"Fifty Shades of Grey"

[njlauren]

One of the things I find interesting is people saying this isn't a great book, in the sense of being literature and such.....has anyone read a lot of what passes for romance novels out there? The male characters in them all can have sex 5 times a night, all have bodies that would make fitness competitors jealous, all have noble souls and are perfectly dedicated to the women in their lives, etc etc....not exactly great literate either. This is a fantasy book that at least is a little different, where the main character is seriously fucked up but the protagonist for some reason is attracted to him. I just read two romance style novels where people who had read her other books were outraged, because the two I read were darker and the main male characters in some ways aren't entirely nice (in one, the male character she falls for owns a nightclub where he has deals with drug dealers to keep them from dealing on site, he is willing to use violence and he apparently is running an escort business), in the other one the main character is kind of a player and has issues that cause that, and is also kind of tough, and people commenting on Amazon and elsewhere were totally put off because the male lead was not perfect, was dark, etc (especially the first one, where the guy is D/s with the girl; not kinky, just D/s). Put it this way, most romance novels to me could cure insomnia, but that is the genre.

I am not really concerned about 50 shades of Gray demonizing BD/SM and quite frankly the people who think that is abuse think BD/SM is abuse anyway, the amount of ignorance even now about it is pretty strong, and a talk show audience generally represents an older, less educated population then the population as a whole *shrug*. I was talking to a young woman who works in my office, who is reading the book, she is in her early 20's, not exactly worldly per se, and when I mentioned to her that the book wasn't about BD/SM, she kind of gave me a look like "Please, I know", and I suspect many people reading it know that as well...and hey, maybe if it gets some people curious, what the heck

 

[mojo23]

I am not really concerned about 50 shades of Gray demonizing BD/SM and quite frankly the people who think that is abuse think BD/SM is abuse anyway, the amount of ignorance even now about it is pretty strong, and a talk show audience generally represents an older, less educated population then the population as a whole *shrug*. I was talking to a young woman who works in my office, who is reading the book, she is in her early 20's, not exactly worldly per se, and when I mentioned to her that the book wasn't about BD/SM, she kind of gave me a look like "Please, I know", and I suspect many people reading it know that as well...and hey, maybe if it gets some people curious, what the heck

You make a good point "if it makes some curious what the heck" thanks!

And yes romance novels are fantasy thats why I read them the men's physiques and the fact that all of them can seem to go all night every night and it the morning too but they are a fun read and thats what is about fun!

 

[Licia]

I haven't read the book as romance isn't my favorite. 'Tis the local buzz, however...

My best girlfriend has said that since reading the novel, she's finally begun to think about her own needs for once. If that's the only positive, I say read away ladies.

 

[FurryFury]

I'm continually impressed with the "viral" publicity engine this thing (which I've mostly heard bad opinions of), have gained.

 

[njlauren]

Mojo-
Yep, Not knocking romance stories/novels and the like, just pointing out they are fantasies...actually, I have been reading some of the adult romance books, and some of them are pretty damn good, some good characters and fun plots....and quite honestly, they may not be 'great books' but I always liked what Twain said about great books, that they are books people think they should read but don't want to read.

To give you an idea of the viral nature this book has, it started off as an e-book from a small publisher, and i believe right now it is #1 on the Times e-book and print book bestseller lists..and managed to sell 100,000 copies when it was still the e-book only.

 

[Stella_Omega]

I am not really concerned about 50 shades of Gray demonizing BD/SM ...

It doesn't. Not in the least.

 

[DVS]

I'm continually impressed with the "viral" publicity engine this thing (which I've mostly heard bad opinions of), have gained.

That's what's bothered me. I think it comes from the lack of understanding that the vanilla society has about BDSM. Like the story I saw about it in the media...they seemed to label BDSM was all dark and mysterious.

Maybe that's true at one extreme, but there are a lot who just dabble in bondage and spanking, similar to this story. I also think many of the more vanilla women who enjoy this story don't know the sex is BDSM. BDSM is still a mystery to a lot of people. They still talk about it in whispers.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Aquote from a blogger friend of mine:

I finally read Fifty Shades of Grey (and: honesty! Fifty Shades of Darker, and part of Fifty Shades Freed before I got bored) and dude, I have so many feelings. To wit: DUDE, THESE NOVELS ARE ALL ABOUT CONSENT. They are totally fix-it fic wherein Edward understands that even if he has Boundary Issues, those issues are a problem and those issues are his problem and he should probably work on fixing those issues.
Also, the scene where Jacob kisses Bella in a totally rapey way? Here, Edward stomps in and is like THE LADY SAID NO, and it is made totally clear to us that while Bella Ana forgives Jacob José, non-consensual kissing is not cool. Oh, they aren't textbooks on How To Be In A BDSM Relationship by any means, but seriously, the damn thing reads like a paean to safewords and enthusiastic consent.
Also, the writing is not nearly as bad as people are making it out to be—it's about on the level of a Harlequin Presents (and actually, if the pr0n were taken out, it practically would be a Harlequin Presents. So there's that). Sure, it gets really, really boring circa the end of book 2 (there's only so much helicopter-and-yacht porn I can take) but dude, whatever. Different strokes for different folks, etc.

 

[Prettywilling]

I downloaded the book based solely on the discussion here. It's a quick read. As usual, I feel this is much ado about nothing.

Is it great writing? No, not in my opinion. Is it entertaining? Yes, very much so, and I'm reading the second in the trilogy now. Is it a realistic portrayal of BDSM? Well, duh. Some people will strongly relate to it, some people won't recognize a single element of BDSM as they know it. So, yeah, I guess that's pretty realistic. Infinite flavors.

It IS Twilight with BDSM instead of vampires. And to me, that's ALL it is. This is not an enlightening, world-changing piece of smut. It's another in a long line. Frankly, I relate to this more than any other BDSM fiction I've read (which is, admittedly, not a ton). The heroine pisses me off the same way Bella did in Twilight. She's so dense and overanalyzes everything. But I'm emotionally invested in their relationship now and have to see it through to the end. And the sex scenes are fairly hot.

The writing is pretty poor. Someone on Amazon commented something like, "fifty shades of the same literary phrasing!" But, you know, it's not Pulitzer Prize-winning smut. It's fan fiction smut. Let's not read too much into it.

Ha. Punny.

Yoir post pretty much echos my own feelings about the book, but its certainly been interesting reading everyone else's comments about it.

 

[Azalea]

I read the first book before I heard it was based on Twilight fanfic, and I didn't really see Edward and Bella or anything relating to Twilight. My daughter explained that sometimes fanfic uses the basic emotional setup and plays with it in other settings/plottings.

Whatever, I enjoyed the first book.....it wasn't great writing, yeah, but i am hungry for that sort of thing and I gobbled it up. When I was finished with it, I was so bereft....I needed more of Christopher and Ana, and ordered the other two books. Waiting for them to arrive was almost painful. They were a bit of a letdown, because the "BDSM" content lessened greatly as Christopher "healed," and I found myself wondering if this was really a fair portrait of healthy bdsm.

It seemed to suggest that his only reason for wanting to be a Dom was his terribly abusive childhood. It felt like the kind of reasoning that suggests gay people are the way they are because of some childhood trauma. That's my big objection to the books.

Anyway, I'm still looking for suggestions for quality books on D/s relationships.....emphasis on literary quality.

 

[rexhame317]

I read the first book, knowing NOTHING about BDSM. I had read an article in Time Magazine about how a housewife wrote this book.

As someone who is curious about BDSM, to get a taste from the book was a little helpful. I have since gone on and read more graphic, not your mothers bodice rippers on this. And my current boytoy (who is no stranger to this) has explained more of the aspects.

I see the whole Twilight influence in the books.

 

[Loollibelle]

Just saw this book touted on the Dr. Oz. show as a relationship revitalizer. It was gaining a positive reputation for BDSM activities. I haven't read it, but definitely will. From what I have reviewed of your comments, there are a wide variety of feelings about this novel, and it may have not been written with the experience of D/s.

 

[Azalea]

Do people ever actually use contracts as extensive as Christian's? That seemed like a strange first step with a woman he had barely met.
Also, I thought his reaction to discovering she was a virgin was a bit humorous.
"Here, let me get you into a bedroom and have vanilla sex so we can rid you of this curse."

But honestly, are such contracts really negotiated?

 

[o_so_wet]

Do people ever actually use contracts as extensive as Christian's? That seemed like a strange first step with a woman he had barely met.
Also, I thought his reaction to discovering she was a virgin was a bit humorous.
"Here, let me get you into a bedroom and have vanilla sex so we can rid you of this curse."

But honestly, are such contracts really negotiated?

Yes. I think they easily could be and the nature of this relationship is to spell everything out so as to be able to go forward with all boundaries in place....also as part of the control.

I just started this book last night.... at first I thought it was too much like a romance novel...but by the end of the first chapter....I'm kind of hooked.

 

[WillSeeking]

Yes. I think they easily could be and the nature of this relationship is to spell everything out so as to be able to go forward with all boundaries in place....also as part of the control.

I just started this book last night.... at first I thought it was too much like a romance novel...but by the end of the first chapter....I'm kind of hooked.

Is it worth picking up and reading?

 

[o_so_wet]

Is it worth picking up and reading?

I think so

 

[desertslave]

Crazy confluence the last few days. First, Elseweb, a discussion started about the books and piqued my interest. (A totally non-sex site, for the most part.) Then Himself mentioned what's probably this very thread, and off I went. I was between books anyway, so I grabbed the first book for my Nook.

Four days later I finished the trilogy.

Overall, as a set of reasonably interesting novels, I enjoyed them.

Okay, I should mention that mostly I prefer good techhy SF and some fantasy, or very good historical novels (NOT bodice-rippers, etc).

From a BDSM sense, I was pretty much disappointed. I don't care for the notion that those of us in the scene/lifestyle/whatthefuckever come to it because we're damaged in some way. I sure as hell wasn't before my first Sir found me, and neither he nor those who came after were, either. (The film Secretary pissed me off for the same reason.) The ending of the third book mollified me somewhat, and my appreciation for compromise got me settled down.

Aside from the purely BDSM aspect, the books were really rather fun. I loved the silliness in the text/emails, and the general writing was much better than average. I liked that both primary characters were willing to make a go of it, despite some serious differences.

One other thing that annoyed me was the ubiquitous wealth. I'm not resentful of money, per se, but mucho money seems to be the rule for hot BDSM scenes/situations.

I'm disinclined to write a book report (I hated them in school, too). All in all, I'd give them a 4 from an adventurous vanilla POV, and a 3 if you throw BDSM into the mix.

ETA: The assorted melodramas throughout the books also annoyed me. They seemed like artificial ways to solve otherwise typical relationship problems.

 

[kimuk]

For the "fans" of the books. The debate is on as to who could play Christian?

Who would be your ideal Mr Grey?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMh8_J78PhU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky35LvX4AR4&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cJLWhwBxhM&feature=related

Could Mr P be the new Mr Grey?

Who is Mr G in your fantasies?

 

[Loverskitten]

Even though I was curious when i started this thread, I haven't read it. I suppose it's a mix of it's popularity, someone said it was on Dr. Oz? Really?
And the uber-rich Dom woos the virgin girl? So cliché
I'm thinking most of the draw of this book is not the BDSM-ish sex but the uber-rich guy fantasy

 

[rosco rathbone]

Saw this sexy girl with pale skin, bruised-looking eyeshadow, pouty mouth, and somewhat chubby but still shapley thighs in tights/uggs look, reading this on train. I was leering at her but she was so engrossed she never looked up. If I'd be able to catch her eye, I would have looked conspicuously at the book title, then back, then down again, then back up, while wiggling my eyebrows.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Saw this sexy girl with pale skin, bruised-looking eyeshadow, pouty mouth, and somewhat chubby but still shapley thighs in tights/uggs look, reading this on train. I was leering at her but she was so engrossed she never looked up. If I'd be able to catch her eye, I would have looked conspicuously at the book title, then back, then down again, then back up, while wiggling my eyebrows.

What a slick move that would have been!

 

[elidee]

Even though I was curious when i started this thread, I haven't read it. I suppose it's a mix of it's popularity, someone said it was on Dr. Oz? Really?
And the uber-rich Dom woos the virgin girl? So cliché
I'm thinking most of the draw of this book is not the BDSM-ish sex but the uber-rich guy fantasy

Haven't read it either as I also thought the premise rather cliché. I'm guessing that the draw is a combination of the BDSM aspects and the wealthy Svengali. There's just enough 'kink' to make it seem naughtier than the usual romance. I should give it a shot before making a judgement but am a little afraid I might find it boring and wishing I was reading something else.

 

[Latina49]

For what it's worth...I have read the 1st, almost done with the 2nd and I will read the 3rd, but only because I've come this far...

Would I have spent my time reading it if I knew the storyline and how it was written (author's writing technique)....probably not.

There are much better erotica books out there.

 

[o_so_wet]

Whatever. It's an easy, fast read and I'm enjoying it. Not everything has to be Shakespeare.

 

[Latina49]

Whatever. It's an easy, fast read and I'm enjoying it. Not everything has to be Shakespeare.

No offense...just my opinion