WHEN CURIOSITY GOT THE BEST OF ME [MY FIFTY SHADES' POV]

As promised, I’m doing my review on EL James Fifty Shades Trilogy. First up, I want to say that I only read this book because I was so curious as to why people are raving about it that even my friend told me about it. So off I go to discovering what this book had to offer and viola I was left surprised when I found out that it’s not just a single book but a trilogy. I will say that this series is one of those that I wouldn’t recommend to close-minded people mainly because of its mature and sensitive content (all of the three books) but I’ll do recommend this to those who are willing to actually be appreciative enough to understand that these books also have something to offer. I say this because at the first chapters of the first book I was already hesitant to continue given THE overly mature content of it (I even thought I was reading porn for Obama’s sake!) geez. At first I was a skeptic but as I tried harder to go on with this book, I found it rather enlightening in some ways more than I can ever say. I’ll first write about the summary plot/overview of the books (with some insights) and in the end I’ll write what I think about the whole package. Please bear with me for my beginner reviewing skills (as this would only be my 3^rd attempt to do a book review) since I’m just an avid fiction book reader and not much of a reviewer but I’ll try my hand at this one for the sake of my blog and those interested to read the book. Comments/suggestions/negative reactions for a/the book review are warmly welcome in my blog so feel free and type it up.

WARNING: Some spoilers are contained in my review so beware.

FIFTY SHADES of Grey

This book introduces us to the main characters which are Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey. This book is in Steele’s point of view (POV). We see Steele as an ordinary graduating student and Grey as an overly popular, rich and most of all has God-like appearance (as perceived by the reader of the text) businessman. Then the usual happens, Cinderella meets prince charming but with an added twist: the prince charming isn’t actually a prince charming but a beast with some deep dark and creepy secret so this story proceeds just like Beauty and the Beast. Mr.-All-Too-Perfect Grey has some dark and painful secrets which lead to Steele’s ultimate confusion whether or not to be with the Christian Grey of her dreams. The two actually fall head over heels despite the differences and it all ends up to the mind boggling “sex everyday” context. Everything were okay until the worst comes worst about Grey’s dark pleasures and suddenly Steele falls down from Cloud 9 and we are left hanging as the book comes to an end.

Comment:

I assumed that this book would actually be in Grey’s POV given that the title is actually rightfully his but then again I was wrong because it’s actually in Anastasia’s perspective. Okay, here we go with my insights and I guarantee that this wouldn’t be chocolate and candies. I can’t put myself to write the things that I found interesting in this book first so I’d rather start with flaws that I found. First up, the writing itself doesn’t really impress me mainly because it felt like I was reading one of my “fanfiction” literatures that’s posted on the internet but this one’s a highly acclaimed one so they say. It could’ve been written in a more profound way sparing the reader the guilt feeling of reading a pornographic material. I found this book rather too focused on the sex rather than on the story itself. It gave so little as to the details as to why the protagonist (Christian Grey) has that character that he portrays. In my opinion, if one is to write something that involves this much explicit content then one has to at least elaborate as to why all those “over sexing” is included in the text. If someone is not actually an avid reader and has just jumped into the bandwagon of the “in” book to read, this book will definitely fail to relay the message to the readers that it has a deeper meaning and has connection as to how the story will unfold. This book failed to do the justification on the sexual acts written all over the book since I feel there is a missing puzzle piece that needs to be fitted in the story to make it one more understanding for just about all of it. Yes, we got an insight that Mr. Grey has some sort of “problem” but it barely gave hints as to what that problem is which made this book a lot more like an erotica literature rather than a romance, the genre where it is supposedly classified.

On the brighter side of the horizon, I found this book rather inspiring because it gives the cliché sayings “Nobody’s perfect”, “Love knows no boundaries” and “Distance makes the heart grow fonder”, a perfect embodiment in Christian Grey’s persona. It also portrays the real life situations regarding the youth of today. It shows what transpires in the minds of the youth in their adolescent days with their raging hormones, peer-pressure, and pressure from one’s environment and even in their own families. It also gives us a sneak peek into the world of those people who had a very rocky and troubled childhood and how they can turn out eventually as they grow up (Grey’s personality). It also gives us so much about the promise of LOVE when one has yet to experience it and when it comes for the first time.  A view of the world in which black and white is clearly defined and how one can easily get lost and confused when the lines that separates those two worlds is eventually stepped upon because love has been found, as shown by Miss Steele’s character as she journeyed to finding and getting her first love and first taste of heartache. I like how the writer wishes the readers to be one with Steele’s character and emotions as she trudges upon the unknown road in which love is the only thing that she knows and can hold unto. When book one ended, I was really reeling into my seat and I couldn’t let myself wait for another day to read the sequel because I was really left hanging and I wanted more…more of a closure I think. There, end of first book critique and on with the second book then.

FIFTY SHADES Darker

The next book takes place at precisely FOUR DAYS after the couple’s fall-out. We see Mr. Grey and Ms. Steele making up for the abrupt breakup. Then a confrontation about how things would be if/when Ms. Steele wholeheartedly accepts Mr. Grey’s offer and all that stuff. We see that the two protagonists, at so last, accept that they do love each other and can’t live without each other again. Then we were introduced to an ex-sub Leila and the ever present Mrs. Robinson which gave the “darker” sequel meaning and there’s also Ana’s boss Jack to add up to the tension. Then when all is said and done, we are given a preview of the third and last book of Fifty Shades which I presume revolves around Jack’s plot of revenge to Mr. Grey. We also see the marriage concept being incorporated in the last pages of the book to make the readers anticipate the ending of the trilogy.

Comment:

Okay, I’m not against sequels or anything but the first thing that got into my mind the moment I read the first sentence of the second book was “Can it get anymore EARLIER THAN THAT?! Like four days???? Are you freakin’ kidding me here?” reaction. It’s like I’m actually reading the next chapter of one book. The pacing is just too closed together that you wouldn’t expect things to last for another book.

The nice thing about this sequel is that it gives more depth to the story of Grey and Steele. No scratch that this book gives us THE STORY of Grey and Steele. It shows to us how these two are affected by each other’s past relationships and by that they actually know how they actually mean to each other. We see a lot of romantic moments between the two of them and also their cat-and-dog fight over petty and serious things. It gives us a lighter side to Christian’s part which makes it easier to read. The sex part is also consiiderably toned down and it is a good change for the book for it focuses on the added characters which seem to be the “darker” term referred to in the title. The introduction of the stalker ex is also a welcome addition to the story since it makes Grey’s story a lot more convincing by giving a real life example and so we’re not just limited to the “fifteen” ex-subs so fondly mentioned in the first book. Mrs. Robinson’s character on the other hand presents some dilemma to the readers (in which case, I guess it’s the author’s motive actually) to know if she’s a character to love or to hate but eventually we know that she’s someone to hate. A character in this book that is also worth mentioning is Steele’s boss Jack Hyde. His character, in my own opinion, will be the one that will give the couple the real challenge in their soon to be married life.

This book vividly presents the context of “If you love someone you have to accept his goods and his flaws/imperfections”. It is presented very clearly in every Christian Grey situation about BDSM and also Steele’s underestimation of herself. Steele’s character did not at first fully embrace the totality of Grey because of his imperfections but in the end, love prevailed and she learned to trust her lover; to accept and to willingly submit herself to him knowing fully well that he would not hurt her and that he is willing to give up his bad habits for the benefit of being with her for love. Grey’s character was also very understanding of Steele’s persona since he chose to accept that Ana can’t fulfill his desires and needs but still he gave it up (or at least he is trying to) for the sake of his love for Ana. The Darker sequel presents to us the complexity of a person who suffers from psychological illnesses like trauma, anxiety, self-pity and self-loathing. It gives us a deeper understanding of Christian’s situation and how it came about. This book gives us what we wanted and needed from the first book, a detailed explanation on Grey’s “illness”. It gave me the enlightenment that I so badly needed from the first book so that I can justify to myself that I’m not reading a book about cheap sex/erotica literature and that there is a reason for the gravity of the overly sensitive content present in its prequel Fifty Shades of Grey.

P.S. On the side note, I really wish the fall-out and Christian’s enlighten during the break up was somewhat elaborated here because it really was the turning point of the story (some Christian POV wouldn’t actually hurt).

FIFTY SHADES Freed

The plot is very much the same as the first two books. It revolves around Anastasia and Christian’s marriage and how the both of them are trying to keep up with the changes in their lives. It starts with the overly romantic honeymoon in the different parts of Europe. During the honeymoon, raw emotions were unveiled and the two of them gradually became open to each other. Both characters in this story matured. The plot “thickened” with the introduction of Jack Hyde’s revengeful character. Then, we are again faced with another dilemma with Anastasia’s pregnancy which caused a momentary fall-out with Christian. After all has been talked about, the two of them lived in their own happily ever after ending.

Comment:

First of all, I couldn’t wait to get this book out of my reading list that’s why I was (miraculously) able to finish this entire trilogy. I just that I don’t want to leave things hanging; I finish what I start and this series proved to be a tough one. With the third and last sequel of the book, I was just waiting for the ending of the story. As I’m reading the book, all I can think of is when I’ll be able to finish the last installation. It’s just that I’m not too hopeful that the last book will have more depth than the first two books. It was just another book that constantly presents sexing in every way possible.

The good thing that I found in this book is the way the two characters were able to defy all the odds and still be together. They learned about each other’s flaws and the both of them especially in Anastasia’s part, tried everything to make things better and make their partners a better person. It was so hard to understand Christian’s character but still his lover didn’t give up. It also gives us a concrete example of what unconditional love entails. Also, the revenge plot of Jack Hyde was a welcome addition because it stowed away from the thorough sexing of the characters. Another thing is that it gives us a rare opportunity to have a glimpse of what it is like to meet a person who is a control freak and understand exactly how that person came to be (as explained) in the last part of the book. More than that, I can’t find anything amusing in this book.

For the not so good part, I really don’t like that we’re back on the non-stop sexing contained in almost every page of this book. It became so regular that you would actually want to skip some pages just to get the sexing part over with. I mean yeah I get, they’re so in love but why present it that way? It can also be presented in a less sensual manner rather than really putting it to words. I mean it’s actually gross most of the time.

OVERALL COMMENT

What can I say? I mean I already vented out most of what I feel in every section of this review. Just a piece of thought though, after I finished reading all of the three books I wished that it just was written in one single book since the whole story can be done in one book of about 500 pages maximum. I just feel like it just became a trilogy because the author wanted profit and not a solid audience. I appreciate that she wanted to have a constant readership or audience but to prolong a story that can be told in just a single book isn’t really a good practice. Maybe, the thorough sexing was written on purpose- to prolong a not so solid plot. It just doesn’t make sense to me that a plot so simple can be written in three separate books, if not for profit then what? That’s all I can say.

I found the experience rather thrilling, annoying, uneventful and most of all guileful. And also I don’t know if this is making sense because as soon as I finished reading the whole series, my mind and conscience told me that I shouldn’t have read it, that I shouldn’t have succumbed to my curiosity because in the end I gained nothing. Most of the things and ideas written here are not for my mind, I mean as an individual whose point of view on sex is not the same and not as liberated as the author’s. I live in a country where pre-marital sex is not allowed by my religion so this book really came as a shock to me. I knew I should’ve stopped the moment all those BDSM was being introduced, but no, it just piqued my curiosity so here I am, waiting to see if I’d get this guilty feeling out my system. I feel like I’m not so innocent anymore. Innocent of the things that I shouldn’t have learned yet (yes, I’m a conservative). Geez, I write this just to let out steam and hopefully calm my guilty conscience.

In the end, I dare contradict my earlier statement about recommending this book. I’d rather not recommend this to anyone, else I’ll feel like as if I’ve given them something that will vanish their innocence and make them have second thoughts about procreation and what it entails. Anyway, I’m happy that this series is crossed out in my list (which actually just made it to my list due to sheer curiosity – curiosity killed the cat – I should say).This series is one that I wouldn’t dare, never ever in my entire life, read again. I’d rather read my academic books out of boredom than to open the pages of this series. Don’t misunderstand, I don’t hate this book but I don’t like it either. I just won’t subject myself to anymore mind and conscience battle because it’s so tiring and I’ve still got loads to do than read this series again.

To get this over and done with, I leave to you the sole discretion as to whether or not read this series but I wash my hand and I’ll say that I did not, I REPEAT, I did not recommend this book to you. Anyhow, thanks for reading this “review” and please visit again some other time as I will try hard to review the books that I’m going to read in the future if I have time J

P.S. I loved the songs that were used in this book especially Nelly Furtado’s “Try” and Coldplay’s “The Scientist”. So I’ll recommend my own FIFTY SHADES SONGS: “Crazy” & “Break the Spell” both by Daughtry J Listen and be reminded of Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele’s happy ending story.