I recently heard about this “novel” from a variety of sources, and gave it a read. I can’t say I found the book very captivating… the “erotic” scenes were somewhat repetitive and ridiculous after a while, and I actually thought to myself “these characters seem as vapid as Edward and Bella” from Twilight.
I then saw an article in the local paper on the book, and also saw it was #1 on the NY Times bestseller list for paperbacks and also combined eBook and print. So, I did a little research, and was surprised what I found and that there was no thread on this “book”… I use quotes, as it appears to be a fan-fiction treatment of the Twilight series, which I personally found to be vapid and painful to read. The author, EL James, appears to have written a fan-fiction novel Masters of the Universe which was based on Twilight, and then adapted the novel to not resemble Twilight. There is a pretty extensive list of online discussions, but this one does a pretty good job of explaining the similarities.
I am, however, curious:
are others reading or have read this novel or series.
as a male, I wonder if this is as “steamy” to women as is suggested.
is the treatment of S&M/B&D indicative of a universal female fantasy (e.g., the strong sexy domineering man with unlimited libido).
perhaps most importantly, for married female dopers with kids, has reading this increased your interest in and frequency of having sex?
Ok, I’m reading it, I’m currently on about Chapter 15. I am male, I’m reading it because it’s part of a genre I write in and looks to be a major mainstream breakout book, along the lines of Story of O and 9 1/2 Weeks.
It’s very much a romance, I mean, the lead character is a beautiful virginal college student and a handsome, kinky young billionaire falls for her. Yah, that’s realism, but I give her a pass on that, and not because it’s “just erotica.” I found the first eight chapters very hard slogging, as there is not so much as a kiss to be had in them, it was all character build-up and by chapter four I was ready for things to start happening, but they didn’t. Moved at a snail’s pace.
Fortunately once they DID start banging the story took off. The lead character enjoyed the sex a lot, that pleasure was communicated well, and things moved right along. And here’s the reason I give the story a pass for it’s unrealism … it gives the author of a chance to explore the issue of how does someone who hasn’t had much experience or interest in vanilla sex (her roommate jokes that she lacks the “need a man” hormone) sort out the issues involved in getting together with a way kinky billionaire (who does not at first realize that she is a virgin)? As she often points out, she has no basis for comparing what she does with Christian, the male lead, and normal sex, cause she has not had any.
The lead character also wishes poignantly for the normal aspects of a relationship, dates, etc., instead of the dom/sub relationship Christian is into. There’s a contest and clash of wills there, even though the lead clearly loves the sexual activities Christian getsup to with her, but she does not know if it’s because it’s sex or because it’s kink.
At chapter 15 the characters are still in the middle of all that sorting out and it’s moving along rippingly. Not sure how far that can string out or how it might change, but I believe I got a handle on the novel’s success other than the ubiquitious “mommy porn” meme.
I keep hearing how this book is more appealing to women, can someone who has read it explain why that is?
Also, I predict that the movie won’t translate to the screen well and will be a flop. People are more comfortable reading a hot scene in their homes than they are going to a cineplex to watchi it with a bunch of other people.
I am not a woman, hence I can only theorize, but I have read some romance novels, and this book has many of the features of a romance novel. The heroine is a self-effacing virgin, unsure of herself but who proves irresistible to the male protagonist. Who is young, handsome, successful (a billionaire!) but had Dark Secrets that make him broody and mysterious on occasion. It’s the strong BDSM scenes that make it different, than and the heroine’s liking for BDSM. So I’m voting for the fact that it features many of the elements that have made romance novels appealing to women for a long time.
My wife, who’s a big fan of (in her words) “trashy romance novels”, thought it was great. Her description was basically: more kink than the typical mainstream romance novel, more plot than the typical kinky romance novel.
It’s a fantasy. Liking a war novel does not mean you want to enlist in the Army. Liking a murder mystery does not mean you want to quit your job and become a private eye. A lot of things make good idle fantasies, but are not necessarily things you want to actually do.
I just finished all three books and came in to take a peek at what my fellow Dopers had to say about it. I’m surprised that no more have put their two cents in the pot. Oh, well.
I read for a variety of reasons, the primary one being the development of the relationship between two characters. I loved watching them grow and change, and move past objects within their relationship. This book, I think did that well. I think both of the characters managed to do just that, although I wish writers would realize that not everyone who is quiet is overwhelmingly shy or grossly clumsy or virginally inexperienced. Some of us like to take moments to just observe the world (which often comes across as shy).
I did like how she stood up for herself, internally debated as to when to fight and when to let it go, and how there were scenes where real life (not just book life) kicked in. (The scene where he asked about her period made me squirm, but yet it was more reality than I’ve seen in many books. Ditto where she needed to pee, but wouldn’t in front of him.)
The sex scenes were repetative after awhile, but maybe I’m a just bit jaded. Would I want to be bound, blindfolded and fucked? Probably not (I simply don’t have that level of trust with anyone and can’t imagine having that level of trust with someone). However, as a very strong and independent woman myself, there is something incredibly appealing about having a man who is in control (or at least appears to be that way) and knows exactly what he wants. How would that work for me IRL? I’d most likely tell him to get lost if I were faced with someone who acted like Christian and had to be in control so much of the time.
Actually, having read all three books, I thought the part that left me wanting more was at the end where the reader saw things through Christian’s eyes. That was far more interesting, with more depth of character and one which I would gladly pick up and read.
I just finished the series today. As I am a Mommy, the book and recommendations went around my circle pretty fast. But then again, so did Twilight.
I liken it to the Judy Blume books of middle school. We all passed them around, the libraries at school refused to carry them, so of course they were hot.
The first book felt like she just wanted to write as many sex scenes as possible to win a dare or something. They were more graphic than regular romance books but I just felt that they were written purely for the shock factor. Once the main characters’ relationship started to form, I liked the books better.
What I liked was how the female changed the male, in direct opposition to Twilight. Ana tamed the monster in Christian and switched his focus from pure lust and sex to lust and love. Which is what they tell me we women are supposed to want. Then there is the whole Cinderella fantasy where the poor little college grad gets a gazillionaire to fall for her and won’t entertain the idea of a prenup. I must say I was as lusty about his giving her an iPad as anything else.
What I didn’t like was how a virgin twenty something tried, and liked, all sort of sexual behavior. The topic in my circle was “yeah, right…what woman in real life *likes *doing that…and would have at 21?”
I agree the graphic sex scenes got tedious by the third book. But the underlying story of Christian’s youth and dealings with the bad guy were exciting and drew me in.
It was quite badly written. I gave up halfway through, reading the original fanfic online (she hasn’t changed much, I believe). The extended discussions of the Pill and whatever- why?! And the deepthroating, orgasming-on-command through penetration virgin is hilariously implausible.
I did like the email exchanges, though. They were well written.