Monday, 13 August 2012

My final thoughts on fifty shades



“Clear, bright- blue, embarrassed eyes meet mine and halt me in my tracks. They are the most extraordinary colour-guileless, powder-blue- and for one awful moment, I think she can see right through me. I feel….exposed. The thought is unnerving. She has a small, sweet face that is blushing now, an innocent pale rose. I wonder briefly if all her skin is like that-flawless-and what it would look like pink and warmed from the bite of a cane. Fuck. ”(E.L.James.(2011) Fifty Shades Freed. Arrow Books; London. Page 558)

little n says…

I have just finished the last fifty shades book. My last review was written after I finished the first book. The second book was an improvement in my opinion. Mr Grey and Ana move
forward with their relationship get engaged and married between the second and third books and finaly by the end of the third book the reader finds out that they have two children together. Ana starts a new job at a ‘small’ publishing house in the second book, and is sexually harassed by her boss Jack Hyde (who turns out to have a very big personal grudge against Mr Grey and his family) which is the focus of the third book. In the second book Ana also learns a bit more about Christian’s previous submissives (particularly liela who has a breakdown and waves a gun around) and his old mistress Elena. Throughout the book Ana seeks relentlessly to learn more about Christians past which is slowly revealed to her as their relationship deepens. The dialogue does improve somewhat, however it is still a bit repetitive and the sex scenes are still a bit vanilla but they do improve and contain a bit more kink as the trilogy progresses but I suppose that is to be expected considering it is such a mainstream novel not a bdsm book.

Good points:
·         The email messages between Ana and Christian are entertaining and add to the erotic tension between the two characters.
·         I like Christian Grey’s character he is a gentledom type with a naughty sadistic streak. He seems to really care about the welfare of his submissives in a way that is not always put across by some Doms in the scene. Some people criticise him for being too stalkerish and controlling, but I quite like it. But that’s my personal preference.
·         I enjoyed the last chapter of the third book which was written from his perspective. In my opinion it read better than the rest of the books. I could identify more with Christians thinking, although that does not mean that I did not identify with Ana at all I can be shy like her, but I am no were near as easily shocked as her!
·         The third book was also full of drama which made it more of a page turner.  
·         I also like the descriptions of Christian as a small scared red haired child at the end of the third book, its kind of heart warming, and his boyishness and insecurities remind me of my Daddy who can also be a little insecure at times. <3

Bad points:
·         I think these have been covered by me and others previously and I don’t want to go over them again and repeat myself.

Conclusion

According to EL James the premise of her books was ‘What would happen if you were attracted to somebody who was into the BDSM lifestyle, when you weren’t?’. I think this is the reason why so many of us who read the books who are into the BDSM lifestyle do not like the books. However I can understand how someone unfamiliar with BDSM could have their eyes opened by these books and be enthralled by them. I feel that if these novels had been written from the perspective of someone in the scene i.e. Mr Grey, they would have been much more palatable for BDSMers, however it would not have enjoyed so much success in the vanilla world, and perhaps there would be no film being made or as much interest in the lifestyle (which I have mixed feelings about).

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