Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
RANDOM HOUSE UK (2012), 546 pages
Description
When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind -- until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time.
Media reviews
“Fifty Shades of Grey” is being released in time for Valentine’s Day. That’s a bold move, since the film is not just unromantic but specifically anti-romantic; take your valentine along, by all means, but, be warned, it’ll be like watching “Rosemary’s Baby” at Christmas
Sadomaso-Bestseller "Shades of Grey": Das Leben kann so stöhn sein - Fesselnde Story? Oder reine Quälerei? Der Sadomaso-Softporno "Shades of Grey" erzählt von einer Frau, die sich lustvoll einem Mann unterwirft. Jetzt erscheint der heiß diskutierte Bestseller auch in Deutschland. Sie wollen
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mitreden, ohne das Ding zu lesen? Hier die wichtigsten Fakten. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member ohdani
Oh, this disappointment is just all-encompassing.
Have I read the same book as all of my friends?
First of all, I need to get this off my chest. This is the biggest Twilight rip-off I have ever read. I'm not even a die-hard Twi-hard, and I'm disgusted by how similar these books are. Seriously, at
So let's compare.
Setting:
Twlight- Washington.
Fifty Shades- Washington.
Characters:
Female protagonist-
Isabella Swan- Prefers to be called Bella. Pale, dark hair, sort of nondescript so that most young women can easily put themselves in her shoes. Awkward, clumsy, socially defunct, sexually inexperienced. Two divorced parents, sort of sweet, hare-brained mother who lives with stepfather in the south. Has tastes that are not common for her age. Likes to read classic literature. No self-esteem. Apparently living in 1995 because Email is her main way to keep in touch over, say, text messaging. Emphasis placed on her researching online to learn more about Edward. drives a rickety old car that causes edward concern.
Anastasia Steele- Prefers to be called Ana. Pale, dark hair, sort of nondescript so that most young women can easily put themselves in her shoes. Awkward, clumsy, socially defunct, sexually inexperienced. Two divorced parents, sort of sweet, hare-brained mother who lives with stepfather in the south. Has tastes that are not common for her age. Likes to read classic literature. No self-esteem. Apparently living in 1995 because Email is her main way to keep in touch over, say, text messaging. Emphasis placed on her researching online to learn more about Christian. drives a rickety old car that causes christian concern.
Male Protagonist-
Edward Cullen- Drop-dead gorgeous. Copper haired. Wealthy. Controlling. Adopted by well-off parents, one whom is a doctor. Likes a variety of music, much of which is classical. Plays piano. Has several adopted siblings. Likes fancy cars. Has never brought a woman home before, and everyone was worried about him for it. Talks about 'his world' being separate from the normal one.
Christian Grey- See all of Edward Cullen. Except he's not a vampire.
Other-
Mia- see Alice Cullen.
Ray- see Charlie Swan
Kate- arguably comparable to Rosalie Cullen- although not a sibling to christian or anatagonist to ana, she is used as a foil for her just as Rosalie is to Bella. Also, she's romantically involved with Christian's brother ( just as Rosalie is with Emmett).
Elliott- see Emmett.
Jose- see Jacob
Plot-
Twilight- Self-proclaimed uninteresting and not-attractive Bella Swan, (Who apparently IS attractive to other people) somehow manages to catch the eye of over-the-top gorgeous rich dude Edward Cullen. Edward tells Bella to stay away, but finds he can't and their strange fucked up relationship ensues. About 1 week into their even knowing the existence of each other, Bella is forever in love.
Fifty Shades- Self-proclaimed uninteresting and not-attractive Ana Steele, (Who apparently IS attractive to other people) somehow manages to catch the eye of over-the-top gorgeous rich dude Christian Grey. Christian tells Ana to stay away, but finds he can't and their strange fucked up relationship ensues. About 1 week into their even knowing the existence of each other, Ana is forever in love.
Have I covered it? Hardly. This book, almost verbatim in some places, mimics Twilight so much that it was distracting. I kept expecting Ana to throw out that now practically legendary line about being 'irrevocably in love' with stupid Christian, or maybe for the Volturi to pop out from around a corner and start chasing them down. From the overly warm welcome of Ana to Christian's family to the fast comment about needing 'bathroom time', this absolutely stinks of borderline plagiarism or copy write infringement or something.
On to this book on it's own.
Horrible.
Fifty shades? FIFTY? Because really, all I could see were two- asshole with a messed up childhood who now likes to beat his lovers, and playful, lovable normal dude who was quite enjoyable. That's about it. Fifty shades, though. I'd like to know the other 48.
Ana is one of the least likable characters I think ever written. She's more spineless and annoying that Bella Swan, equally needy and ridiculously, unhealthily willing to comply with a man she met only very recently. I give Bella Swan benefit of the doubt in her case, but Anastasia Steele just stumbles on forward with her relationship while this STRANGER continuously treats her like a child or an object... then is surprised or confused when his personality shifts dramatically. Which is does on every other page. This woman is a total moron.
Also- let's take one moment to enjoy a definition of a word used repeatedly in the book.
Subconscious- existing or operating in the mind beneath or beyond consciousness: the subconscious self. Compare preconscious, unconscious.
STOP REFERRING TO YOUR INNER MONOLOGUE AS YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS. If it was subconscious, you would not know what it was saying. People pay good money to figure out what their subconscious is trying to tell them, but apparently, Anastasia Steele has hers on a two-way radio at all times.
Don't get me wrong- my favorite part of the entire book was the reaction of her 'subconscious' and her 'inner goddess', and a couple of times I even laughed aloud as she describes her subconscious calling her a 'ho'. I just believe we're confusing subconscious with the boring old inner monologue.
Speaking of repeated words- Without a doubt, had I read about the smell of Christian's body wash one more time, I think I would have actually lost my self-control and thrown the Nook across the room. I get it. He smells like his body wash. Maybe we can talk about that again in ten pages? And while we're at it, why not use the word "heady" or "intoxicating" some more. Or how about we have another sex scene that starts with Ana being entirely shocked that it's happening at all, and be sure to somehow include the word, "wow" as evidence of how she feels. So very descriptive. Really takes me away.
And so we're clear, I'm rolling my eyes, because every eye roll apparently is something worth discussing for several pages.
This book as absolutely no point. None. It's just reading so that you can get to the next sex scene. The characters are awful, the plot is non-existent, and the entire thing is one giant Twilight rip-off without the somewhat engaging story line. I wanted to give Ana some credit for being the one to break things off with Christian, but then she's devastated, "numb", and clearly pulling a Bella now that Christian's not in the picture.
This was just such an, oh my god, terrible, terrible book. I kept wishing that I could reach into the pages and punch the characters right in their horribly-described faces, but then realized that would probably turn them on.
I'm all about a fun, sexy romp, but for now I'll just stick with the Black Dagger Brotherhood books when I'm looking for a smokin' hot read. At least there's also some semblance of a plot in that series.
Have I read the same book as all of my friends?
First of all, I need to get this off my chest. This is the biggest Twilight rip-off I have ever read. I'm not even a die-hard Twi-hard, and I'm disgusted by how similar these books are. Seriously, at
Show More
least Twilight has vampires, albeit sort of silly ones. So let's compare.
Setting:
Twlight- Washington.
Fifty Shades- Washington.
Characters:
Female protagonist-
Isabella Swan- Prefers to be called Bella. Pale, dark hair, sort of nondescript so that most young women can easily put themselves in her shoes. Awkward, clumsy, socially defunct, sexually inexperienced. Two divorced parents, sort of sweet, hare-brained mother who lives with stepfather in the south. Has tastes that are not common for her age. Likes to read classic literature. No self-esteem. Apparently living in 1995 because Email is her main way to keep in touch over, say, text messaging. Emphasis placed on her researching online to learn more about Edward. drives a rickety old car that causes edward concern.
Anastasia Steele- Prefers to be called Ana. Pale, dark hair, sort of nondescript so that most young women can easily put themselves in her shoes. Awkward, clumsy, socially defunct, sexually inexperienced. Two divorced parents, sort of sweet, hare-brained mother who lives with stepfather in the south. Has tastes that are not common for her age. Likes to read classic literature. No self-esteem. Apparently living in 1995 because Email is her main way to keep in touch over, say, text messaging. Emphasis placed on her researching online to learn more about Christian. drives a rickety old car that causes christian concern.
Male Protagonist-
Edward Cullen- Drop-dead gorgeous. Copper haired. Wealthy. Controlling. Adopted by well-off parents, one whom is a doctor. Likes a variety of music, much of which is classical. Plays piano. Has several adopted siblings. Likes fancy cars. Has never brought a woman home before, and everyone was worried about him for it. Talks about 'his world' being separate from the normal one.
Christian Grey- See all of Edward Cullen. Except he's not a vampire.
Other-
Mia- see Alice Cullen.
Ray- see Charlie Swan
Kate- arguably comparable to Rosalie Cullen- although not a sibling to christian or anatagonist to ana, she is used as a foil for her just as Rosalie is to Bella. Also, she's romantically involved with Christian's brother ( just as Rosalie is with Emmett).
Elliott- see Emmett.
Jose- see Jacob
Plot-
Twilight- Self-proclaimed uninteresting and not-attractive Bella Swan, (Who apparently IS attractive to other people) somehow manages to catch the eye of over-the-top gorgeous rich dude Edward Cullen. Edward tells Bella to stay away, but finds he can't and their strange fucked up relationship ensues. About 1 week into their even knowing the existence of each other, Bella is forever in love.
Fifty Shades- Self-proclaimed uninteresting and not-attractive Ana Steele, (Who apparently IS attractive to other people) somehow manages to catch the eye of over-the-top gorgeous rich dude Christian Grey. Christian tells Ana to stay away, but finds he can't and their strange fucked up relationship ensues. About 1 week into their even knowing the existence of each other, Ana is forever in love.
Have I covered it? Hardly. This book, almost verbatim in some places, mimics Twilight so much that it was distracting. I kept expecting Ana to throw out that now practically legendary line about being 'irrevocably in love' with stupid Christian, or maybe for the Volturi to pop out from around a corner and start chasing them down. From the overly warm welcome of Ana to Christian's family to the fast comment about needing 'bathroom time', this absolutely stinks of borderline plagiarism or copy write infringement or something.
On to this book on it's own.
Horrible.
Fifty shades? FIFTY? Because really, all I could see were two- asshole with a messed up childhood who now likes to beat his lovers, and playful, lovable normal dude who was quite enjoyable. That's about it. Fifty shades, though. I'd like to know the other 48.
Ana is one of the least likable characters I think ever written. She's more spineless and annoying that Bella Swan, equally needy and ridiculously, unhealthily willing to comply with a man she met only very recently. I give Bella Swan benefit of the doubt in her case, but Anastasia Steele just stumbles on forward with her relationship while this STRANGER continuously treats her like a child or an object... then is surprised or confused when his personality shifts dramatically. Which is does on every other page. This woman is a total moron.
Also- let's take one moment to enjoy a definition of a word used repeatedly in the book.
Subconscious- existing or operating in the mind beneath or beyond consciousness: the subconscious self. Compare preconscious, unconscious.
STOP REFERRING TO YOUR INNER MONOLOGUE AS YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS. If it was subconscious, you would not know what it was saying. People pay good money to figure out what their subconscious is trying to tell them, but apparently, Anastasia Steele has hers on a two-way radio at all times.
Don't get me wrong- my favorite part of the entire book was the reaction of her 'subconscious' and her 'inner goddess', and a couple of times I even laughed aloud as she describes her subconscious calling her a 'ho'. I just believe we're confusing subconscious with the boring old inner monologue.
Speaking of repeated words- Without a doubt, had I read about the smell of Christian's body wash one more time, I think I would have actually lost my self-control and thrown the Nook across the room. I get it. He smells like his body wash. Maybe we can talk about that again in ten pages? And while we're at it, why not use the word "heady" or "intoxicating" some more. Or how about we have another sex scene that starts with Ana being entirely shocked that it's happening at all, and be sure to somehow include the word, "wow" as evidence of how she feels. So very descriptive. Really takes me away.
And so we're clear, I'm rolling my eyes, because every eye roll apparently is something worth discussing for several pages.
This book as absolutely no point. None. It's just reading so that you can get to the next sex scene. The characters are awful, the plot is non-existent, and the entire thing is one giant Twilight rip-off without the somewhat engaging story line. I wanted to give Ana some credit for being the one to break things off with Christian, but then she's devastated, "numb", and clearly pulling a Bella now that Christian's not in the picture.
This was just such an, oh my god, terrible, terrible book. I kept wishing that I could reach into the pages and punch the characters right in their horribly-described faces, but then realized that would probably turn them on.
I'm all about a fun, sexy romp, but for now I'll just stick with the Black Dagger Brotherhood books when I'm looking for a smokin' hot read. At least there's also some semblance of a plot in that series.
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LibraryThing member RapidCityPubLib
I had certain expectations coming into 50 Shades: I expected poor writing, lots of sex, and a positive view of BDSM. One out of three is not good.
The story begins with Anastasia Steele preparing to interview multi-millionaire Christian Grey for her college paper. Because college papers often score
Was there sex? Yes, but not a lot, and not well described (see below). Was it BDSM positive? Ana does like some aspects, but the bigger message is that Grey is into it because he’s so messed up. Poor writing? Oh yes and yes and yes. Characters are given very vague descriptions. We’re told Ana’s roommate has a better body, and that Grey is taller than her, yet Ana easily wears the roommate’s dresses and a pair of Grey’s boxers fit perfectly. Several times, Grey’s pajama pants hang off his hip in “that way”, whatever that means. Ana’s vocabulary of body parts is closer to that of a child instead of a college graduate; it is never her butt or ass, always “behind”, and no mention of vagina, vulva, or any slang terms, always “down there”. Her inner monologues are just painful, including her ever-critical subconscious, and her Inner Goddess, which does little dances and seems to like sex a lot.
Read it to find out what everyone is reading about, and then wonder why.
The story begins with Anastasia Steele preparing to interview multi-millionaire Christian Grey for her college paper. Because college papers often score
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interviews with multi-millionaires. She’s unprepared for this because her roommate was supposed to do the interview, but has fallen ill, so Ana must drive the three hours to meet with Grey. Because no one has heard of phones, apparently. There’s a mutual attraction which leads into Grey stalking Ana (it started out as Twilight fanfic). They begin a relationship which is troubled by Grey needing BDSM and Ana being a not-very-submissive virgin who never masturbates (because of course she is). Will they be able to overcome their differences? Read the book to find out!Was there sex? Yes, but not a lot, and not well described (see below). Was it BDSM positive? Ana does like some aspects, but the bigger message is that Grey is into it because he’s so messed up. Poor writing? Oh yes and yes and yes. Characters are given very vague descriptions. We’re told Ana’s roommate has a better body, and that Grey is taller than her, yet Ana easily wears the roommate’s dresses and a pair of Grey’s boxers fit perfectly. Several times, Grey’s pajama pants hang off his hip in “that way”, whatever that means. Ana’s vocabulary of body parts is closer to that of a child instead of a college graduate; it is never her butt or ass, always “behind”, and no mention of vagina, vulva, or any slang terms, always “down there”. Her inner monologues are just painful, including her ever-critical subconscious, and her Inner Goddess, which does little dances and seems to like sex a lot.
Read it to find out what everyone is reading about, and then wonder why.
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LibraryThing member AmyLovsBooks
Long story short, guy's a psycho,girl's from some distant planet.
LibraryThing member KamGeb
Yuck!!!!! Why is this book on the best seller list. It is terribly written and the subject matter is horrible.
LibraryThing member MaryEvelynLS
Recently, with ALL of the attention that this book series has garnished, I felt I HAD to read FIFTY SHADES OF GREY. Yes! I finally succumbed to the peer pressure and joined the ever-growing waiting list at the library for the entire book series. After waiting several weeks for the library to call
Seriously, I am having a VERY difficult time getting involved in this story. PLEASE, please forgive me FIFTY SHADES fans!! I am not taking a jab at anyone personally, I'm just struggling with the story line. Normally, if I enjoy a book, I am done in 3 days. TOPS. I began FIFTY SHADES of GREY on the 26th of Feb. and I've just reached the fifth chapter. Let me just say that I do not have one specific genre that I read. I read whatever happens to appeal to me. So....it's not like I'm reading something entirely outside of my "likes". I just find what I've read so far a tab bit unbelievable. I know. I know. Just fiction, right? But...I like my fiction with a little "believe ability". Would this powerful, sexy man find Anastasia one bit attractive in real life? Uh..no!! Ana is a total goofball. She doesn't have an interesting bone in her body. Am I to believe that Mr. Incredible drives 165 miles to a rural college town to see this plain Jane? Maybe I have to give it more time. Obviously. Like I said, I'm only on page 65. However, when I've reached the fifth chapter of any prior book, I usually know if I'm going to like/love/hate what I'm reading. Hmmm...perhaps I will have better things to say with my next review. I hope I eat my words. I really WANT to love this book. Besides, my name is on the waiting list for FIFTY SHADES DARKER and FIFTY SHADES FREED.
*Update edit*
Holy crap! Oh my!! My subconcious, my inner goddess and I have finally finished this book. My opinion has not changed. I still find this book lacking just about everything a great book should have. I think I failed to mention that I must have been one of the only women in the world who did not know what this story entailed. I only knew that every woman was talking about Fsog and when one would, I would stop them by holding my fingers in my ears and do the "lalala" thing. Therefore, I had probably been warned and just like clueless Miss Anastasia Steele, I plunged ahead with something that I shouldn't have. I'm going to make my latest review as quick as I can. First, where was the plot? There was a plot, right? Like Ana's resolve, plot=weak. And...while Mr. Grey did sound glorious to look at, he also sounded like a serious headcase who found it sexually fulfilling to abuse women. Eat this. Wear this. Go/don't go here. Talk/don't talk. The list of his cruel demands goes on. Did I find him sexy and charming? Uh..no! I found Christian to be a man I was very familiar with. My ex. By the way, I left that relationship running for the hills. Can you say STALKER? Secondly, as the storyline progressed I expected the characters to evolve, too. Ana remained as dumb and immature as she was from the moment she tripped her way into Grey's kinky world. Christian Grey. Why would his character evolve during the course of this poorly written novel? He brooded about when Ana suggested "more" so I just knew he wasn't going to change for me. However, I would like to add that I did come to realize why he found Ana, the virginal, boring, pitiful pint of "Vanilla" so fascinating. Grey discovered she was a virgin. What man wouldn't want to mold her into his love slave? Hello!! Ana is an absolute ditzoid when it comes to ANY knowledge of sex, vanilla OR 31 flavors. WTF? Has this girl never discussed the tiny details of sex that ALL girls discuss and giggle about with their close friends and roomate? She and Kate are supposed to be so close but they've never had these "girl talks"? Unrealistic, especially since Ana informs the reader that Kate doesn't take bull from men. Once Ana's sexual "situation" has been "remedied" by Fifty, Ana is all of a sudden a natural born porn star. Um...yea..no. Does the plot ever thicken? No to that, too. Ana and Grey's relationship consists of a bunch of goofy ass emails and even goofier phone calls: Ye ole, "you hang up. No! You hang up." And this man is a CEO. (Rolling my eyes and I don't care who sees me do it.) The sex? Wasn't even that exciting. Of course, Ana claims Christian is an expert lover. Compared to who...her? HOW does she know he is the "greatest"? Oh, yea. Beacause he is training and manipulating her to believe that he is the best lover, like, ever. (Again, rolling my eyes.) I (I'm entitled to my personal opinion)feel this book was so poorly written. So, there ya go. Like it or not, that's it. I'm done. Just one more thing,like Anastasia Steele, I just can't seem to learn my lessons. I feel the need to punish myself further because I am going to proceed onward with my relationship with Fifty. Turns out, I must enjoy torture, too.
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with the great news that my name had finally been reached on the list, I threw on my tennis shoes and ran right on over to the library to pick up my little piece of literary gold. (True story, as I live dangerously close to the library. Spend way too much time there.) FINALLY....I could join the rest of the world and dream about the charming Christian Grey.Seriously, I am having a VERY difficult time getting involved in this story. PLEASE, please forgive me FIFTY SHADES fans!! I am not taking a jab at anyone personally, I'm just struggling with the story line. Normally, if I enjoy a book, I am done in 3 days. TOPS. I began FIFTY SHADES of GREY on the 26th of Feb. and I've just reached the fifth chapter. Let me just say that I do not have one specific genre that I read. I read whatever happens to appeal to me. So....it's not like I'm reading something entirely outside of my "likes". I just find what I've read so far a tab bit unbelievable. I know. I know. Just fiction, right? But...I like my fiction with a little "believe ability". Would this powerful, sexy man find Anastasia one bit attractive in real life? Uh..no!! Ana is a total goofball. She doesn't have an interesting bone in her body. Am I to believe that Mr. Incredible drives 165 miles to a rural college town to see this plain Jane? Maybe I have to give it more time. Obviously. Like I said, I'm only on page 65. However, when I've reached the fifth chapter of any prior book, I usually know if I'm going to like/love/hate what I'm reading. Hmmm...perhaps I will have better things to say with my next review. I hope I eat my words. I really WANT to love this book. Besides, my name is on the waiting list for FIFTY SHADES DARKER and FIFTY SHADES FREED.
*Update edit*
Holy crap! Oh my!! My subconcious, my inner goddess and I have finally finished this book. My opinion has not changed. I still find this book lacking just about everything a great book should have. I think I failed to mention that I must have been one of the only women in the world who did not know what this story entailed. I only knew that every woman was talking about Fsog and when one would, I would stop them by holding my fingers in my ears and do the "lalala" thing. Therefore, I had probably been warned and just like clueless Miss Anastasia Steele, I plunged ahead with something that I shouldn't have. I'm going to make my latest review as quick as I can. First, where was the plot? There was a plot, right? Like Ana's resolve, plot=weak. And...while Mr. Grey did sound glorious to look at, he also sounded like a serious headcase who found it sexually fulfilling to abuse women. Eat this. Wear this. Go/don't go here. Talk/don't talk. The list of his cruel demands goes on. Did I find him sexy and charming? Uh..no! I found Christian to be a man I was very familiar with. My ex. By the way, I left that relationship running for the hills. Can you say STALKER? Secondly, as the storyline progressed I expected the characters to evolve, too. Ana remained as dumb and immature as she was from the moment she tripped her way into Grey's kinky world. Christian Grey. Why would his character evolve during the course of this poorly written novel? He brooded about when Ana suggested "more" so I just knew he wasn't going to change for me. However, I would like to add that I did come to realize why he found Ana, the virginal, boring, pitiful pint of "Vanilla" so fascinating. Grey discovered she was a virgin. What man wouldn't want to mold her into his love slave? Hello!! Ana is an absolute ditzoid when it comes to ANY knowledge of sex, vanilla OR 31 flavors. WTF? Has this girl never discussed the tiny details of sex that ALL girls discuss and giggle about with their close friends and roomate? She and Kate are supposed to be so close but they've never had these "girl talks"? Unrealistic, especially since Ana informs the reader that Kate doesn't take bull from men. Once Ana's sexual "situation" has been "remedied" by Fifty, Ana is all of a sudden a natural born porn star. Um...yea..no. Does the plot ever thicken? No to that, too. Ana and Grey's relationship consists of a bunch of goofy ass emails and even goofier phone calls: Ye ole, "you hang up. No! You hang up." And this man is a CEO. (Rolling my eyes and I don't care who sees me do it.) The sex? Wasn't even that exciting. Of course, Ana claims Christian is an expert lover. Compared to who...her? HOW does she know he is the "greatest"? Oh, yea. Beacause he is training and manipulating her to believe that he is the best lover, like, ever. (Again, rolling my eyes.) I (I'm entitled to my personal opinion)feel this book was so poorly written. So, there ya go. Like it or not, that's it. I'm done. Just one more thing,like Anastasia Steele, I just can't seem to learn my lessons. I feel the need to punish myself further because I am going to proceed onward with my relationship with Fifty. Turns out, I must enjoy torture, too.
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LibraryThing member cinnamonowl
Please, if this is your thing, or you liked the book.do not be offended.
I only read to the end of this book to see if there was a conclusion that I could be happy with - one of the main characters had to change for me to be happy. And fortunately for me, one of them does.
Christian Grey is a
I know that none of my opinions are based in any fact about why Christian does what he does - that was my conclusion from reading the book.
The shoddy writing didn't help. I was going to poke my eyes out if I had to read him scolding her for biting her lip and rolling her eyes one more time. And her crazy inner goddess and subconcious! Oh my god. That drove me insane!
The summary says this book will stay with you forever, and I think it is right. It just won't stay with you in a good way.
I only read to the end of this book to see if there was a conclusion that I could be happy with - one of the main characters had to change for me to be happy. And fortunately for me, one of them does.
Christian Grey is a
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millionaire at a young age - I am not sure what he does for a living, but I do know that he owns a company and has a helicopter. Anastasia Steele is a 21 year old college student who has never been in love, dated, or even kissed anyone. These characters are based on Edward and Bella from Twilight -and when I read Twilight I was disgusted with the unhealthiness of their relationship. I was Team Jacob. Well, this book takes their relationship in a totally different direction! Although Anastasia is a virgin, she decides it would be a good idea for her first sexual relationship to be one with a contract and chains. Christian is a BDSM master, and Ana his submissive. She lets him do pretty much what he wants. We learn that Christian got into the life when he was 15 years old, and his mom's friend made him her submissive. We are supposed to believe this saved his life, keeping him from drugs; I think it is child abuse. We learn his mom was a crack addict who abused him and most likely starved him. He is a man with many demons, and to be honest I felt sorry for him. This was obviously the way he felt he was in control of his life. I just thought it was wrong for Anastasia, her introduction to sex to be one of pain, slavery, submission, and fear. I know that none of my opinions are based in any fact about why Christian does what he does - that was my conclusion from reading the book.
The shoddy writing didn't help. I was going to poke my eyes out if I had to read him scolding her for biting her lip and rolling her eyes one more time. And her crazy inner goddess and subconcious! Oh my god. That drove me insane!
The summary says this book will stay with you forever, and I think it is right. It just won't stay with you in a good way.
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LibraryThing member jll1976
Oh my god! This is one of the worst books I've ever read. Is it possible to give NO stars? I couldn't even finish it! After four chapters I just couldn't go on. The writing is SOOOO bad. The characters are flimsy and cliched, and I couldn't stand the narrator.
As an aspiring author myself I can't
It makes me mad just to think of the trees that gave their life so that this THING could be printed and distributed.
The ONLY positive to come out of this is that I have the chance to warn others before the go wasting money on this utter shiite. Please people, heed this warning DO NOT give this the time of day.
As an aspiring author myself I can't
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decide whether the completely inexplicable, apparent popularity of this tripe leaves me with hope or despair. On the one hand it turns out that it doesn't matter if i can't write- apparently a ramped up publicity campaign will take care of that. On the other hand what if it turns out I write well, the thought of my work (and the work of so many other TALENTED writers) sitting on the sheleves next to this CRAP as though they are equal makes me despressed.It makes me mad just to think of the trees that gave their life so that this THING could be printed and distributed.
The ONLY positive to come out of this is that I have the chance to warn others before the go wasting money on this utter shiite. Please people, heed this warning DO NOT give this the time of day.
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LibraryThing member Darcia
Where to begin? This will probably be the longest review I'll ever write. I should start by saying this book was given to me as a gift. I'd read all the hype and critique. Given what I knew, quite honestly, I wouldn't have paid for this. But, since I had the book, I decided to approach it with an
First, the British author, who obviously has no sense of American culture, chose to set this story in the U.S. The dialogue is ridiculous. No American college student speaks this way. Not only are many of the phrases and word choices strictly British, but the dialogue is far too formal for college kids.
Certain words are repeated ad nauseum. The characters rarely 'say' anything. They 'murmur' to the point of making me want to toss the book through a window. They 'whisper', they 'mutter'. But they don't simply talk.
Ana, the main character is beyond naive. She lives on her own and is graduating college, yet has never had a serious boyfriend. She knows absolutely nothing about sex. This, in itself, is difficult to believe. What pushed all this into the absurd was this naive young woman who has, by admission, never met a man she felt attracted to, immediately falls madly in love with the mysterious Christian. She hops right into his bed and his world of BDSM.
I didn't find the sex particularly 'hot', as so many reviewers claim. Because Ana felt shame in her role, the sex, to me, came off as demeaning rather than stimulating. She was a possession, rather than an equal partner.
Ana, to me, was not at all likable. Her character also made no sense. On the one hand, she is naive, meek, and suffers from low self esteem. On the other hand, she is independent and strong willed. I've never met a person who is all of those things at once.
Absolutely everyone falls at Christian's feet. He has the world at his fingertips. Everyone does his bidding. His looks make women weak-kneed. He's dark and mysterious, wealthy, and only has eyes for Ana. Far too stereotypical of the 'bad boy' hero.
That being said, of all the characters, Christian is the only one I found interesting. In the last third of the book, we begin to see how he became the man he is. I wish he'd been more developed, and less stereotypical.
The only part of this book I enjoyed and cracked a smile at were the emails between Ana and Christian. In these, I found more honesty and personality.
I have to ask, where was the editor? The writing here is at beginner level. A good editor could have, and should have, worked to develop this story.
In the end, I am at a loss to explain the excited hype and rave reviews for this book. It's a case of damaged bad boy hero meets the younger, naive woman who, unwittingly, wraps him around her finger. There are far more polished books of this nature by talented authors who, for reasons unknown to me, don't get the kind of hype this book has received.
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open mind. I found this book is, in fact, a train wreck. My reasons:First, the British author, who obviously has no sense of American culture, chose to set this story in the U.S. The dialogue is ridiculous. No American college student speaks this way. Not only are many of the phrases and word choices strictly British, but the dialogue is far too formal for college kids.
Certain words are repeated ad nauseum. The characters rarely 'say' anything. They 'murmur' to the point of making me want to toss the book through a window. They 'whisper', they 'mutter'. But they don't simply talk.
Ana, the main character is beyond naive. She lives on her own and is graduating college, yet has never had a serious boyfriend. She knows absolutely nothing about sex. This, in itself, is difficult to believe. What pushed all this into the absurd was this naive young woman who has, by admission, never met a man she felt attracted to, immediately falls madly in love with the mysterious Christian. She hops right into his bed and his world of BDSM.
I didn't find the sex particularly 'hot', as so many reviewers claim. Because Ana felt shame in her role, the sex, to me, came off as demeaning rather than stimulating. She was a possession, rather than an equal partner.
Ana, to me, was not at all likable. Her character also made no sense. On the one hand, she is naive, meek, and suffers from low self esteem. On the other hand, she is independent and strong willed. I've never met a person who is all of those things at once.
Absolutely everyone falls at Christian's feet. He has the world at his fingertips. Everyone does his bidding. His looks make women weak-kneed. He's dark and mysterious, wealthy, and only has eyes for Ana. Far too stereotypical of the 'bad boy' hero.
That being said, of all the characters, Christian is the only one I found interesting. In the last third of the book, we begin to see how he became the man he is. I wish he'd been more developed, and less stereotypical.
The only part of this book I enjoyed and cracked a smile at were the emails between Ana and Christian. In these, I found more honesty and personality.
I have to ask, where was the editor? The writing here is at beginner level. A good editor could have, and should have, worked to develop this story.
In the end, I am at a loss to explain the excited hype and rave reviews for this book. It's a case of damaged bad boy hero meets the younger, naive woman who, unwittingly, wraps him around her finger. There are far more polished books of this nature by talented authors who, for reasons unknown to me, don't get the kind of hype this book has received.
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LibraryThing member suse45
Rubbish. Ridiculous story
LibraryThing member Dabble58
Well. Eww. Lots of porn stuff here, but not particularly well-written. The main character is unbelievable - she's a college graduate who has never been kissed, even, despite being astonishingly pretty. She chews her bottom lip constantly, which might be part of the cause - surely she'd have open
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sores by this time? But somehow, in her first interlude with the mysterious Mr. Grey, she manages to give him a perfect blow job. I suppose she could have developed her talents eating cucumbers, etc, but the fact remains she is too shy to get undressed around him and then is throwing herself into everything. It's madness and the worst kind of porn - the kind that assumes that women are just waiting to be taken by a knowledgeable man and are willing to be submissive to get it. Of course I haven't finished the book - it's a grind to get through the prose - but I already see signs that Mr. Grey is finding her irresistible because of her innocence. Eww. It maketh me want to spew. I hasten to add that I have no problems with whatever consenting adults want to do with one another - except perhaps write execrable books that make porn acceptable, when really, it just isn't. Sorry. Show Less
LibraryThing member KarynB
I cant understand what the hype is about? Very poorly written book that made me cringe to think I was reading it. One word sums it up - Lame.
LibraryThing member lit_chick
I succumbed (poor word choice, perhaps!) to Fifty Shades of Grey because I was curious about the hype and craved an escape read. The novel scored on both counts. First, the hype: sex, check; more sex, check; romance hookup, check. Second, escape read: a disarmingly gorgeous billionaire with an
Yes, Anastasia Steele has finally fallen for a man. Christian Grey is a “hot, sexy billionaire.” (Ch 6) He is charming, and “His voice is warm and husky like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel … or something.” (Ch 2) He has “beautifully chiseled lips” (Ch 2 ) and he repeatedly reduces Ana to “a quivering mass of raging female hormones." (Ch 2)
In case it is not already painfully obvious, there is no literary merit to Fifty Shades of Grey. That said, I’m planning to read the next in the trilogy, and probably the third. How to rate such a train wreck, then? Well, I can hardly give it less than one star while planning to read more. And “obsessive diversion from report cards” is not really a legitimate criteria. The writing, um, speaks for itself ...
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outrageous sexual appetite, a dysfunctional past, and a penchant for control falls hard for a virginal college student and rescues her from reality in an all-consuming assault of lux-living and sensuality. Check.Yes, Anastasia Steele has finally fallen for a man. Christian Grey is a “hot, sexy billionaire.” (Ch 6) He is charming, and “His voice is warm and husky like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel … or something.” (Ch 2) He has “beautifully chiseled lips” (Ch 2 ) and he repeatedly reduces Ana to “a quivering mass of raging female hormones." (Ch 2)
In case it is not already painfully obvious, there is no literary merit to Fifty Shades of Grey. That said, I’m planning to read the next in the trilogy, and probably the third. How to rate such a train wreck, then? Well, I can hardly give it less than one star while planning to read more. And “obsessive diversion from report cards” is not really a legitimate criteria. The writing, um, speaks for itself ...
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LibraryThing member latorreliliana
What horrible writing. Repeated phrases, such as holy vrap, he's hot, holy shit. How a book can do so well with such horrible writing, is obviously the soft core porn writing indulging some women's fantasies. Fifty shades of crap. Had to read it to see why people are reading it.
LibraryThing member dawnlovesbooks
horrible. woman signs a contract to be completely controlled and submissive, basically a sex slave, and be punished if she doesnt do as told. couldnt finish it. just wasnt ok with it!
LibraryThing member eugeniajune09
Is there a rating lower than a half star? Ugh! I cannot believe my book club selected this piece of garbage! I forced myself to read it all the way through, but you can bet that I will NOT be reading books two and three.
Truly, I am no prude, but this genre is apparently not my cup of tea. Why, oh
Truly, I am no prude, but this genre is apparently not my cup of tea. Why, oh
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why did I spend my money on this trash and contribute to the coffers of this E. L. James? NO! I am NOT HAPPY! I used to subscribe to Ms. Magazine for god's sake! Be forewarned, like-minded women! Show Less
LibraryThing member Ashi.Barrons
I read this book because of all the hype behind it. Everyone I knew was talking about this book. But honestly, I could not bring myself to finish the book. There's only so much "smirking" I can take before I throw the book at the wall. Terrible book.
LibraryThing member alizarin
Unable to finish listening past chapter 4. I've rarely felt such an aversion to a book like I've felt to this one and I never even got to any of the sex scenes!! It's the subjugation of women that I couldn't stomach.
LibraryThing member clairesbooks
From: Claire
Sent: 08 December 2011 12:45
To: Christian Grey
Subject: Best Book Ever?
Dear Mr Grey
Or should I call you Sir? I have recently finished the first part of your trilogy about the romance between yourself and Miss Anastasia Steele and like Miss Steele I thought it would be easier for me to
So where shall I begin? Well I think I should start with my feelings for you. To put it bluntly Mr Grey you beguile me. Even though I have only known you for four days I am a little embarrassed to say that I cannot stop thinking about you Sir. It seems that my every waking moment is about you. I have even dreamt about you. I have been so addicted to your story that I have grabbed every moment I could to read about you. I have skipped meals because that would take me away from you, I have stayed up late reading about you and I have also been late for work because yes you guessed it I was reading about you. I do not think you would have been happy about my behaviour Mr Grey and I fear that if I were yours my behind would be fifty shades of black and blue. I would also like to say how much I approve of Miss Steele. You have a wonderful girlfriend, she is clever and funny and I like her very much. I loved reading the e-mails between you both they were very witty and entertaining.
I must admit that I have seen your book around for a while and many of my friends have read it and raved about it but I didn’t even give you a look until this week but I am so glad I did. I see that your story is classified as erotica but I’m afraid I do not agree with this and I would class it as romance. Yes there is BDSM in your story and very hot scenes of you and Miss Steele but for me it is a love story. I have read a couple of erotica books before and they are nothing like yours. Unlike the others, which seemed to be just about sex, your book has a plot and a story that needs telling. Have you ever read a book Mr Grey and wished that you had written it and that it was your words on the page? Well that is how I feel about this book, I absolutely love it. I love the authors words and style of writing, it has bewitched me. Could this be the best book that I have ever read? You know what, I think it could be. This book has completely taken over my life, a first for me I must say. I have even listened to Spem In Alium by Thomas Tallis this morning. You know, the music you make Ana listen to when you…well I won’t go into that here.
I need to go now and give my life away to you again in book 2 Fifty Shades Darker. I hope I find out more about you Sir and why you are fifty shades of f**ked up. So until next time Mr Grey I bid you farewell.
I wish I was yours.
Claire x
Sent: 08 December 2011 12:45
To: Christian Grey
Subject: Best Book Ever?
Dear Mr Grey
Or should I call you Sir? I have recently finished the first part of your trilogy about the romance between yourself and Miss Anastasia Steele and like Miss Steele I thought it would be easier for me to
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write my feelings down in an e-mail to you. You see I don’t tend to read books like the one written about you. In fact if you take a look at my bookshelf you will see less than five. So where shall I begin? Well I think I should start with my feelings for you. To put it bluntly Mr Grey you beguile me. Even though I have only known you for four days I am a little embarrassed to say that I cannot stop thinking about you Sir. It seems that my every waking moment is about you. I have even dreamt about you. I have been so addicted to your story that I have grabbed every moment I could to read about you. I have skipped meals because that would take me away from you, I have stayed up late reading about you and I have also been late for work because yes you guessed it I was reading about you. I do not think you would have been happy about my behaviour Mr Grey and I fear that if I were yours my behind would be fifty shades of black and blue. I would also like to say how much I approve of Miss Steele. You have a wonderful girlfriend, she is clever and funny and I like her very much. I loved reading the e-mails between you both they were very witty and entertaining.
I must admit that I have seen your book around for a while and many of my friends have read it and raved about it but I didn’t even give you a look until this week but I am so glad I did. I see that your story is classified as erotica but I’m afraid I do not agree with this and I would class it as romance. Yes there is BDSM in your story and very hot scenes of you and Miss Steele but for me it is a love story. I have read a couple of erotica books before and they are nothing like yours. Unlike the others, which seemed to be just about sex, your book has a plot and a story that needs telling. Have you ever read a book Mr Grey and wished that you had written it and that it was your words on the page? Well that is how I feel about this book, I absolutely love it. I love the authors words and style of writing, it has bewitched me. Could this be the best book that I have ever read? You know what, I think it could be. This book has completely taken over my life, a first for me I must say. I have even listened to Spem In Alium by Thomas Tallis this morning. You know, the music you make Ana listen to when you…well I won’t go into that here.
I need to go now and give my life away to you again in book 2 Fifty Shades Darker. I hope I find out more about you Sir and why you are fifty shades of f**ked up. So until next time Mr Grey I bid you farewell.
I wish I was yours.
Claire x
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LibraryThing member varwenea
This is one of the few books that I started penning my review before I finished the book; it’s that odd. As full disclosure, I have never read the Twilight books (did watch the movies), nor do I read much romance novels. Reading this was more curiosity to see what all the hype is. Easy
In case you didn’t know, this book started as a fan blog leveraging Twilight and was dubbed as Twi-hard. There is plenty of angst in the literary community on whether the author deserves to be “the author” of this book. I digress; feel free to online search. Onto the book…
Incoherent thoughts, since the book is incoherent too:
• No woman, especially a virgin a-day-ago, would consider a successful b-j to be the element that brings out her inner goddess.
• Then again, no woman would associate her inner goddess with a b-j.
• Then again #2, shouldn’t inner goddess be positive? Hers is a moron.
• The dueling ‘inner goddess’ vs. the ‘subconscious’ in Steele. I want to slap both of them.
• The Christian Grey who treats people like he owns them all but is supposed to be solving world hunger too. Just doesn’t sound like a real person.
• The traffic-stopping handsome Grey who falls for the sweet, innocent, doesn’t-know-she’s-beautiful Steele. It’s either unbelievable or cliché. I can’t tell which, and neither is good.
• Half way through the book, and I started to do light skimming. Blah, blah, sex, blah, blah, BDSM, blah, blah, should I, shouldn’t I, blah, blah. My eyeballs rolled to the back of my head.
• Incredibly ordinary if not sloppy writing style with excess vocabulary threw in for good measure – oh because she is big into English Lit, and he’s such a talented learned man. More eyeball rolling.
• Email exchanges were amusing at times. That they kept changing the subject within the same email chain to suit the conversation brought on a smile now and then. The nerd in me think things like, can’t do that in Gmail, but Outlook and Yahoo can, and they are using a Mac and Blackberry...
• The abrupt ending – screaming go spend money on the next book. Annoying.
• Steele having an epiphany late in the book that she wants Grey to love her. Wow – what a surprise!
• Was I supposed to develop an affinity towards the heroine, Anastasia Steele? I feel none. I think I’m supposed to empathize with poor Ana falling for such a nut job. (Thinking) No, still nothing.
• Was I supposed to develop an ‘ah, poor Grey’ empathy because of his f’d-up past which was purposely not revealed in detail? (sequels, people, sequels!! $$$) (Thinking) No, nothing again.
• The author delivered ‘physical attributes’ (=sex+BDSM) but falls short on affinity and empathy development. My mistake – thinking there’s supposed to be such development in a book.
2 Quotes, both from Ana’s Mom to Ana about men:
I found this amusing.
“Men aren’t really complicated, Ana, honey. They are very simple, literal creatures. They usually mean what they say. And we spend hours trying to analyze what they’ve said, when really it’s obvious. If I were you, I’d take him literally. That might help.”
I’ve definitely seen this “in action”. :)
“You see Ana, men think that anything that comes out of a woman’s mouth is a problem to be solved. Not some vague idea that we’d like to kick around and talk about for a while and then forget. Men prefer action.”
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conclusion: Not worth it.In case you didn’t know, this book started as a fan blog leveraging Twilight and was dubbed as Twi-hard. There is plenty of angst in the literary community on whether the author deserves to be “the author” of this book. I digress; feel free to online search. Onto the book…
Incoherent thoughts, since the book is incoherent too:
• No woman, especially a virgin a-day-ago, would consider a successful b-j to be the element that brings out her inner goddess.
• Then again, no woman would associate her inner goddess with a b-j.
• Then again #2, shouldn’t inner goddess be positive? Hers is a moron.
• The dueling ‘inner goddess’ vs. the ‘subconscious’ in Steele. I want to slap both of them.
• The Christian Grey who treats people like he owns them all but is supposed to be solving world hunger too. Just doesn’t sound like a real person.
• The traffic-stopping handsome Grey who falls for the sweet, innocent, doesn’t-know-she’s-beautiful Steele. It’s either unbelievable or cliché. I can’t tell which, and neither is good.
• Half way through the book, and I started to do light skimming. Blah, blah, sex, blah, blah, BDSM, blah, blah, should I, shouldn’t I, blah, blah. My eyeballs rolled to the back of my head.
• Incredibly ordinary if not sloppy writing style with excess vocabulary threw in for good measure – oh because she is big into English Lit, and he’s such a talented learned man. More eyeball rolling.
• Email exchanges were amusing at times. That they kept changing the subject within the same email chain to suit the conversation brought on a smile now and then. The nerd in me think things like, can’t do that in Gmail, but Outlook and Yahoo can, and they are using a Mac and Blackberry...
• The abrupt ending – screaming go spend money on the next book. Annoying.
• Steele having an epiphany late in the book that she wants Grey to love her. Wow – what a surprise!
• Was I supposed to develop an affinity towards the heroine, Anastasia Steele? I feel none. I think I’m supposed to empathize with poor Ana falling for such a nut job. (Thinking) No, still nothing.
• Was I supposed to develop an ‘ah, poor Grey’ empathy because of his f’d-up past which was purposely not revealed in detail? (sequels, people, sequels!! $$$) (Thinking) No, nothing again.
• The author delivered ‘physical attributes’ (=sex+BDSM) but falls short on affinity and empathy development. My mistake – thinking there’s supposed to be such development in a book.
2 Quotes, both from Ana’s Mom to Ana about men:
I found this amusing.
“Men aren’t really complicated, Ana, honey. They are very simple, literal creatures. They usually mean what they say. And we spend hours trying to analyze what they’ve said, when really it’s obvious. If I were you, I’d take him literally. That might help.”
I’ve definitely seen this “in action”. :)
“You see Ana, men think that anything that comes out of a woman’s mouth is a problem to be solved. Not some vague idea that we’d like to kick around and talk about for a while and then forget. Men prefer action.”
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LibraryThing member kters001
This is my first librarything review and let me just say this is the stupidest book I have ever read in my life. If i want to be aroused, i'd just watch porn not suffer through this book. Sadly, because I always finish series, I'd have to suffer through the next two books. Hey maybe I'll finally
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care about the characters by the end of it but right now Anastasia is annoying as ever, probably even more annoying than Bella Swan. Show Less
LibraryThing member echosaurus
This is by far the most poorly written book I have ever read. There are so many issues with plot structure and just general writing style that I can't even begin to list them. If you enjoy the English language, literary creativity, or quality writing, don't waste your time or money. 50 Shades is
As for the plot, the entire structure of the book after the first hundred pages or so reads as follows: Sex scene, Mr. Grey forces Ana to eat because he has psychological issues, brief awkward encounter with another human, sex scene.... rinse and repeat.
Yes, some of the sex scenes are very exciting, but the childish language and writing ruins them. The only positive thing I can say about this book is that the author is brave enough to include sexual details instead of nervously skirting around them.
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simply mind-numbing.As for the plot, the entire structure of the book after the first hundred pages or so reads as follows: Sex scene, Mr. Grey forces Ana to eat because he has psychological issues, brief awkward encounter with another human, sex scene.... rinse and repeat.
Yes, some of the sex scenes are very exciting, but the childish language and writing ruins them. The only positive thing I can say about this book is that the author is brave enough to include sexual details instead of nervously skirting around them.
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LibraryThing member ConciseReviews
If I could it would be minus 5 stars, it’s that bad!
Ok, this book is disgusting, that’s one word to describe it. I do not like to give a bad review, but man, how immature is this author, it’s like some young teen fantasy. Like they did a “weird Science” move to make their dream man. Come
Then you get this horrible writing, you get space filling crap, if you take out all the useless parts of the female character is blushing, or chewing her lips (what is so great about that?) the book would be short. I mean there is a whole section devoted to her blushing, and chewing her lips or wondering “Jeez” about something, how dumb. Oh, and what’s with the getting an orgasms practically every time he even says her name?? Come on! Seems no matter what he does, she orgasms, just dumb and porn like. Seems just about every page has her climaxing.
Oh, and not to mention the authors geography. Seems she put it all together like a puzzle of the Pacific Northwest (Hello, I LIVE in the Pacific Northwest, in WA in fact) Seems she took stuff from other popular books that take place here, and put it together WRONG. Like she was drunk when putting it all together.
Also what else drove me nuts, it the repeating of so many things, like rolling the eyes (by the way, kindle users, you can do what I did, and type in these useless phrases for search, and you will see lots of the useless dumb repetitions. 41 times roll their eyes. And Ana bites her lips 35 times (not including the chewing of lips, lol) I won’t mention them all, as there is so many dumb things said over and over. You get the idea.
Like some other reviewers have mentioned, and what depresses me, is that this runaway bestseller and the movie rights are expected to sell for up to $5 Million! That is so crazy, there are so many more talented writers in the genre. And erotica is so much more erotic when an author gets you to care for the characters, were we care what happens to them, then its erotic, and not just immature porn, like this one is. (maybe they will make it a porn, as porn’s do not have any plot either?? I am told, as I don’t watch that trash either) And I ask, what is romantic about abuse? I just don’t get it.
The characters come through to me as more schizophrenic than complicated. The romance is more a juvenile dysfunctional crush to me. And as I already said, the erotic scenes are more porn.
And to top it all off, THERE IS NO PLOT!!
I really have a thing about violence against women and about women that are demoralized, dehumanized and overall abused by men. To me there is nothing fun, or flirty or sexy about the BDSM in this book. This man enjoys inflicting pain on women for his enjoyment, as he states over and over. Just plain disgusting.
This man wants to inflict as much pain on this girl as she can tolerate for his pleasure. He stalks and innocent young woman then spends the entire book trying to convince her how great it is to be hurt and humiliates, and how much she will enjoy the experience. I just do not get that. This is not a romantic hero, and he is beyond flawed, he is a monster to me. That this book is a best seller is something that worries me, do people really enjoy this kind of abuse? Is this something that we should be encouraging people to read? You KNOW impressionable teens will read this, even though it’s not a YA book. TOO much hype around it. I am guessing lots of paid publicity, and too many people suckered into buying it. It was loaned to me, I would not pay a penny for this trash.
I just can’t believe anyone thinks this book is good. Maybe paid reviews are some of them, I do not know. All I know is I read tons of books, and this is the WORST I have read.
I do not know what all the hype is about. Just ridiculous! Save your money, in fact save your time, if you even get the book loaned to you, it’s still a waste of time. Poorly written, feels like a few teen girls wrote this.
I can’t say more, it makes me too mad. But I will say, I am sick of the comparison to Twilight, which was a GREAT book, THIS is TRASH!!!
Save your money and time.
As stated this book was loaned to me for my honest review.
Ok, this book is disgusting, that’s one word to describe it. I do not like to give a bad review, but man, how immature is this author, it’s like some young teen fantasy. Like they did a “weird Science” move to make their dream man. Come
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on, at age 26 he is a Billionaire? NO not Millionaire, but Billion! Give me a break, AND he speaks fluent French, fully trained pilot, the best “ever” pianist, oh yeah, and best lover ever on the planet, (how does she know? She sleep with all on the planet???? Lol) he is drop dead gorgeous, tall, perfectly built with an enormous p**** Not even an erotic book to me, more like fantasy porn. AND how does he make his billions? He never works, spends every second texting or having sex and emailing the female character. Seems the billions have been created with magic. Then you get this horrible writing, you get space filling crap, if you take out all the useless parts of the female character is blushing, or chewing her lips (what is so great about that?) the book would be short. I mean there is a whole section devoted to her blushing, and chewing her lips or wondering “Jeez” about something, how dumb. Oh, and what’s with the getting an orgasms practically every time he even says her name?? Come on! Seems no matter what he does, she orgasms, just dumb and porn like. Seems just about every page has her climaxing.
Oh, and not to mention the authors geography. Seems she put it all together like a puzzle of the Pacific Northwest (Hello, I LIVE in the Pacific Northwest, in WA in fact) Seems she took stuff from other popular books that take place here, and put it together WRONG. Like she was drunk when putting it all together.
Also what else drove me nuts, it the repeating of so many things, like rolling the eyes (by the way, kindle users, you can do what I did, and type in these useless phrases for search, and you will see lots of the useless dumb repetitions. 41 times roll their eyes. And Ana bites her lips 35 times (not including the chewing of lips, lol) I won’t mention them all, as there is so many dumb things said over and over. You get the idea.
Like some other reviewers have mentioned, and what depresses me, is that this runaway bestseller and the movie rights are expected to sell for up to $5 Million! That is so crazy, there are so many more talented writers in the genre. And erotica is so much more erotic when an author gets you to care for the characters, were we care what happens to them, then its erotic, and not just immature porn, like this one is. (maybe they will make it a porn, as porn’s do not have any plot either?? I am told, as I don’t watch that trash either) And I ask, what is romantic about abuse? I just don’t get it.
The characters come through to me as more schizophrenic than complicated. The romance is more a juvenile dysfunctional crush to me. And as I already said, the erotic scenes are more porn.
And to top it all off, THERE IS NO PLOT!!
I really have a thing about violence against women and about women that are demoralized, dehumanized and overall abused by men. To me there is nothing fun, or flirty or sexy about the BDSM in this book. This man enjoys inflicting pain on women for his enjoyment, as he states over and over. Just plain disgusting.
This man wants to inflict as much pain on this girl as she can tolerate for his pleasure. He stalks and innocent young woman then spends the entire book trying to convince her how great it is to be hurt and humiliates, and how much she will enjoy the experience. I just do not get that. This is not a romantic hero, and he is beyond flawed, he is a monster to me. That this book is a best seller is something that worries me, do people really enjoy this kind of abuse? Is this something that we should be encouraging people to read? You KNOW impressionable teens will read this, even though it’s not a YA book. TOO much hype around it. I am guessing lots of paid publicity, and too many people suckered into buying it. It was loaned to me, I would not pay a penny for this trash.
I just can’t believe anyone thinks this book is good. Maybe paid reviews are some of them, I do not know. All I know is I read tons of books, and this is the WORST I have read.
I do not know what all the hype is about. Just ridiculous! Save your money, in fact save your time, if you even get the book loaned to you, it’s still a waste of time. Poorly written, feels like a few teen girls wrote this.
I can’t say more, it makes me too mad. But I will say, I am sick of the comparison to Twilight, which was a GREAT book, THIS is TRASH!!!
Save your money and time.
As stated this book was loaned to me for my honest review.
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LibraryThing member LiterarilyChallenged
I picked this book up to find out for myself what all the hype was about and after reading it, I'm still wondering. The writing is awful, how many times can one book repeat the phrase, "my breath hitches"? I skipped pages at a time because it really didn't matter. The characters that surround Ana
Still, I wonder, what's all the hype about?
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and Christian are superficial at best and have no weight whatsoever on the story as a whole. The entire basis of the story (rich, eligible male drawn to a young woman who changes his entire way of thinking) is unrealistic, not to mention over done. Ana's "innocence" is grossly overplayed. What college graduate doesn't know a single thing about sex? In my opinion the ending was the best part of the entire book (and not just because the story was coming to an end). The break up was more emotionally charged than any of the sexual scenes and finally made me feel something besides annoyed.Still, I wonder, what's all the hype about?
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LibraryThing member ljduett
Actually it's no star.
Let's Begin
Hmmm, the cover. Simply put there is elegance in simplicity. So no bad comments here.
So first, why did I want to read and review a book that's so obviously not my type?
Peer Pressure. I soooo, should have said no. NO.
Say no to drugs and apparently work written from
Normally I would begin by discussing the plot of the book. I can't do that today since there was no plot. Much like Magic Mike (yes, I went and seen it and I'd do it again if I wanted cause I heart Channeling Tatum) the story itself was missing. It was much like a sail boat sitting in the water because there was no wind. Quite bluntly, there was no point to to the storyline other than Anastasia pussyfooting around the idea of entering a relationship (coughs) with the Christian Grey. Oh, and the two getting it on like rabbits. Freaky ones. To sum the book up nicely though, the girl met guy, guy chased ….I mean stalked girl, they got it on, they got it on, they got it on with chains, they got it on with whips, they continued to get it on, girl left guy in the suckest ending of endings that sucked.Honestly, I was really surprised by the whole lack of something actually happening. All my friends and family have been yapping on for months about how they LOVED this book. Which is weird since they ALL tend to come to me for book recommendations. I read the books, not them. Well, I don't know what they've been smoking but I didn't see anything to love in the pages of Fifty Shades.
The writing.
I hate to say this but the writing style wasn't bad. Yeah, surprised me too. Still, the level of difficulty seemed more like that of a YA writer rather than an author aiming for an adult audience. I kept forgetting that this was a mommy porn book and then would get surprised and shocked when I came to the dirty parts.
Which are in fact as dirty as old man porn.
Which is pretty much what this book should have been intended for. Which brings me to an important question.How are women finding this crap erotic? Seriously, a man that stalks and wants to correct you through the use of whips and paddles is considered romantic? You want romantic? Go back a few years and read Spark's book, A Walk To Remember.Geesh!
As for the characters, well lets just say big props to the perverted mind that created psycho, Christian Grey. Ms. James did a excellent job on that loony toon and I would know seeing how my mother is all kinds of messed up herself. As for Ana, I can only say that she irked me on so many levels that I pretty much wanted to put her over my own knee, just not in the nasty way that Christian prefers.
Overall. I can honestly say I regret ever cracking open my kindle, for which I read this book on.
Now, I must go find some sanitizer...for my eyes.
P.S. To be fair, some people might find this work their cup of tea. For me, this was like drinking urine.
Let's Begin
Hmmm, the cover. Simply put there is elegance in simplicity. So no bad comments here.
So first, why did I want to read and review a book that's so obviously not my type?
Peer Pressure. I soooo, should have said no. NO.
Say no to drugs and apparently work written from
Show More
the use of drugs.Normally I would begin by discussing the plot of the book. I can't do that today since there was no plot. Much like Magic Mike (yes, I went and seen it and I'd do it again if I wanted cause I heart Channeling Tatum) the story itself was missing. It was much like a sail boat sitting in the water because there was no wind. Quite bluntly, there was no point to to the storyline other than Anastasia pussyfooting around the idea of entering a relationship (coughs) with the Christian Grey. Oh, and the two getting it on like rabbits. Freaky ones. To sum the book up nicely though, the girl met guy, guy chased ….I mean stalked girl, they got it on, they got it on, they got it on with chains, they got it on with whips, they continued to get it on, girl left guy in the suckest ending of endings that sucked.Honestly, I was really surprised by the whole lack of something actually happening. All my friends and family have been yapping on for months about how they LOVED this book. Which is weird since they ALL tend to come to me for book recommendations. I read the books, not them. Well, I don't know what they've been smoking but I didn't see anything to love in the pages of Fifty Shades.
The writing.
I hate to say this but the writing style wasn't bad. Yeah, surprised me too. Still, the level of difficulty seemed more like that of a YA writer rather than an author aiming for an adult audience. I kept forgetting that this was a mommy porn book and then would get surprised and shocked when I came to the dirty parts.
Which are in fact as dirty as old man porn.
Which is pretty much what this book should have been intended for. Which brings me to an important question.How are women finding this crap erotic? Seriously, a man that stalks and wants to correct you through the use of whips and paddles is considered romantic? You want romantic? Go back a few years and read Spark's book, A Walk To Remember.Geesh!
As for the characters, well lets just say big props to the perverted mind that created psycho, Christian Grey. Ms. James did a excellent job on that loony toon and I would know seeing how my mother is all kinds of messed up herself. As for Ana, I can only say that she irked me on so many levels that I pretty much wanted to put her over my own knee, just not in the nasty way that Christian prefers.
Overall. I can honestly say I regret ever cracking open my kindle, for which I read this book on.
Now, I must go find some sanitizer...for my eyes.
P.S. To be fair, some people might find this work their cup of tea. For me, this was like drinking urine.
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LibraryThing member HanGerg
Well, where to start?
The writing: is terrible. Honestly, truly horrible. It actually says things like "he smirked smirkily", well maybe not quite that bad, but pretty appalling for a published novel anyway.
The plot: is utterly ridiculous. 21 year old pretty-but-not-show-stopping English lit
Is it pro women? No, not really. Wouldn't it be nice if the multi-zillion selling novel that's being read by so many people right now could pave the way for society to start to have a more open and honest dialogue about the idea of women's sexuality, and embrace the reality of it, rather than the titilating version of it that is shown to us by the media, and which is basically for the consumption of men, but this is not the book that is going to break down those barriers. The woman, however much she may seem to stand up for herself, eventually always goes along with the man's idea of what her sexuality should be, and allows it to be shaped by him to a worrying degree. Without giving away too many spoilers, it perhaps isn't that cut and dried by the end, but basically, being a non-sexual being before she met him (and how realistic is that? A 21 year old who suddenly becomes super horny when under the influence of a particular man, but otherwise has no sexual identity of her own), her sexuality is basically created for her by the male character. Plus, there was so many times when I wanted to shake her, because she meekly agrees to going along with things she clearly isn't comfortable with just to please him, or initially resists but then gives in once he turns on the sexy moves (the old "no isn't really no" idea), or even, on occassions, APOLOGISES for not being more into the stuff that he's done that has made her feel uncomfortable and unhappy.
Also, to look at another aspect of the book I found troubling, I'm not really part of the BDSM community, but, I think it's a tad offensive to that community to say that all people that like to be Doms in those kind of relationships do so because of some deep seated trauma, and use it as a kind of therapy. Some do, I'm willing to conceed, I can't know their motives, but I think the point is that Christain Grey uses BDSM to relate to sexual partners, seemingy because it is the only way he CAN relate to them, and it is fully part of him, as seen by the fact that he will never allow Anastasia to touch his chest (the site of some hinted-at awful deeds). I imagine, that for most members of the BDSM community, being that way is a role that they choose to play in certain situations, and one that they can take or leave at will. This book rather gives the opposite impression though. Sorry, maybe this is a little unclear, and I can't really speak for that community, but that was my gut feeling about it.
OK, but I hear you cry, what about the sex?! Is it SEXY??? Well, yes, in places, I'm willing to conceed to a certain frisson, and at least it is pretty graphic, unlike many ahem, romance novels, but even so the sex scenes become pretty repetitive over time, and also are rather over reliant on the usual tired cliches to describe sexual acts and pleasures. I have a work colleague that decided to share with us the fact that this book had pretty much single-handedly revived her and her husband's waning sex life, so I guess it's done some good, even if it hasn't really contributed anything to either the world of literature or women's lib, although it's hard to imagine that many of the hundreds of sex-laced modern romance books you can find tucked away inside any bookstore couldn't have done just as good, if not a better job of the same.
The writing: is terrible. Honestly, truly horrible. It actually says things like "he smirked smirkily", well maybe not quite that bad, but pretty appalling for a published novel anyway.
The plot: is utterly ridiculous. 21 year old pretty-but-not-show-stopping English lit
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student who's never even held hands with a boy, catches eye of gorgeous twenty-something multi-millionaire entrepreneur who flies her around in his private helicopter, showers her with gifts and gives her mind-bending orgasms. Oh, and in the meantime she moves into an awesome penthouse apartment in Seattle that her rich college housemate has bought outright, and lands her dream job in publishing from her very first job interview. Actually, it's the latter part that I find most annoyingly unrealistic in the current job market, but it's all rather silly.Is it pro women? No, not really. Wouldn't it be nice if the multi-zillion selling novel that's being read by so many people right now could pave the way for society to start to have a more open and honest dialogue about the idea of women's sexuality, and embrace the reality of it, rather than the titilating version of it that is shown to us by the media, and which is basically for the consumption of men, but this is not the book that is going to break down those barriers. The woman, however much she may seem to stand up for herself, eventually always goes along with the man's idea of what her sexuality should be, and allows it to be shaped by him to a worrying degree. Without giving away too many spoilers, it perhaps isn't that cut and dried by the end, but basically, being a non-sexual being before she met him (and how realistic is that? A 21 year old who suddenly becomes super horny when under the influence of a particular man, but otherwise has no sexual identity of her own), her sexuality is basically created for her by the male character. Plus, there was so many times when I wanted to shake her, because she meekly agrees to going along with things she clearly isn't comfortable with just to please him, or initially resists but then gives in once he turns on the sexy moves (the old "no isn't really no" idea), or even, on occassions, APOLOGISES for not being more into the stuff that he's done that has made her feel uncomfortable and unhappy.
Also, to look at another aspect of the book I found troubling, I'm not really part of the BDSM community, but, I think it's a tad offensive to that community to say that all people that like to be Doms in those kind of relationships do so because of some deep seated trauma, and use it as a kind of therapy. Some do, I'm willing to conceed, I can't know their motives, but I think the point is that Christain Grey uses BDSM to relate to sexual partners, seemingy because it is the only way he CAN relate to them, and it is fully part of him, as seen by the fact that he will never allow Anastasia to touch his chest (the site of some hinted-at awful deeds). I imagine, that for most members of the BDSM community, being that way is a role that they choose to play in certain situations, and one that they can take or leave at will. This book rather gives the opposite impression though. Sorry, maybe this is a little unclear, and I can't really speak for that community, but that was my gut feeling about it.
OK, but I hear you cry, what about the sex?! Is it SEXY??? Well, yes, in places, I'm willing to conceed to a certain frisson, and at least it is pretty graphic, unlike many ahem, romance novels, but even so the sex scenes become pretty repetitive over time, and also are rather over reliant on the usual tired cliches to describe sexual acts and pleasures. I have a work colleague that decided to share with us the fact that this book had pretty much single-handedly revived her and her husband's waning sex life, so I guess it's done some good, even if it hasn't really contributed anything to either the world of literature or women's lib, although it's hard to imagine that many of the hundreds of sex-laced modern romance books you can find tucked away inside any bookstore couldn't have done just as good, if not a better job of the same.
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Awards
Audie Award (Winner — 2013)
British Book Award (Winner — Book of the Year — 2012)
AAR Annual Reader Poll (2012)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2011-05-25
Physical description
546 p.; 7.83 inches
ISBN
0099579936 / 9780099579939
UPC
783324857504