Grey by E.L. JamesMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Time taken to read - 7 days
Publisher - Vintage
Pages - 576 pages
Blurb from Goodreads
In Christian's own words, and through his thoughts, reflections, and dreams, E L James offers a fresh perspective on the love story that has enthralled millions of readers around the world.
Christian Grey exercises control in all things; his world is neat, disciplined, and utterly empty—until the day that Anastasia Steele falls into his office, in a tangle of shapely limbs and tumbling brown hair. He tries to forget her, but instead is swept up in a storm of emotion he cannot comprehend and cannot resist. Unlike any woman he has known before, shy, unworldly Ana seems to see right through him—past the business prodigy and the penthouse lifestyle to Christian’s cold, wounded heart.
Will being with Ana dispel the horrors of his childhood that haunt Christian every night? Or will his dark sexual desires, his compulsion to control, and the self-loathing that fills his soul drive this girl away and destroy the fragile hope she offers him?
This book is intended for mature audiences.
My Review
Firstly I feel I must say this is not a fresh perspective on Fifty Shades of grey, not from my point of view. I was looking forward to reading more about it from Christians point of view, learning more about him and the therapist, Mrs Robinson and details that would make Christian possibly more understood or sympathetic. That didn't happen, the book is almost exactly the same as the first book, obviously there are a few changes throughout, instead of the inner Goddess we get some of Christians thoughts on what is transpiring. However this book has not done anything to improve the negative aspects people thought of him from the first books.
Christian comes across as quite creepy in these, I never got that from the original books, controlling a tad, overbearing at points yet but not exactly creepy. I also don't remember him being so sweary, his thoughts towards his staff at times are quite annoying too but I feel I may be nitpicking there.
We have some flashbacks to when he was a child, some interaction from the good doctor and Mrs Robinson, I really wanted there to be more. Not the sex side but more their relationship, how did Mrs Robinson manage to get Christian to be from the aggressive angry young man to the successful albeit trouble with personal relationships man that Grey becomes.
Don't get me wrong, some of the fans totally loved this book and whilst it does offer some insight, it wasn't anywhere near what I was hoping for. I guess I just wanted to understand what made Christian tick, instead I got the same story that I felt made him look worse than before. I genuinely hope if she goes on to write more from Christians point of view, she does so with more focus on him than the sex and makes him a bit less creepy stalker and more misunderstood needs to be loved, 3/5 for me this time.
Thank you for your honest review. I won't be reading this one (although I did read the first two books), but I have been curious to know what fans (and not so fans) think of this latest edition. I remember reading Midnight Sun by Stephanie Meyer, and this sounds very similar to that--just a reworking of the first books from a different character's viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteI've most wondered how Christian would come off. I admit I never liked him in the two books I read in the original trilogy, but part of me wondered if he might come off differently in this book. I can't say I'm surprised by your findings. From other reviews I have read and excerpts, it's about what I expected. I do have a friend who likes this book more than the original trilogy (she's a die hard fan of the series) and she felt it was very insightful. We've had some interesting discussions about Christian. He's her dream man. He's my nightmare. LOL
It's so interesting, how differently we can all perceive the same book, isn't it? Or characters in it. Anyway. I am glad to read your review. :-)
I still haven't been tempted to read the first of these tbh. I'm surprised she hasn't taken the opportunity to paint him in a better light. Although maybe he's always been creepy and no one noticed...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insightful commentary on this book.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of folks who object to this entire series for what I would call sociological reasons. As I have not read them I am hesitant to take a stand. With that I do think that representing anti social and even pernicious characters in literature is one of the things that art should be doing.
Thus your observation that Christian comes across as creepy and stalker like is good thing.
Too bad that this book was bit disappointing. I do think that for those interested in strong characterizations, as well as gender related issues, these stories could be worthwhile.