50 Shades of Grey

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HEPZIBAH
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50 Shades of Grey

Post by HEPZIBAH »

I've not read this book, infact I've only just really become aware of it - even if it is taking the nation by storm!

I read an amusing article about the book in The Sunday Times Style Magazine at the weekend which was saying how originally women were being very cautious about where and when they read it. It then went on to say that now women are reading it in very public places, often to test the reaction of others. One person said that she and her friends would take their copies to the pub and read it out aloud to each other!

What's it all about...well if you are like me and not read it yet, I will let you look it up for yourself.

A warning to women every where - there may be consequences to reading this book. I've just seen the following on Yahoo:
Spoiler
Experts await the 50 Shades of Grey baby boom

A boffin has suggested Britain faces a baby boom thanks to the hit novel '50 Shades of Grey' that’s reportedly got the nation’s women diving between the sheets.
If you want to read the article go to: http://uk.lifestyle.yahoo.com/50-shades ... ected.html


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Re: 50 Shades of Grey

Post by Lisak »

Well I have to admit I have bought into the hype!
I so far have found the book extremely badly written....very "he said this, she said that" and the book seemed to be treading water for about 100 odd pages...then the sex popped in...which is what the book is all about.

So far I am annoyed at the woman Anastasia in it, for her naivety......and really can't see how woman are now putting "I want a Mr Grey" on their Facebook status's. I would run a bloody mile from the man! :o

However, the naughty bits (I have only read a couple of naughty bits so far) are quite explicit and naughty. :oops:

It is no literary masterpiece and I don't think I will be in any hurry to read all 3, in fact I have no idea how this book has managed to be as many pages as it is, let alone been written as a trilogy. I will try and read it to the end though....for research purposes of course. ;)
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Re: 50 Shades of Grey

Post by LivinginLuxor »

I've read that some readers actually put the book inside a neutral magazine out of embarassment! Another reason to buy a Kindle - no-one can see what you are reading!
I might agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong!
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Re: 50 Shades of Grey

Post by Smitch »

I read the first one to see what the fuss was about- don't think I'd rush to read the others as I thought it was very badly written and found the girl extremely annoying. One of my friends posted a link to this blog on facebook recently and it really made me laugh:
http://cassandraparkin.wordpress.com/20 ... s-of-grey/
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Re: 50 Shades of Grey

Post by Winged Isis »

I haven't read it, but the descriptions above remind me of that other piece of rubbish literature, The Da Vinci Code. Here's something might interest you. It's from the Sydney Morning Herald; the heckler column is by readers submitting items about things that annoy them...


Hint of pain but little to gain in book
July 6, 2012

Opinion

HECKLER

AFTER seeing the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy dominating all Top 10 booklists for the past month I finally succumbed and read the first book. Boy, was I surprised - not by the salacious masochistic content, but by how badly it is written. Not since Mills and Boon claimed a passing glance in my teenage years have I read such cliched description complete with tick-a-box language techniques. The story is loosely about a ''complicated'' wealthy man who uses his coercive powers to ensnare a young virgin through erotic games where he plays the dominant and she the submissive. Apart from problems with a predictable plot line and stereotypical characters, it is difficult to get past the appalling prose.

We start with a revealing simile describing the main character Christian Grey: ''His voice is warm and husky like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel …'' moving on to an exhausted metaphor of Christian as an ''Adonis, divinely formed''. His admirer and sometimes submissive plaything Anastasia is overcome by Christian's ''dazzling'' beauty, her ''heart is pounding'' and, using a clever mythological allusion, she sees herself as ''Icarus flying too close to the sun and crashing and burning as a result''. She is so overwhelmed by her lover that her alliterative ''inner goddess glows''.

Like all economical writers, the author captivates us with the short sentence strategy. ''You. Are. Mine. Come for me baby,'' he growls. Inserting different text-types into the narrative - emails complete with personified shouty capitals ''GO TO BED'' keep up the intriguing banter between the enigmatic drop-the-first-name Miss Steele and Mr Grey. However, adding the text of the Contract which enables Anastasia to engage in the activities in the Red Room of Pain does get a little boring, what with its hundreds of Rules and Appendices.
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Christian's complex character is revealed as the novel progresses. Anastasia tells us that ''Christian has a sad side'' and through another apt simile, is ''Sad and forlorn like the music'' to which he listens. The recurring motif of Anastasia ''biting her lip'' foreshadows her obvious desire for Christian - although I was worried by the 15th reference that her lip would be irretrievably bruised and bleeding.

I guess that I expected more from a novel which has received such popular acclaim. Thinking that the pun in the title Fifty Shades of Grey was going to reveal a more multi-layered plot line was my mistake. So there it is, not grey but black and white. It must offer something to a large number of people, but who knows what that may be - no one can possibly be buying the book to enjoy good writing.

Kris Watts

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-a ... z1zlttbjr0
Carpe diem! :le:
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Re: 50 Shades of Grey

Post by Lisak »

That is exactly it.....it is a really badly written, overly sexed Mills and Boon. The reference to her biting her lips is getting right on my nerves as are the 50,000 references to his grey eyes!!!
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Re: 50 Shades of Grey

Post by JOJO »

I had to fetch myself a copy yesterday just to see what all the excitement was about but haven't started it yet. My younger sister abandoned it 1/2 way through as it was so badly written and unrealistic? (and she reads some rubbish)
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Re: 50 Shades of Grey

Post by Lisak »

Don't blame her Jojo...it is utter tripe!
Apparently it was written as an 'homage to Twilight...but went in a different direction. Didn't like that book either! :lol:
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Re: 50 Shades of Grey

Post by Subversion »

Haven't read it - don't intend to - but interesting that Grey is also the name of the central character in the film "The Secretary" - another lame attempt at understanding the dynamic of human sexuality !

As for being embarrassed to read it in public - it hardly sounds like the new 120 Days of Sodom!

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Re: 50 Shades of Grey

Post by Mimimay »

Sounds a load of rubbish and the hype puts me off anyway, so I won't be bothering.
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