'characters' of Ana's inner goddess and subconscious (they often had props and clothing and would do things such as dance, scowl, laugh or tut at Ana's various thoughts and deeds, sometimes a source of comedy in the story)
3. the little snippets from Christian's perspective at the end of the third book
4. the supporting cast of characters that were varied and actually memorable (I sometimes find myself reading a book and forgetting who is who)
5. the kinky fuckery (after all this is what sells the books, let's face it! But it was very adequately described and I had no problem picturing what was where, it was very hot and sensual and was neither too short or too long.
6. the playroom (Again well described, I could picture it exactly and actually found myself laughing at the use of the phrase 'the butt drawer' to describe the drawer with butt plugs and anal devices in.)
There were some things I was not so keen on;
1. on a purely personal level, I preferred earlier, control freak Christian, but that's just me. When he starts to open up I do feel for him but picturing him as a little lost boy kinda puts water on the fire.
2. the sex never seemed to last more than a few minutes, and the orgasms were very very easy to obtain. Obviously a description of hours of sex would make the book longer and possibly be too much, but in my personal experience sometimes sex lasts for longer than a few minutes. Also, the whole orgasm thing; I was hoping for something a little more descriptive than 'exploding around him' and then going to jelly. There are different orgasms in different places and I feel this could have been explored and described in more detail. Again this could just be a personal thing, orgasms are different for everyone.
3. one of my main peeves throughout the books was the way Ana behaved towards Christian and the way she was very immature at times. I did give her the benefit of the doubt, trying to constantly remind myself what I was like when I fist started dating etc, but at times I did want to throttle her. I believe (I could be wrong) that this was deliberate; to make you howl at her inside your head while fervently turning the pages to find out what her punishment is going to be this time. You'd read along and think, yes, she totally deserves that spanking. But part of me couldn't help thinking what my other half would do if I behaved in a similar manner. He'd probably have kicked me out years ago!
4. having not read Twilight (at 39 I considered myself too old for teenage vampire romps) I can't compare the main character of Ana with that of Bella from the Twilight books she was supposedly originally based on. However, knowing that it started as Twilight fan fiction did mar it a little for me. I kept expecting vampires that glittered to pop up at any moment. After the first book however, this vanished as it took on a life of its own that clearly had nothing to do with sparkly teen vampires.
5. I'm still not 100% sure about the whole 'happy ever after' thing that involved having a bunch of kids. For a middle aged childless woman, the shining ideal of every woman ultimately becoming a mother just doesn't appeal to me. I realise of course that this is meant for the masses and I presume (I don't know) that most women see themselves settling down and popping out sprogs at some point in the future (if they haven't already). I also realise that the ending is happy because the main characters see this as the fruition of all their labours. This is their happy place, not mine. I just hope this doesn't make people think that all any woman wants is to meet a man and have loads of kids.
That being said, all in all there are more pros than cons. The books were enjoyable, easy to read and rather addictive. They made me think about my own relationship and how hard I am on my poor long suffering man. I didn't fall in love with Mr Grey or have a hard time coping with the aftermath of the books, but I did enjoy them for what they are; a good story, with a lot of kinky fuckery. I've heard there's a chance of a film; I hope they convey the same order/chaos and building of characters as the walls come down and do not just turn it into a movie about sex. There's more to read here than just porn.
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