There have been so many horrible reviews written about the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E. L. James that my mind was made up to not bother reading any of it. But Book One got downloaded to our shared Kindle (by either one or the other of my daughters, doesn’t matter who) (and if I did it myself, I don’t remember!) and so there it was, and I thought, what the hell, and started reading. Finished it and downloaded the second one. Finished that and downloaded part three. Seriously, it’s like some kind of strange addiction to the weirdest fairy tale ever written. Somebody called it “literary crack”. It’s a modern-day fairy tale fantasy for a day dreaming adolescent, unbelievable in so many ways, and yet I found myself reading away, wanting to believe the unbelievable. Because it’s just so f***ing unbelieveable I can’t believe it.
Quick character synopsis – Ana Steele, a socially awkward 22-year-old virgin (rolling your eyes already?) who has no idea she’s brilliant, gorgeous and desirable, meets Christian Grey, a drop dead handsome 27-year-old billionaire control freak who flies a helicopter, owns a jet, lives in a penthouse, employs full-time security staff, has darkly erotic tastes, plays the piano, suffers flashbacks and nightmares from early childhood trauma, was seduced as a teenager by a family friend old enough to be his mother, is heavily into sexual role-playing, has self-loathing issues and been in therapy all his life, and is using his vast wealth to combat world hunger. Yes. Really.
Even Quicker plot synopsis – They can’t keep their hands off each other or be physically separated without feeling suicidal. There is a lot of angst. They work it out.
There is really not much of a plot, very little character development, repetition that will drive you mad, a bit of melodrama here and there, but never any doubt whatsoever that it will all end blissfully and happily like every good romance does. Oh yeah, and physical intimacy and gratification on every other page. Sometimes every page for pages and pages and pages. If there were a sexual olympics, Christian and Ana would definitely be contenders.
Who can say why this trilogy is a runaway best seller? It’s not literary genius by any stretch of the imagination. There are many more talented writers out there. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. But I did read the entire thing. Just like I read the entire Hunger Games Trilogy. As for Twilight and Sleeping Beauty – couldn’t make it past book one in either case.
Anyway, now I guess I have a better idea what all the fuss is about. Much ado about nothing much. So of course perfectly suited to being turned into a full length movie or two! My head hurts just thinking about it. Read it for fun or diversion or to be a critic or to become a six star fan. Or not at all. More power to Ms. E.L. James who is laughing all the way to the bank in spite of what we think. And threatening to write MORE! I am SO biting my lip (and rolling my eyes) in breathless anticipation.
Breathing Space 
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