Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James

          Fifty Shades #1

          So, I must admit, I was very excited when I got the email from the library saying Fifty Shades of Grey was available for download to my Kindle. There has been so much hype about the books. They have been on the best seller list for months. I couldn’t wait to find out what all the fuss was about. I just hoped there was something else there besides kinky sex.

          I was well aware that the book would fall somewhere in the range of erotic to pornographic. (This is definitely not for the under eighteen crowd.)  And, to be perfectly honest, most media that falls along that spectrum bores me to tears.  I am not necessarily turned on by other people having sex. Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem reading about other people having sex, but I expect other things to go on besides just sex or you lose me.

          And, Fifty Shades of Grey delivers. Most of the sex is actually pretty tame, although there are several scenes that get pretty far off the beaten path. But there is much more than sex going on here. We get to read about two people with wildly divergent ideas about the perfect relationship attempting to find common ground, and making progress toward each other.

          I really enjoyed the email exchanges between the two main characters. They are witty and well written.  And, I spent quite a bit of time laughing out loud while reading them.  Those exchanges helped bridge the gap between Ana’s desire to have conversations and talk about things as they go along, and Christian’s wanting the relationship all laid out ahead of time in written contract form.

          I liked that both parties were willing to compromise and try doing things the way the other one wanted. They both worked hard to try to create a relationship that worked for both of them.  But in the end Christian’s control issues, and sexual proclivities proved too much for Ana to accept.

          I think she absolutely made the right decision to walk away from Christian. She was correct. He needed to get his head on straight.  I can only assume that she goes back to him in book two.  I don’t think it’s a good decision, but the idea that love conquers all is a staple of literature.

          I really enjoyed this book.  The characters are well written and fully realized. Seattle may not be the most exciting city in the world, but these characters don’t spend a lot of time outside. I was intrigued by the idea that a British writer would set the novels there, though. I’m looking forward to reading book two, Fifty Shades Darker, when it’s my turn at the library.