Thursday 15 January 2015

Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy: Stirring, Impactful and a Little Unreal

British author E.L James’ erotic trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed needs no introduction. The book, which is more of a phenomenon and is waiting to be released as a film soon, has witnessed sale of 20 million copies in the USA. The blindfolds, the leather cuffs, the “red room of pain” and above all, the multi-millionaire and super-hot young entrepreneur Christian Grey has found a permanent place in women’s book shelves and hearts.

Having not so much interest in the erotic genre or the likes of it, I started off reading the first part out of sheer curiosity and hearing highly appreciative words about the book from my friends. What followed is an extreme addiction that continued for a month or two within which I finished all the three. What’s more, the trilogy had a profound impact on me not for the so- called BDSM, the explicit sexual descriptions or the idea of a man existing only in someone’s dreams. It is the evolving of romance, understanding and passion between two people that kept me hooked and what a remarkable evolution it was!! The book led me to believe that love can be powerful enough to wipe out a person’s inner demons and inspire him/her towards a better life. However illusory the belief is, the feel is certainly good.

Coming to what I liked and did not like about the trilogy. Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele have an instant connection right from the beginning. And regardless of the contradicting intentions of the individual characters (Christian wanting Ana to be his submissive and Ana finding Christian irresistible), the connection and the sparkling passion is vividly portrayed by James. Although BDSM is the central concept to the book, it hardly finds its expression in an offensive or derogatory way. This is primarily because the related interactions and process makes the 21 years old sexually inexperienced Ana realize her innate inclinations too. Christian Grey says on one occasion, “We are consenting adults and what we do behind closed doors is between ourselves. You need to free your mind and listen to your body”.



The sexually explicit scenes that are in plenty are mostly sweet, seductive and very, very spontaneous. It is never just two bodies making love. The affection and the ignited passion are there throughout. The 2nd book in the series, Fifty Shades Darker marks the evolution of the relationship in the best way though with a little dose of drama too. In the last one, I particularly liked the last few chapters that were devoid of any sex whatsoever and focused entirely on Anastasia and her wise and brave ways. Christian asking Ana, in a phase of misunderstanding, if it was always for the money, then she can take it all, makes one pity the powerful man. All the other characters apart from the protagonists are also portrayed well and add value to the story. Christian’s gradual revelation of his birth history, his childhood with the Greys, his disturbed adolescence with Mrs. Robinson and finally his developing into a dominant is pretty much convincing.

James’ ending of the book with Christian and Ana bringing up their kid was perhaps with the intention of pointing out to the power and strength of true love and real passion that never ends or are not supposed to end. After all, the dumping of the book as “mommy porn” by some critics, according to me, is clearly unjustified.

Now, a bit of criticism. I personally believe that Christian Grey could have been a little less talented and lesser rich.  That he has everything under control and can gift anything to his lady love or take her anywhere across the world for he has the money overshadows the genuineness of the desire to give. Anastasia’s inner monologues are fine initially but her continuous references to her sex craving “inner goddess” and a more mature “subconscious” gets boring and monotonous. Moreover, at certain points, I felt like she was a little too insecure in spite of quite a few men including the villain of the story, showing either romantic or sexual interest in her.

That’s it. I can go on discussing it but that would be trying your patience. Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy is addictive, impactful and quite one of a kind. And for all those who have loved it, I am sure you are waiting for the movie just as I am looking forward to it.




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