I wish I can go back my posts here, here and here... and change my views.
Because I LOVE IT.
...
Ha! I'm joking! (I hope no one has switched off the window in frustration) Well, I did mention the other time that I would read it, then the book was in my office untouched for almost three weeks (for it would be most inappropriate to read such a book in my workplace). But I finally brought it home and I read it.
I better give my opinion before going into details. As many of you know, I was pretty apprehensive about the book because so many people flames the book for being really bad. As in, bad writing. I wouldn't say that after reading it my mind has been completely converted. I have different feelings about this book in many areas, which I'll reveal shortly.
The plan was to review only after I've read all three books, but as I've found out, I should review after I read because the book is still fresh in my head and delaying the review will dull the feelings and criticism. So I'm going to just jump in.
(by the way, my reviews will have a bit more structure, but I'm still ironing out the crinkles. Please bear with me!)
Fifty Shades of Grey
E. L. James
Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Anastasia Steele meets Christian Grey, who is hot, wealthy and very very desirable. However, Ana soon finds out that he is a terrible control freak. Yet she falls for him anyway. The book continues in a medley of uncomfortable positions (pun intended) as Christian and Anastasia bare themselves to each other (literally and figuratively).
Characters
This is my number one gripe in this book. I hate the characters. HATE. Most of them all, Anastasia Steele. She is, in essence, very very unrealistic. I'm sorry, but just WHO in this world actually still don't know anything about the birds and the bees? Heck, even ten year olds are speaking in innunendos, how so for a twenty one year-old? She has none. No desirable thoughts of guys, in fact she didn't see any guy that way until she met Christian. Oh-kayy... if you say so, Ana. But how does this innocent girl all of a sudden become this sexually-deprived woman who would do anything (even enduring pain) for... that? A little too much of a character jump.
Another thing, how is it that she does not know ANYTHING about laptops and email accounts? How the heck did she go through her college? This book is printed in 2011, no excuses there, EL James. Don't get me started on her appetite. She's perpetually not hungry. No breakfast, no lunch and still, "No thanks, I'm not hungry"??? Thank goodness she didn't go all whiny about her weight, I'll clobber her with a turkey leg.
Many reviewers have criticised the book for shallow characterisation, and I join them in this accusation. The other characters didn't irk me as much as Ana, but it's just that she could've done so much more. Her best characterisation, ironically, was Kate the roommate. Always sharp, bossy and overprotective. Good.
Christian Grey... ah. Apart from his ridiculously good looks, I don't know much else about him. He has a very wide spectrum of characteristics, which should've made him more real and 3-dimensional, but instead I feel really confused. What is he really like? The only thing I know is that he's a control freak (and trust me, that's all you need to read this book).
Perhaps I should move on.
Twist
No twist. Everything was within my expectations. The story has yet to reveal what is that dark, sinister past of his. It has dropped hints, and nothing much else.
Writing (general)
It's fanfiction standard. I'm sorry. When I read her story, the entire feeling was like reading fanfiction. Sometimes overdescriptive, sometimes vague. Not wanting to be a snob, but if I work hard enough, I can publish something of that standard in the next five years. In fact, I think in terms of writing, some fanfiction writers have already surpassed her. So you'll be sure to know that I'm not reading the book because it has wonderful writing.
Also, the wonderful feature of Fifty Shades is this. Every page is littered with at least one of these:
- Oh my
- Holy crap
- Holy shit
- my inner goddess
- my subconscious
As you might have figured out by now, I don't like vulgarities (look how clean my stories are! *insert cute unicorn and rainbow here*). Seriously, these words are more offensive to my eye than the vulgarities.
Writing (description)
Ana is a Literature student, giving EL James a reason to put in bombastic words that I basically skim through just by reading in context. For some reason, Christian Grey likes to use bombastic words too. The whole feeling is rather thesaurus-ish. You know... like the author writing "That's really reckless of you" and decides to check the thesaurus to see if there's a more fanciful name for reckless. Then she changes the sentence to "That's really profilgate of you." I know because that's my trick too. Well, the word is kinda out of place. That, or I'm not well read enough to feel that it's appropriate in normal conversations.
Going back to Ana's inner goddess and subconscious, I couldn't understand the author's intentions. I kept asking myself what is their role? Only further research with my trusty friend Google told me that they are her desire and her logic respectively, the heart and the mind kinda thing. Ah. That finally made sense, if not I wouldn't have gotten it at all.
[sidenote: she uses it an awfully lot]
Content (sans sex scenes)
Probably the only reason why I'll continue reading this. I'm really interested to know why Christian Grey is so messed up. And just how is he going to get rid of his inner demons. As of now, there are no subplots. Okay, there are, but not significant enough to affect the main plot.
(a short commercial break as we enjoy the little comic below)
I shall not comment on the sex scenes because I do not have the experience nor writing expertise in that area to judge. Nevertheless, I should say that thank goodness our local bookstores have the sense to shrinkwrap and stick a rating sticker on it.
Association with Twilight
On that note on content, perhaps it's time to assess its similarity to Twilight. As I've mentioned before, it started off as Twilight fanfiction. I sincerely hoped that there had been major changes that led to Fifty Shades, because I'll totally shoot her for being OOC. Ana was fashioned off Bella Swan, but man, she is NOT like Bella at all. I actually liked Bella, for Twilight at least. Ana is nothing like Bella, puh-lease. And Christian Grey is a control freak. Edward Cullen will never do that to Bella. See how he abstained from even kissing Bella? This is like the vertical opposite!
Still, I see how the story parallels lightly with Twilight. The entire helpless-for-the-other feeling, the knowledge that the guy has never fell for other people but the girl, breathlessness, not knowing what the other is thinking, the girl's cluelessness on just how pretty she is... yeah.
I prefer Twilight to Fifty Shades.
Themes... and a bit of a moral lesson here.
The book centralises around submission. But rather than talk about the themes of the book, I really should set my foot down on this. I am not advocating the actions of the characters. Christian Grey is a compulsive control freak. He controls EVERYTHING about Ana and I'm not talking about the dirty stuff. He decides what she wears, what she eats, what she does, who she talks to... ARGH! No one should subject themselves to that. Nobody. By the way, I've not found anything romantic in this novel. Nothing. Boys, please take notes. This is NOT the way to win a girl.
Of course, Ana is at fault too. She could walk away from all these. Grey had the slightest bit of sense to let her decide from the beginning. Of course, she wouldn't leave Christian. No, she'd rather go through all that just to be with him. In Chinese when we see a situation whether it's very disadvantaged but both parties aren't complaining, we would say (literally), "One is willing to punish and one is willing to endure".
What many reviewers are saying is right: I don't care how good-looking you are, how traumatised your past is. You don't treat people like that. Will you allow your daughters to be in such a relationship? I wouldn't... I can't bear to. I hope my readers, if they ever read this book, will not be over their heads with the 'romance' and thus endure abusive relationships. If you need to get out, get out.
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In conclusion, this book is over hyped-up. But the entertainment value is there, alright. There is a school of thought that sometimes it doesn't matter if you can write well... as long as your story can captivate readers. That is indeed the case for Fifty Shades. You either like it or hate it. I can thrash the story and writing all I want, but I know that it wasn't boring me for the 4-5 hours that I was reading it.
Rating: Consider It. I'm serious. I'm not loving it, but I'm really not going to give it a "thrash it" rating. If you have the time and brain cells to spare, do it. Also, if you're like me and you cannot help but wonder what the fuss is about, spare yourself the torture and read it.
Finally, for my little readers, Fifty Shades of Grey is rated M18 (in my opinion). Don't read it if you're not of age.
Don't worry, you aren't missing much.
aichioluv
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Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.
Layman terms: Don't judge my reviewing skills. Thank you. :P
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