Wednesday, 27 June 2012

50 shades of...'oh my'



little n says…
Despite fierce criticism on other D/s blogs I thought I’d give Mr grey a go! I’m only a quarter way through the first book, but I already have a few comments to make. Firstly, why is Mr Grey so young? Is this intentional because older middle aged women (who I believe are the main target audience) just fantasize about younger men because their middle aged husbands no longer have an erotic allure? I guess the grass always seems greener on the other side coz I’ve always thought older (30s-40s) men fitted into the dom characterisation better so it is hard for me to find Mr Grey that appealing because he is so young because  Young=inexperienced cocky boy-man in my head! In some ways it’s nice that the dom is for once a younger man, but it’s not very realistic considering the wealth he is supposed to have already accumulated. If E L James wanted a younger man in her story maybe she shouldn’t have exaggerated his wealth so much. Besides you can be an average Joe wealth wise but still a great dom!

Another thing is the dialogue, it could be better.  It could be more imaginative, more taboo and risqué and it’s really not necessary to write ‘oh my’, ‘holy cow’ and ‘holy hell’ every other sentence..i hope that this crappy dialogue doesn’t continue right  through the trilogy! It sounds stupid to an English reader because we don’t talk like that here. I don’t know, but I bet not many 20 something year old American women say it all the time either! Not to mention that it seems strange these days for a 20 year old university student to be a virgin…maybe Americans are more sheltered?!

I can’t help but get the feeling that this book is written for an audience that thinks like Ana, not Mr Grey. Unfortunately though I am not someone who thinks like Ana because I guess I’ve never been that innocent! If the book written from Mr Grey’s ‘filthy’ perspective no doubt I would be able to identify with it better. Although I did enjoy the interview scene at the beginning because I could identify with the way in which ana felt in the presence of Mr Grey and I like the way the book describes all his mannerisms, because that is something I, as a sub, am very tuned into.  

I found the first sex scene to be well …dull! Untill that point the book did have an element of eroticism but that scene ruined it for me. Was he making love or fucking her? It seems he couldn’t make up his mind so he didn’t really do either in my opinion, and for her first time she didn’t seem to be in much pain considering how quickly he penetrated her. Vanilla sex indeed! Mr Grey also needs to work on his dirty talk and Mr Greys ‘won’t do’ list left me wondering what there was left to do! Here it is for those unaffiliated copied straight from the book:

Hard Limits
No acts involving fire play
No acts involved with urination or defecation and the products thereof
No acts involving needles, knives, piercing, or blood
No acts involving gynaecological medical instruments
No acts involving children or animals
No acts that will leave permanent marks on the skin
No acts involving breath control
No acts that involves the direct contact of electric current, fire, or flames to the body

Ok, so we all have our own interests, but I imagine most people would identify with one or more of these activities. For example I have no interest in defecation, children, animals, fire or electricity either and I’m not fussed either way about medical fetishes, but that still leaves me with a few things I would/already do such as choking, knife play and urination which are apparently too extreme for the infamous Mr Grey! This makes him seem a bit amateurish and no doubt alienates readers who are from the D/s or bdsm community. Also how permanent is a permanent mark anyway or does he just mean no branding?  I’m not against the book, I’m still reading it, I just think it could have been better. But it is clearly not intended for readers who already have a good knowledge and practice D/s or bdsm lifestyles.  

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