Confession Time: During summer and winter breaks I sometimes like to read trashy, fun books. Similarly, I like to read People while at the dentist and will admit to perusing Entertainment Weekly at Barnes and Noble if no one I know is looking. This summer, I decided to try 50 Shades of Grey mostly to see what all the hype was about. After reading it (and skimming large sections I must admit), I was left scratching my head and wondering why this book has become so popular.
Okay. I get it; the sex scenes can be pretty hot, but honestly, they're nothing I haven't read before in much more interesting formats. I think the SNL skit in which they pointed out that e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle may be contributing to this book's popularity was a brilliant point. I also find the word-of-mouth or word-of-Facebook diffusion of this book through friendship networks fascinating.
Perhaps this book can best be described as the literary equivalent of SPAM or Jell-O. You know it's terrible for you, but sometimes you just crave those empty, processed calories. Actually, that analogy breaks down when I realize that I have sentimental feelings when eating SPAM because it reminds me of my dad and Jell-O because it's ubiquitous at midwestern potlucks and on my grandparents' supper table.
Let's try this - imagine the Twilight novels in all their teen angst-y glory but take away the semi-interesting and innovative mythology (basically a Disney PG version of vegetarian vampires) and Meyer's decent action scene writing. You are left with a romance between two characters who make dry toast look interesting. Now imagine that romance was something you'd see on late night cable TV with an NC-17 rating and you get the picture. But that's IT. Just moving from (what some would consider) one kinky sex scene to another. And it's not enough.
First of all, I understand this a fantasy novel but the main characters are just so unbelievable as to be ridiculous. A college student who doesn't own a cell phone or a laptop? What century was this written in? A male lead who is all of 27, a billionaire, flies helicopters, has all the time in the world to answer stupid email messages, is great looking, and great in bed?! I rolled my eyes (cruising for a spanking I suppose) every time I read about Ana's "inner goddess" or read about Christian calling her "baby" during sex. I skimmed over the annoying email flirting/conversations in which Ana expressed her exasperation with Christian.
Second, there really is no story or plot to speak of here. Young woman meets wealthy billionaire. Billionaire deflowers young woman who proceeds to have multiple orgasms for a hundred pages interspersed with the aforementioned annoying email conversations. Young woman decides she can't handle the billionaire's request for a Dominant-Submissive relationship. End of book. Snore.
Finally, I'm concerned about the subtext of this book. Ana fears Christian and his moodiness and modifies her behavior accordingly. I understand that one of the points (and I'm not sure how much I'm reading into this) of the book is to raise the issue of how in order to give and receive pleasure we all have to expose an intimate part of ourselves to the potential for physical or emotional pain. At the heart of it, Ana's problem with Christian is also what draws her to him. What is presented as his dysfunction results in behavior that is physically intimate but emotionally distant. Fans of the fantasy genre will recognize this much-explored beauty and the beast/monster-innocent trope. Monster is attracted to innocent but keeps him/her at arm's length because they are either worried about killing or hurting innocent. Illogically, innocent finds this behavior by the monster to be irresistible. You love me so much you don't want to love me because you're afraid of hurting me? I LOVE YOU.
It's not that I'm a prude or that I don't enjoy some kinky fantasy now and then. When I compare Christian to the vampire/monster in other fantasy stories, this is not a judgment of his preference for BDSM. To each his/her own (as long as it's consenting adults). It's just that this has been done in other places and in better ways. I think these issues of intimacy and how much humiliation one can bear and still fundamentally be true to themselves are interesting issues, but for me, they have to be explored as a part of a broader, more complex narrative. In other words, they have to be socially situated. What would society look like if monsters were real? Or what if BDSM was a socially accepted lifestyle?
Several fantasy and modern fantasy series explore these questions with more interesting plot lines and sex scenes that are even more "screaming thigh sweat" inducing than 50 Shades. So if 50 Shades left you wanting more (especially in terms of plot, or good old fashioned story telling), I recommend the following:
1. The Kushiel's Legacy Trilogy: Kushiel's Dart, Kushiel's Chosen, Kushiel's Avatar by: Jacqueline Carey.
http://www.amazon.com/Kushiels-Dart-Jacqueline-Carey/dp/0765342987/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c
The heroine of this trilogy is a natural-born submissive who experiences pain as pleasure. Set in a medieval version of France, Phedre no Delauney grows into an experienced courtesan and spy whose skills in and out of the bedchamber have the potential to make or break dynasties and save a kingdom.
2. The first ten or so books of the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton and the first several books of the Sookie Stackhouse books (the basis for the hit HBO series True Blood) by Charlaine Harris.
Both of these series have since succumb to the same issues I had with 50 Shades but the earlier books are fun, sexy, dark, and have some great (out of the bedroom) action to set the pace. I also like that despite being submissive at times, all of these heroines are complicated, interesting characters with their own strengths and weaknesses.
3. If sexy, rich, Irish guys are your thing, I occasionally enjoy an Eve Dallas novel by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts), but these do tend to get repetitive.
