50 Shades of Grey

For the past few months, everyone seems to be talking about 50 Shades of Grey. They say it's steamy, kinky and oh so much fun. I'd heard great reviews and I'd heard terrible reviews, so I wasn't sure if it was worth picking up. When I finished The Hunger Games, I didn't really want to start back up again with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I decided I'd use 50 Shades as the perfect distraction. I wasn't sure what to expect. I figured it'd be a lot of juicy sex scenes with flat characters and little depth. I was pleasantly surprised that despite the flaws with the word choice or grammar, it was actually a very touching and emotional story that resonates because it features something we all want - to be desired.

Here's the background (thanks Amazon):

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms. Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

There's something intriguing about about secrets. Christian doesn't like to be touch or to feel out of control. Slowly, Ana is able to learn that his mother was a crack addict and he was given up for adoption. Eventually we learn that he was a submissive for an older woman when he was 15. 50 Shades of fucked up, as Ana puts it, is right. He's dangerous and mysterious - that is what everyone finds so exciting. That's why everyone calls this book "mommy porn." Most people makes safe choices and it's devilish fun to consider other options.

I must say that I think that people aren't ready this book for the sex. Of course that's part of it, but I don't think it's the main reason. I know it wasn't the reason I couldn't put it down. What EL James creates so well is passion and tension. Christian makes Ana feel so beautiful and desired. He can't keep his hands off her. While not every one is interested in riding crops and shackles, everyone wants to feel wanted. Nothing is easy and nothing is simple. That is the allure of Christian Grey.

The first book ends so abruptly. It felt much more like the end of a chapter, rather than the end of the book. I was somewhat disappointed, but I know there is much more to come. I instantly reached for my iPhone and ordered a copy of the second book in the series - 50 Shades Darker.

Let's so how much more wicked it can get...