I wasn’t going to read the FIFTY SHADES trilogy, the books being described as “mommy porn.”
I wasn’t going to read them because, honestly, I’m not a fan of erotica. But, as a writer, I could not stay away. I wanted to know what everyone was drooling over. I wanted to know what everyone was talking about. I wanted to know why the author had sold so many thousands of books.
I tried to check out the Kindle edition at my library but decided I didn’t want to wait in line for 137 readers to read it first. So, I forked over thirty bucks and bought the Fifty Shades Trilogy Bundle from Amazon.com.
So, during the last week, I read the trilogy. And that says something because if I don’t like a story I won’t finish it (even if I have spent thirty bucks). Time is too precious.
For what it’s worth, here is my opinion…
The writing is not there;
The writing is good enough to follow the story but, really, I got tired of reading the same descriptions over and over: lip biting, looking through thick lashes, raising eyebrows, blushing and blinking, gasping, etc. etc. etc.
When I write, I make an effort to not let my characters shrug or chuckle or sigh too much. This writer had the characters doing too many things too many times. I would rather have had more plot.
Christian Grey, the main male character, has grey eyes. And those grey eyes are described over and over and over. Jeez… I didn’t have to be reminded every other page that Christian had grey eyes. Writers should give their readers credit for having half a brain!
The two main characters: Christian and Anastasia:
Friends of mine on Facebook declared love for Christian Grey. Love? Good God, my radar would have been blown sky high if a man came on to me like Christian came on to Anastasia.
But, alas, the Fifty Shades trilogy is fiction…
So, Anastasia Steele is smart and smashing to look at and a college graduate and a hard worker and she’s got a sassy mouth, but she’s a virgin and so naive and gullible she puts up with Christian’s baggage. It was hard for me to buy into her character.
And Christian? He’s a good-looking billionaire but we are never really told why he falls so hard for Anastasia. I know why he was attracted to her in the first place but why didn’t she fall by the wayside like all his previous women?
The Story:
Most writer’s strive to give characters a character arc. In other words, the character starts off one way but, by the end of the story, he or she has changed. Both Anastasia and Christian have arcs. So, I applaud the writer for that. But, it took three books to get to the arcs. It could have happened quicker if it wasn’t for all that sex…
Now, I’m not a prude but, hey, sex is sex is sex, and I found myself hitting the “next” button on my Kindle very fast because I wanted to get through all the steamy sex and GET BACK TO THE STORY. I wanted to know WHAT was going to happen next and WHY. In my humble opinion, there could have been less sex and a lot more psychological suspense and plot.
Plus, in my opinion, the ending was predictable.
Summary:
The author, E. L. James, should be commended for doing what all writers want to do… writing a best seller. Plus, I understand a movie is being planned so I congratulate the writer for that. Most writers would like to be able to say they’ve accomplished this goal.
I just wish I’d been able to check out the books from the library. If I’d been able to do that, I would have thirty more dollars in my wallet than I do right now!
