Well, curiousity got the best of me and I've read the book. Gotta say, it's not what I expected (so now I've read 2 and am on 3). Guess I need to address the important issues:
A: Is it porn? Not really. I mean, there is a LOT of sex, but it's pretty repetative and not very inventive (except for the occasional BDSM scenes). I've certainly read other things that are worse. [Edit (1/27/13)--I've changed my opinion. It is porn, but it's really bad porn--like dull, boring, going to change the channel if it were an actual movie, porn]
B: The control freak.
First off, I've dipped my toe into the world of writing and I'd be mortified if anyone came up to me and said "you were influenced by...[so and so]." So, when James states right in her biography that she was influenced by Twilight, I knew at once we were in trouble. And really, it's like she took the bass lines (hmm...I'm not sure if that's the correct phrasing, but I think it works--think the bass lines of a piece of music) of Twilight and wrote a new story around it. I mean, it's certainly okay to take a piece or maybe two from something you love and use it for inspiration, but she's gone way over the top--locations (SW to SE to NW...in the exact same order), her faimily situation, the personalities of said family situation (okay, Bob is older), she's the girl that every man wants though she's oblivious to it--it's seriously like James took every single TV Trope from Twilight and used it. Lots of eye-rolling from me there.
[Insert/clarification] James could have kept the " oblivious girl that every man loves" AND the "dark-souled recluse" and have written a fine pop culture book (these are tropes that are regularly enjoyed in moderation). But adding in the location similarities, the best friend whose father loves to fish with my father, who happens to be Hispanic rather than Native American, the ditzy mother who had her daughter young with generally bad taste in men/marriages who the daughter feels she needs to look after (though thank god this seems to be a lot less of a problem for Ana), the wacky/excited sister and comic relief brother of the "God". Keeping them all?! TOO MUCH!! [end insert/clarification]
But, you know what? I actually like Christian Grey as a character--even his control freak tendencies--and can understand why Ana stays with him (the whole "I've known you for two weeks and I'll die if I'm not with you" notwithstanding). You probably know about my love of the Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. One of the reasons is because of her love of shattered men. My favorite books/characters in the series are those which have been shattered the worst. So yeah, Christian Grey is a man after my heart. The fact that he beat her actually doesn't bother me because A: they are both consenting adults and she didn't use the safeword when she should have and B: he does realize later that he'd rather have her than the violence. This isn't an abusive relationship because he knows his faults, why he has them, how to improve them and, most importantly, when to let things drop. Like he says, she has all the power in the physical relationship because all she has to do is say no (or the safeword) and he instantly flips. An abuser hears no and doesn't care.
As for the controlling, it's a known issue from the first time they meet and Ana, unlike Bella, actually opens her mouth and tells him to his face that she doesn't like it. It's an OPEN part of their relationship, unlike with Bella and Edward where she just accepts it.
While neither series deserves a Pulitzer, I have to say that I like Fifty Shades a hell of a lot more than Twilight simply because if we think of them as being essentially the same story, at least Christian Grey has a damn good reason for being the way he is. Edward is kind of a whiny bitch who had a loving family before he became a vampire and has a loving family after the change and deserves a woman who won't open her mouth when something bothers her and who'll internalize his leaving her as her own fault rather than for her own saftey. Though both men need a firm slap in the head for hiding information from their loved ones.
By the way, did anyone not know that James is British before reading the trilogy? Because I'm wondering just how obvious it is. I mean, I assume she's done her research because the locations seemed probable (though I know NOTHING about the Pacific NW--sidebar: that's really what it's called because I'm not sure that it's possible to have an Atlantic NW in the US). But the language she uses, sheesh! The obvious is the use of "arse" which American's might say but would NEVER write. The second is a few phrases which seem wrong to my American way of thinking: "banking a check" and "all American teeth" (reference to how Americans make fun of British teeth because they don't get them straightened or whitened--like somehow their being crooked/ivory says that they're in poor condidtion even though the very process of whitening weakens teeth and straightening is purely a cosmetic fix--end rant), plus a few other "wait, what?" moments.
By the way, I'm thrilled that Google Affiliate Ads finally is working for what I want it to do (advertise products that I'm actually discussing)--I just wish there were more. For instance, I give to you a very good choice of the Dark-Hunter series, but I'd rather give you the first book of the series. However, potential spoilers aside, it does deal with all aspects of the world...I'm just anal about reading books in order no matter that they all essentially stand alone.
A: Is it porn? Not really. I mean, there is a LOT of sex, but it's pretty repetative and not very inventive (except for the occasional BDSM scenes). I've certainly read other things that are worse. [Edit (1/27/13)--I've changed my opinion. It is porn, but it's really bad porn--like dull, boring, going to change the channel if it were an actual movie, porn]
B: The control freak.
First off, I've dipped my toe into the world of writing and I'd be mortified if anyone came up to me and said "you were influenced by...[so and so]." So, when James states right in her biography that she was influenced by Twilight, I knew at once we were in trouble. And really, it's like she took the bass lines (hmm...I'm not sure if that's the correct phrasing, but I think it works--think the bass lines of a piece of music) of Twilight and wrote a new story around it. I mean, it's certainly okay to take a piece or maybe two from something you love and use it for inspiration, but she's gone way over the top--locations (SW to SE to NW...in the exact same order), her faimily situation, the personalities of said family situation (okay, Bob is older), she's the girl that every man wants though she's oblivious to it--it's seriously like James took every single TV Trope from Twilight and used it. Lots of eye-rolling from me there.
[Insert/clarification] James could have kept the " oblivious girl that every man loves" AND the "dark-souled recluse" and have written a fine pop culture book (these are tropes that are regularly enjoyed in moderation). But adding in the location similarities, the best friend whose father loves to fish with my father, who happens to be Hispanic rather than Native American, the ditzy mother who had her daughter young with generally bad taste in men/marriages who the daughter feels she needs to look after (though thank god this seems to be a lot less of a problem for Ana), the wacky/excited sister and comic relief brother of the "God". Keeping them all?! TOO MUCH!! [end insert/clarification]
But, you know what? I actually like Christian Grey as a character--even his control freak tendencies--and can understand why Ana stays with him (the whole "I've known you for two weeks and I'll die if I'm not with you" notwithstanding). You probably know about my love of the Dark-Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. One of the reasons is because of her love of shattered men. My favorite books/characters in the series are those which have been shattered the worst. So yeah, Christian Grey is a man after my heart. The fact that he beat her actually doesn't bother me because A: they are both consenting adults and she didn't use the safeword when she should have and B: he does realize later that he'd rather have her than the violence. This isn't an abusive relationship because he knows his faults, why he has them, how to improve them and, most importantly, when to let things drop. Like he says, she has all the power in the physical relationship because all she has to do is say no (or the safeword) and he instantly flips. An abuser hears no and doesn't care.
As for the controlling, it's a known issue from the first time they meet and Ana, unlike Bella, actually opens her mouth and tells him to his face that she doesn't like it. It's an OPEN part of their relationship, unlike with Bella and Edward where she just accepts it.
While neither series deserves a Pulitzer, I have to say that I like Fifty Shades a hell of a lot more than Twilight simply because if we think of them as being essentially the same story, at least Christian Grey has a damn good reason for being the way he is. Edward is kind of a whiny bitch who had a loving family before he became a vampire and has a loving family after the change and deserves a woman who won't open her mouth when something bothers her and who'll internalize his leaving her as her own fault rather than for her own saftey. Though both men need a firm slap in the head for hiding information from their loved ones.
By the way, did anyone not know that James is British before reading the trilogy? Because I'm wondering just how obvious it is. I mean, I assume she's done her research because the locations seemed probable (though I know NOTHING about the Pacific NW--sidebar: that's really what it's called because I'm not sure that it's possible to have an Atlantic NW in the US). But the language she uses, sheesh! The obvious is the use of "arse" which American's might say but would NEVER write. The second is a few phrases which seem wrong to my American way of thinking: "banking a check" and "all American teeth" (reference to how Americans make fun of British teeth because they don't get them straightened or whitened--like somehow their being crooked/ivory says that they're in poor condidtion even though the very process of whitening weakens teeth and straightening is purely a cosmetic fix--end rant), plus a few other "wait, what?" moments.
By the way, I'm thrilled that Google Affiliate Ads finally is working for what I want it to do (advertise products that I'm actually discussing)--I just wish there were more. For instance, I give to you a very good choice of the Dark-Hunter series, but I'd rather give you the first book of the series. However, potential spoilers aside, it does deal with all aspects of the world...I'm just anal about reading books in order no matter that they all essentially stand alone.
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