Book Review: Fifty Shades of Grey

I have just finished reading “Fifty Shades of Grey” by E.L.James. I bought it because everyone has been talking about it so i thought i would see what the fuss is about!

Fifty Shades of Grey – E.L. James (via Amazon)

It is funny because, as i knew it was full of sex, i started it and just waited for the sex to start! At first it seems kind of sexy but then it becomes a bit more mundane and less exciting. I got annoyed with all the literary references: it seemed like the author was trying to make it seem a bit less trashy.

I wasn’t sure i liked Ana that much because she seems so pathetic through most of the novel. I can see now why its been classed as Twilight but without the paranormal and with more sex! I thought Bella in Twilight was bad but Ana is a whole lot worse! I found myself getting annoyed with her being unable to exercise any willpower, and her little alter egos get on my nerves too: i don’t see why we need to have them in there. She is a bit weird to be a 21 year old virgin and to seriously consider having a such a messed up relationship for her first attempt at a lovelife. I just felt she was being taken advantage of, and she just happily laid down and let Christian take advantage. She is a poor specimen of a woman, and certainly not a heroine. Ok, so her insecurity is real enough but for someone who is intelligent she comes across as being a bit dim. Also, her constant exclamations of “Oh my!” and so on are way too frequent and quite frankly get on my nerves!

Christian is seriously screwed up, and i can’t understand why Ana wants to be with someone like him when he likes sadomasochism and doesn’t do normal lust and love. Deranged is a good word to describe him, but the reader feels a bit sorry for him because of his difficult past. He also seems to have more money than sense: money can buy you many things but love isn’t one of them, and money doesn’t make up for being messed up.

There are some parts of the book which i found uncomfortable reading (the graphic descriptions of their sexual relationship), and a few which made me sad, but despite the fact i was glued to the book for about 3 days i still found myself wondering why i was bothering to read it, and i very nearly gave up halfway through.

I was determined to finish the book though, and i didn’t think i would want to read the next books in the trilogy, but then the ending made me want to know what happens next to the characters, which is the mark of well thought out plot! I’m not sure i will be reading the next one just yet though! However, me and my friends have had a giggle over reading it and keep quoting bits of it because it is more funny than sexy actually.

I give this book a 5/10 because despite keeping me gripped throughout and unable to stop thinking about the story (can’t tell if that’s a good or a bad thing!) when i wasn’t reading it, it really shares too much of a similarity to Twilight, and the erotic fiction genre isn’t something i’d usually choose. The emails they send to each other are probably the best bits! Read it if you want to see what the fuss is about, but it’s not the best book i’ve ever read! Rant over!

Note: I read this book on my Kindle, mainly because the print copies had sold out in most places!