Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James: A Reason Not to Read

rachelkramerbussel.comWhen David McCullough at the Wellesley Commencement urged his graduating class to “read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life”, I do not think he had E L James’ Fifty Shades of Grey in mind. This mega popular, once self-published internet phenomenon has jumped to the #1 conversation topic of book clubs and the New York Times bestseller list. Why would a dross look at a young woman’s exploration of sadomasochism titillate the reading public?

The naïve and just graduated protagonist, Ana, is being pursued by the incredibly good-looking, incredibly rich, incredibly possessive, incredibly talented, and the incredibly emotionally damaged 27-year-old Christian Grey. The 500+ page book begins with a serendipitous interview between the young coed and the titan of capitalism. The pursuit and attraction leads to Ana exploring sex over and over (about every 5 pages after the first 100) with complete satisfaction as she revels in Grey’s attention, her pleasure, his intrigue, and her diminishing individuality. The crux of the book is Ana’s decision between a submissive lifestyle under Grey and her own path to personal freedom.

If this was a narrative exploring a young woman’s coming of age in a repressive, patriarchal society like Lolita or Porgy and Bess or our heroine Ana’s favorite Tess of the d’Urbervilles, it might garner some merit. But the novel is just a plastic and damaging portrayal of how superficial entities can outweigh reason and intellectualism. In the Grey pursuit of Ana, she loses her own will and surrenders her quiet confidence to another. Ana’s senseless and repetitive babble in the form of stream of consciousness is more teenage angst than a well-read college graduate and child of multiple broken homes. Even if had true emotional grit, the pain is instantly quelled by the scent of male body wash and attention. The story never develops a plot line, any intrigue above her pivotal decision, or any characters or situations that resemble realism. The ending was good enough for me, without giving it away.

I get why it is popular. It is a sex book exploring a very innocent, open, and free woman, who has the ability to orgasm with every sexual encounter. But the book does not challenge the reader or women or society with this sexuality and leaves us empty of any meaning or truth. Sex is not a vehicle to character development, but the sole reason, pleasure and benefit of the book. It is not moral or immoral, but it is not real and not worth the time of reader who seeks growth and wisdom in literature.

Fifty Shades of Grey is a quick read that challenges the reason to read while promoting it. The first time I saw anyone reading it was in the dentist office. Whether the other two books in the trilogy reveal a stronger Ana who challenges her role and becomes an archetype of modern power and freedom could give the shallowness of the first book a role as a very long prologue. As for me, I am tapping out now for life is too short to keep reading the same scene, words, and struggles of Fifty Shades of Grey without resolution. David McCullough might actually delete those lines about reading if he read this book before his summer vacation.

You can follow James Dugan on facebook and on Twitter @jamesduganlb. Purchase his new book through Amazon What Baseball Teaches: A Poetic Odyssey into 2008 Season of the World Champions Philadelphia Phillies

Comments

[Patrick Edmonds]

I have not read a single page of these texts, but I am aware of the phenomena. My wife read them and was disgusted about their poor quality. When texts like these succeed, it's merely a sad reflection at the decline of society's value of true art. Thanks for the review, or should I say, Warning?

[Lady Godiva]

I was given ample warning before reading this although from every fb post, it seemed like it was the next best Chick Lit book out there. Yes, I've personally categorized this as chick lit and I think that's appropriate. And to that end, I am a big fan of chick lit. Bridget Jones' Diary for example is a great chick lit novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed that book much better than Fifty Shades. Bridget Jones is clever and relatable and quirky. Fifty Shades is not. As Dugan has already pointed out, it's not well written at all. There was so much repetition it became quite interruptive and honestly, annoying. If I read "Holy Crap! Holy Shit, Holy ANYTHING....etc... one more time, I was going to throw the book at the window! I was not impressed with the book at all. Ana is not a quality heroine and I have no real respect for how she behaves, and she is the stereotypical damsdel in distress, who can't walk away or even bear to be away from her alleged beloved, whom she fell in love with after the first five minutes of meeting him. Nothing about their relationship is believable nor relatable at all. She's a weak woman who is one of the most insecure characters I've ever encountered, as she can't even bring herself to do anything until she hears back instantly from him via a silly, terse or sometimes perverse email from him, "reassuring" her of his "love for her. It's pathetic.
I have so much more admiration for Katniss Everdeen, the heorine from The Hunger Games, who is selfless, self-reliant, incredibly intuitive and quite ambitious. Her bravery defies most normal teenagers and her resolute demeanor deserves applause. Now I realize, this book is a completely different genre with a totally different agenda, but the point is, both popular novels (trilogies as well) include heorines that are used as role models. Ana is not one. Katniss absolutely is.

Finally, I realize as well the big selling point that is almost always the easiest way to make money is to use sex. S&M has not been discussed this openly in a general, mass produced novel (unelss it's porn) and so just like a Danielle Steele novel, people like sex. And while it is titilating, it's too over-the-top and it's creepy and can be downsized; she overdoes the amount of sexual trysts they are invovled in, and as Dugan points out, she somehow manages to conveniently orgasm just by his simple glance pretty much. Virgin turnes whore overnight. Yeah, that's believeable.

But I will finish the series, since they were so generously given to me (temporarily but nonetheless) and I think I may have a soft spot for Christian already. But not so much for Ana.

Thanks for the post. Maybe I'll write one for the rest of the series! I know you're dying to know how it turns out!

[James Dugan]

Thanks for the reply. I am glad you demand more of main characters. I think I would like to see your take on the next two. Keep reading during lunch.

[Aprilmae]

Dugan, we have debated this topic before, and I know that we disagree, but not all books are meant to be viewed as literature. Once you start talking about Fifty Shades on an intellectual level, it loses its allure. You can not dissect or analyze it - you just read it. Yes, it is ridiculous, but aren't all guilty pleasures? I feel like just because it is a book, it is being held to a different standard than other means of escape. And that is what the trilogy is - an indulgent way to check out of real life for awhile. When people are disgusted by them, it almost makes me angry. Other women escape into The Real Lives of Certain Housewives or other shallow reality TV, so why can't some women choose to read a trashy book to forget about doing the dishes?

And men? Just because they watch cheesy action movies, or god forbid some porn, does that mean that they are not capable of appreciating film as an art form?
Reading does not always have to be for the betterment of the mind - sometimes it can just be for fun. Of course, as someone who truly loves to read, I, like David McCullough, would encourage others to read as a nourishing staple of life, but (in the immortal words of Ana herself,) sometimes you just need to "chill out."