I originally intended to write a rant about immature authors reacting to in-depth book reviews, but that'll only make me sound defensive & equally immature, and I know I'm better than that. For the record, however, I am not a bitter author whose work has been rejected & in turn looking for blood from other authors. I'm steadily publishing my short stories, and I get solicited for projects by editors & publishers.
Ehem. Moving on.
So. "Fifty Shades of Grey". I heard that you either love it or you hate it. Or that you claim to hate it, but secretly you love it. Yes. You. Don't go shaking your head at me and showing me attitude.
The book, originally a parody fan-fiction of "Twilight", exploded into fame & generated a deluge of other erotica books sold (and read) out in the open. Seriously. Ah Sohs with flaming red hair can be seen holding up paperback copies in the LRT, so selamba reading in front of everyone. However, writers all across the globe are perplexed & indignant by EL James's success. The quality of writing is SO BAD! HOW IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THE BOOKS TO HAVE GENERATED SALES BY THE MILLIONS?!
Oh, well. I wanted to give the books a try. For research only, mind. I'm not lying so get off my back! At first I couldn't even get through the first few pages. The quality. Is. So. BAD! I left the book alone & picked up better-written Young Adult books. Then I came back & managed slightly farther. Then stopped & picked up better-written Young Adult books.
In the end I gave up on reading the paperback, and decided to try the audiobook. After all, I concentrate on driving while listening to audiobooks. Multitasking. That's how you approach an unapproachable book. Right now I've reached the part where Christian Grey has rescued Anastasia Steele from the drunken clutches of Jose Rodriguez and she's woken up in his hotel room.
Admit it. You know what I'm talking about. Pfft.
Thing is, three chapters in, and I still haven't reached the naughty parts. WHERE ARE THE NAUGHTY PARTS?!
There are a lot of gazes going on here. His gaze. My gaze. He gazes. I gaze. I think I am officially fed up with the word 'gaze'. Remember, folks. Electrifying eye-to-eye contact is a form of foreplay. I think.
Anyway. Back to the issue at hand. Yes, the book is as annoying to listen to as it is to read. That's not the point I want to bring to light right now. It's a particular scene that I have in mind.
The drunken clutches.
Jose Rodriguez is a hunky junior who's into Anna, but she just looks at him as a friend. Upon first contact Christian already knows that Jose is a potential threat. Anna has the hots for Christian right from the start, but her insecurities make her belief that she's nowhere near his league. Clear so far? OK. There's a scene where Anna, her roommate & best friend Kate, and Jose (see how useful the Oxford comma is? I SHALL NOT ABANDON YOU, OH OXFORD COMMA!) go to a bar in Portland to celebrate finishing their final exams. Anna gets drunk, Jose gets drunk, Kate...well, Kate stays hot & sultry. Anna drunk-calls Christian, yada yada yada.
Now here's the important scene: Anna stumbles out of the bar, drunk. Jose follows her, equally drunk. He wants to make sure she's all right. However, being drunk and all, inhibitions are gone & he confesses his feelings for her & goes gropey and stuff. She's still not into him & tries to push him away. Christian comes swooping in, Anna vomits out her entire gastric contents, and Jose jumps away but Christian holds back her hair while she retches onto the street. Still drunk, Anna wants Christian to be physical with her. She doesn't dance, but she still dances with him. She wakes up the next day in her underwear in his hotel room, and gets a little disappointed when she finds out they haven't done the nasty.
See the issue here?
One drunk woman. One drunk man. Drunk woman is not into drunk man. Drunk man is into said drunk woman. He makes his move. He is seen as a jerk. Non-drunk man, who said drunk woman has the hots for, makes his move, and said drunk woman EXPECTS more.
OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD PLEASE TELL ME YOU NOTICE THE DOUBLE STANDARDS HERE!
It's not okay for a drunk man to try and overpower a drunk woman, but it's perfectly fine if the guy is hot & the drunk woman is into him? Come on. Women everywhere are fighting for equal rights & respect, but this kind of trash is still sold by the MILLIONS? Women are lapping this up? Just because the hot Christian Grey holds back Anastasia Steele's hair while she vomits, like a gentleman should?
It's not the quality of writing that I have issues with. It's Anastasia Steele. And I'm nowhere near done with the book.
Because I still want to get to the naughty parts.
In all seriousness, though, what I'm saying is that the book is saying that it's OK for a woman to be violated if the man is someone like Christian Grey. It's messed up, isn't it?
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