50 Shades Of Grey

**May contain some spoilers**

Hmmm… there’s just something about Mr. Grey isn’t there? I have some seriously mixed feelings about this book. Maybe it’s because I’m a Pisces, which is the symbol of two fish swimming in different directions.

One little fishy is swimming around in lala land living in a fairy tale world believing that this story is so intensely romantic.  Believing that Mr. Grey is a wounded soul who just wants to love and be loved but has such a torturous past that it makes it hard to let people in. His need for Anastasia is based just solely on his deep desire to be with her and only her. To protect her, and fill every need and consume himself with her essence. What woman doesn’t want a man who looks out for her and sends her thoughtful gifts to make her life easier (macbook pro, blackberry and yes…a 2011 Audi). A man who drops what he’s doing to be at her side whenever he feels she’s doubting being with him. Thoughtful in all aspects, affectionate on many different levels and proud to introduce her to the most important people in his life, while letting them all know just how dear she is to him. Daring adventures of sky gliding, flying in a private jet and speeding in his fancy car of the day…every woman’s dream man right?

Than the other little fishy is holding up a red flag while mouthing “WARNING!!!” believing this is one crazy son of a b*tch who is not only a control freak but a pain-inflicting psychopath who has to possess every woman who enters his Red Room. Maybe these gifts he’s showering her with are just another form of control (which Ana also mentions in the book) as an attempt to keep tabs on her?  If she has laptop, there’s no excuse to not respond to his emails. He provided her with a blackberry so there’s no excuse to not respond to his texts. Heck, he even bought her a car so she is guaranteed a safe ride to his house. No way the excuse “My car broke down” could be conspired. In fact, he’s more than happy to have Taylor (his assistant –in other words, his bitch) drive down to wherever Ana may be and chauffeur her to Christian’s abode. Atta boy. Now he can really keep a watchful eye on where she is even when she’s on the way to meet him. This little fishy is also reminding me of how Christian Grey falls just short of a stalker as he follows her around while she tries to get away from him. Homegirl can’t even take a vacation and get some much needed space for herself to spend some time with her mother who lives across the ocean. Silently observing her from across the bar as she goes for drinks to catch up on some girl talk with her mom. Creepy, no?

On the other hand…what does this say about women like Ana? Women who like a man to be in control and downright possessive of them? Women who want to CHANGE a man when they met him the way he was? Christian finally gets her in his Red Room and paddles her behind to a rosey sore pulp and all she does and sit there and cry and try to hold it in. After she’s had her fill of abuse she jumps up with tears in her eyes and screams at him for inflicting pain on her when that’s what she entered the dang Red Room for! The dude has whips, handcuffs, paddles and all kinds of  “kinky-f*ckery” that is intended for pain. This wasn’t the night he was going to make love to you and feed you chocolate covered strawberries while Boys II Men plays softly in the background. Why didn’t she use the dang safe-word??!!

Due to the fact that reading novels are sometimes considered an escape to many, I can see why women would want to indulge in this sort of the fantasy. It’s a great mental adventure that can give us some hope that maybe chivalry and romance isn’t dead. One the other hand, it can also mislead a lot of women into believing that there are men out there like this. Sets an unrealistic standard of expectation if one doesn’t know how to assess what’s real life and what’s just a love story. You may find a man who’s wealthy, a man who has desire to please you, a man who lavishes you with money, a man who wants to protect you, and a man who’s a philanthropist…but the chances of finding all of that in one man is very, very low.

I was watching on CP24 on last week as the two hosts brought up a statistic that showed that women who watch a lot of romance movies have a tendency to find more faults in their partners.  *Gasp * You don’t say so???  I’m sure the same could be said for women who read their porn instead of watch through these romanticized love novels in which a gentleman pretty much LIVES only to please her.

All in all, I do find “50 Shades of Grey” to be an easy read and the author is quite descriptive which makes for great imagination in understanding character facial expressions and mannerisms. Some of the sex scenes seem a bit repetitive and overly dramatic, but overall this is an entertaining book. I’ll have more to assess once I’m done reading the second and third series in this trilogy but based on intrigue and fantasy alone…I give this book:

4 stars!!!