THIS is the book that’s getting people talking openly about BDSM? Really? After hearing all the hype on twitter by commenter and writer @Andrewtshaffer about how much it sucked, I had to check it out. The book has been labeled mommy porn by some of the folks who’ve read it, even getting the attention of Dr. Drew, having said the following:
“[50 Shades of Grey] is actual violence against women. I have to tell you, this is the part maybe i’ll get heat for, but there is a lot of violence against children in this country. There are various kinds of physical abuse. People subjected to those experiences are especially aroused by these images. I’m not saying the average women can’t be, but it’s especially arousing for them.”
on The Today Show. Now he hasn’t read the book but he did take a LOT of heat for his assertion later on that consensual submission by women was wrong.
Andrew’s blog post did a pretty good job of bashing the Dr. so I won’t rehash that, but I will start with what I learned of the book from his post on the Suicide Girls blog:
“Regardless of why it’s popular, 50 Shades of Grey‘s very existence is leading to some interesting, sex-positive discussions. “I found myself explaining what BDSM was to some of the moms at Saturday morning basketball,” publicist Alison Brod told The New York Post. Whether or not this signifies that BDSM (or even erotica) has gone mainstream is up in the air at this point, but it’s not inconceivable that 50 Shades of Grey could potentially do for BDSM what Twilight did for vampires.”
Sounds pretty good, right? Except that there are a TON of books in the erotic BDSM genre, including the ROMANCE section that have done this way before. What makes 50 Shades so damn good?
I’ll tell you.
Nothing. I respect Andrew’s opinion (goddess knows why!) so I asked him. I think the quote I got back was “the book sucked bags of dick.” Or some shit like that.
Curiousness made me pull up the free sample on my kindle app for my droid.
- First problem: First person narrative
- Second problem: First person narrative done poorly.
- Third problem: OH MY GOD did she just use the OVERDONE MIRROR TRICK to DESCRIBE HERSELF TO US?
You don’t see Laurel K. Hamilton doing that with Anita or Merry. As for BDSM, Joey W. Hill’s series that starts off with The Ice Queen gives us a deeper look into BDSM from a romance point of view that kinksters are more familiar with and one that romance readers really enjoy.
So why again is this trilogy being hailed as something great? Good question. Even the plot itself is WAY overdone.
“Anastasia Steele, a college-age virgin who has never been kissed, meets Christian Grey, the 27-year-old billionaire CEO of Grey’s Enterprises Holdings. Christian is unbelievably handsome with his “tousled hair” and “expensive body wash.” He is also unbelievably kinky. He lost his virginity to a dominatrix when he was fifteen, and, after five years as her submissive, became a dom himself. He used his vast wealth to turn a room in his penthouse apartment into a virtual dungeon, nicknamed the “Red Room of Pain.” And he wants to share his love of BDSM (and fine wine, classical music, and Bruce Springsteen) with Anastasia.” – Andrew once again at the Suicide Girls Blog
Yawn. I’m not normally a hater on books but the plot is so overdone in literature. I know, you’re all probably wondering what fuck I give since I’m not out to write the Great American Bondage Novel but please, I can go to any book store, pick up any random BDSM collection and find this story written much better and with less annoying characters AND possibly a better 1st person POV.
I’m not going to lie, this post is how I feel but I did it for the SEO value.
Seriously, I couldn’t make it past the first page. Something rubbed me raw with the writing and I’m honestly pretty open about what I’ll read.
Go read some REAL BDSM Erotica:
Hey Folks,
