Fifty Shades by EL James

Remember when One Day (David Nicholls, 2009) came out? It was pasted on every bus that went past, and every other passenger on the tube was reading it? Yeah, well I bought and read it, because everyone else seemed to love it. I, however, did not. I was a little disappointed in the novel that had been hyped up so extortionately. 

Which is why I was ambivalent to pick up a copy of the new craze, that has everyone salivating, Fifty Shades (EL James, 2011). I had heard whispers of the phrase “mummy-porn” associated with James’ novel, but blind to the definition of that term, I let my friends and colleagues urge me to give the trilogy a try.

One abnormally sunny Sunday, I found myself in Hampstead’s Waterstones with a copy of the first book in the trilogy, Fifty Shades of Grey, at the till with my Waterstones card.
I fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Less than two chapters into the novel and I knew I would finish it within the next couple of days. The incredibly addictive relationship blossoms profusely between mysterious Christian Grey and innocent, vanilla Anastasia. And somehow, it pulls you in, until you realise you’ve been sat in Starbucks for the best part of three hours. You’ve been lost in a world that you feel like you shouldn’t be in, still you can’t help but turn page after page.

Chapter four brings the mentions of the obvious sexual tension mounting between our two main characters, but nothing compares to their later conversations discussing contracts, various sexual implements and a very particular BDSM lifestyle. (For those of you, who are vanilla, and who like me had no idea what BDSM is, it stands for bondage, dominance, discipline, submission, sadism and masochism.)
It was only when I’d finished the first instalment that it clicked. Ah yes, mummy porn. Now I understand.

The feeling that you’re reading something you shouldn’t be remains with me throughout the whole second novel, as the sexual aspects only get more in depth, and the erotica well...more erotic. I can’t help but feel like I am blushing, as I read, on the tube to work. But I think that’s a part of these novels that I enjoyed so much.

I am going to read the last one, because it speaks for itself that I have read the first two in a matter of days, but also because I’m not ashamed to say that they are addictive books, that tell stories of glass balls, spreader bars and of course, that brown leather riding crop. And oh, how the mind boggles.

The world has had such a positive response to the books, that the biggest, and best department store in England, Selfridges & Co (Oxford Street) named Fifty Shades of Grey book of the week, and now Ann Summers, the British and multinational retailer of  sex toys and lingerie have no dedicated pages on their website to helping customers find exactly what the Fifty Shades trilogy has intrigued them in.

Yes, maybe Random House could have whittled EL James’ novels down to just one book, but I can’t judge a set that holds not only first, but also second and third place on the best selling Kindle charts.

So, once I’ve got my hands on the last book, I will return to the “romantic, liberating and totally addictive” novel, joining Christian Grey and Ana Steele, in what is turning out to be a nice little read to get me through the summer.  

Till next time. 

Alex.