Book review: Fifty shades of grey

Book review: Fifty shades of grey

  I swore I would never read the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy by E.L. James, but I had to see what all of the fuss was about. That’s a terrible excuse, I know. Fifty Shades has been so controversial since its release in 2011, and I couldn’t understand why. I see plenty of shelves of books at Barnes & Noble labeled Romance. This is technically erotica… technically. What’s the difference? According to Merriam-Webster, romance is defined as “a medieval tale based on legend, chivalric love and adventure, or the supernatural,” and erotica is defined as “literary or artistic works having an erotic theme or quality.” OK, maybe there is a difference. If you haven’t heard, Fifty Shades of Grey is about two people who enter into a BDSM relationship. BDSM is an acronym for Bondage Dominance Sadomasochism. If you don’t know what any of that means, look it up… we’re not that kind of sex column.

  James has been highly criticized on the quality of her writing, mainly that she uses the same words over, and over, and over, and over… annoying, right? I do have to say that with each novel, James’ vocabulary does get less and less repetitive. One of the words that stands out in my mind is clamber, meaning “to climb awkwardly.” There were some instances in the first book where Ana, one of the main characters, said it several times on one page. It got to a point where I wouldn’t be able to focus on the plot because I kept thinking ‘Didn’t her editor notice this?!’ When I saw it again about a quarter of the way through the third book, I thought ‘Huh, I haven’t seen that in awhile.’

  Book one introduces Anastasia Steele, a senior at Washington State University at Vancouver, Katherine Kavanagh, Anastasia’s best friend, and Christian Grey, the sexy, mysterious CEO. The book is set largely in the Seattle area, and I have to give it to James; she did her research. She wrote the book from the United Kingdom, and based the places in the book on real places in Seattle. For instance, Escala, the building where Christian lives, is a real building in Seattle. He lives in a penthouse, the real Escala has a penthouse. He has to enter a code to get into a foyer that leads to the penthouse. The real Escala? Same thing. Of course, Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc. isn’t real, because it’s a company named after a fictional character.

  Ana and Christian meet when she shows up at his company to interview him for the WSU newspaper because Kate is sick with the flu and can’t do it. She notices that Christian is very intimidating, and a bit quirky; the fact that all of his employees are blonde women is unsettling to Ana. Leaving, she assumes she’ll never see him again, but she couldn’t be more wrong… and things take a very weird turn when he shows up at her job a few days later, seemingly on accident. Things really get interesting when Ana and her friends go to get drinks to celebrate their exams, and get a little too intoxicated. She ends up drunkenly calling Christian, he shows up and saves her from unwanted advanced from another man, and they spend the night together… no, they don’t have sex. In fact, it’s an excruciatingly long time before they have sex.

  I can’t say much more than that without giving a lot away, but overall, this trilogy is worth reading, and you’ll read the entire thing if you make it through the first book, trust me. Fifty Shades of Grey will make you laugh, cry, and everything in between. The ups and downs of Ana and Christian’s relationship will make your jaw drop, and blush every time you walk by the rope at a hardware store.