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50 Shades of Story

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If it wasn’t for the hype, would I be reading this book? Strange way to start a blog but as I was reading it, I couldn’t help but think that I might have stopped reading all together if it wasn’t for the hype around it.

50 Shades of Grey is the story of Anastasia Steele, a recent college graduate who meets the elusive and dark Christian Grey after interviewing him for her roommate Kate. Christian Grey is immediately smitten with Anastasia as she is with him. He finds all kinds of ways to meet her and take her out – suck her in before he tells her who he is and what he wants. Anastasia gets pulled into the world of BDSM (bondage/discipline, domination/submission and sadism/masochism) to please Christian and be with him. From here it gets kinky or scary depending on your point of view.

To me this book is not about the sex and dominant versus submissive. That’s not my cup of tea anyway. To me, this is about change – Anastasia changing to suit Christian and Christian having his world changed by Anastasia. It is also about love - a deep seeded love that neither Anastasia or Christian has ever encountered before.

There were two aspects of this book - same say go hand in hand while others say are opposite ends of the spectrum. The psychological aspect of the book – getting inside the mysterious Christian Grey’s head and finding out who he really is – was the best part of the book and why I will keep reading the other 2. I want to find out who Christian Grey really is and why he has chosen this lifestyle or as he says was chosen for him as an outlet. He knows no other life and inquiring minds want to know why and how that is possible.

The physical parts of the book - the other aspect - were upsetting in the sense that Anastasia was so in love with Christian that she would do anything for him – anything. That is the definition of a submissive but it bothered me because her inner voice is telling her that what she is doing is wrong or seems wrong and her inner goddess as she calls it doesn’t like it yet she still does it. She doesn’t get a mind of her own until it is literally smacked out of her.

She isn’t a confident, independent woman who just graduated college and has the whole world at her feet. She is a submissive and not just in the bedroom. The parts of Anastasia I loved were when she was drinking and her inhibitions were going out the window. She was smart, sassy, quick and stood up for herself and what she wanted. That is the true Anastasia and it killed me to see her run and hide when she was with Christian in his Red Room of Pain.

50 Shades of Grey is an interesting book and story. It’s complex, dark, mysterious and all around strange. EL James does a good job of creating a story that is addictive yet embarrassed for people to admit they are reading it. It isn’t the sex that is intriguing - it is Christian Grey and how he got to where he is. But the question in my mind and I am sure in Anastasia’s mind is can he be changed and would you want him to change if he could?


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