Not because I (gasp) have read this book along with all the other women I know...
Not because it is a porny novel (a sex book, not a book with sex in it)...
Not even because it really is some tedious writing (Anastasia. Book One. 'Nuff said.) and I still like it.
But because deep down, you are going to agree with me. And if you decide that makes you uncomfortable, then you will default into (per the norm today) evil blog post responses, snide and mean comments, and all kinds of misspellings in your haste to prove why you are right and I am wrong.
Remember - this post is why I like it. Not you. Me. So if you don't like it, there is the whole wide inter web for you to express your opinion as well. and guess what - I will respect that. Cause I'm mature.
M'kay. Disclaimer over.
Why I Like 50 Shades of Grey.
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| the trilogy |
1. It takes a taboo topic and puts it out there.
I love when someone bucks the trend and decides to step out and talk about something - even if i disagree. After watching this little show on Hulu, I think I agree with one of the participants that this book - for what it's worth - is a taste of a world that exists out there. And if it piques your fancy, do your thing. Safe, sane and consensual.
2. Relinquishing responsibility.
I am a single. working. mother.
of a five year old.
yea, just marinate on that a bit.
So my life is the definition of tedium, toil and travail. all responsibility - all day, every day. Even my day off is work. Yea, I love my kid more than life itself and he has renewed my trust in the power of love...but he really is noise with dirt all over. So when I read 50SoG, I get to retire that load while the book is open and travel to a world where a famously rich man meets little ole' normal me and decides not only can i "fix" him (more on the project man syndrome in a sec) but that he wants to lavish all his worldly goods and focus on me as well...and all i have to do is...
nothing.
I don't have to work.
I don't have to make my own food.
Shoot, I don't even have to shop for myself.
SERIOUSLY?!?!
Do you KNOW how tired I am right now, and it's only 10:36a! Do you know that I have to wake up at 6a JUST to get some uninterrupted time to myself - which is then interrupted by me needing to cook BEFORE my kid wakes up or I proceed to hear the never ceasing whining of "I'm SOOO HUNGRY!!!!"
So yes, I would appreciate a man who is sexy, intelligent and loaded out the wazoo coming up to me with his magical wand and waving all of MY bills, concerns and responsibilities away.
Yes, I would love to wake up with million dollar views outside MY window.
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| billowing views |
Yes, I could get used to someone cooking for me and someone else being my chauffeur/body guard in a wonderfully and ostentatiously expensive car.
3. it's not real.
This is another reason I like the book. It's. Not. Real. I get to close the cover and come back to my life - as normal and crazy as it is - a little refreshed and much more appreciative than I left it. Plus, this couldn't happen in real life - I'd miss my itty bitty too much, I actually like my job, and I am done with fixer-uppers...
oh yeah, the project man.
4. 50 is a project.
No, not from the projects - although Christian does come from some poverty and despair - but a man (shoot, a person) that is a fixer-upper. I read an article about this somewhere - about how women (most women, really) (and by most, I am referencing my cultural norm of women from and steeped in US culture) love changing/molding/fixing their men. I've seen it my self - the new beau becomes our personal diy project. we take him shopping. we teach him about foods and fine wines. how to do our makeup on youtube... Shoot, Bey even made a song about it, and if Bey says it, then it must be true...
=)
But i digress - Christian aka 50 is messed up. And only a woman's touch can cure him. In steps Ana - an untouched, pristine woman who can be all his, and in turn make him all hers.
| woman on pedestal. yep, could be me |
5. He is insanely protective over her.
Some caveman primordial stuff here - the whole damsel-in-distress trope that taps into our mitochondrial need for protection and safety. Good one there, James. And hey, it works - some part of me likes the idea of being protected. Likes the idea of my man going all out to make sure the jerk at work isn't allowed to get away with making those remarks or nasty motions at me. Yep, protect me, 50!
6. It's a trilogy.
Literary love here - I loved reading book one, knowing the story will continue in another book. that i will have to get up and go find the next copy to read - which is exactly what I did with this series. we literally ran to the store and nabbed the little paperback copy at like 7p. And after itty bitty did his bath-book-bed routine, mommy was all about the red wine + book life. And everything intensifies in the second book....and I mean, whoa.
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| book + bed |
So, in a nutshell - that's why I like it. It's a fantasy - and only that - for me. It's my decadent 0-calorie treat. And its doesn't compromise my morals. It doesn't redefine what I consider to be a healthy relationship for myself (again, grown woman typing, so I know my limits). It's not the best book I've ever read, nor does it need to be -
it does exactly what I need it to do.
