50 Shades of ...............How Popular???

Does 50 Shades Of Grey really deserve the negative reviews that it has received? 

Some months after reading the trilogy myself I find it surprising to see that negative reviews still seem to be popping up all over the net. I read it at the time that the hype seemed to be at it's highest. With 5.3 million copies sold, does it really deserve the criticism?

So what is it that people love to hate about the best selling novel of all time?

Lets look at some of the common complaints.

The Grammar Is Shocking!

Yes it is! However in order to understand why this is, we must first look at the humble beginnings of the 50 Shades trilogy. The book first appeared in an online forum designed for aspiring writers to share their ideas and to gain practice. EL James wrote the book chapter by chapter uploading each chapter as it was written. After each installment her readers demanded more and when the book was finished it became so popular that James had no other alternative but to publish. All writers come from humble beginnings and unfortunately don't all start with massive amounts of  cash to spare. Therefore having  her book proof read and edited accordingly by a professional just wouldn't be an option. I have read many famous authors first books that contain the same types of grammatical errors. This is a factor that must be considered.

The BDSM Portrayal is Inaccurate!

Of course it is. Unless Bdsm is something that you have in your life, there is no way that you would know all the facts. A good writer would spend endless  amounts of time researching the subject in order to give an accurate  portrayal. Again, James probably never intended the book for publication so perhaps she did a little research to give her an overall  idea of what she was looking for? Or perhaps she did know the whole truth but found it too hardcore for her story ? After all, bdsm is not a subject that everyone would be comfortable reading about. I, for one found it very hard to take in the beginning. The thought of a man controlling everything about a woman's life, eurghhhhhh. I was enraged by this and almost never finished reading the first book.

It's repetitive!

Again, I agree! It is repetitive. At one point I thought that if I read another line where her 'reverie' was interrupted that I was gonna cry. However, we must go back to the beginnings of 50 Shades in order to consider this. As it was uploaded chapter by chapter, James would never have had a full manuscript in front of her to proofread it and pick out her own errors. Re-draft and re-draft again is an authors motto. Again, James never intended it for publication but if she did I'm pretty sure she would be no different to any other writer and scrutinised her own work for perfection.

A good book is not determined by the writing, the grammar, or how it portrays a specific area. It's about whether or not the overall story is good and whether the author manages to keep the readers enthralled. With 5.3 million books sold (and in my personal opinion) EL James has done what she set out to do.  Created something she could be very proud of, and kept her readers entertained! I fear that if you depend on book reviews to determine what you read next, you could be missing out on reading something fantastic. After all...............5.3 MILLION people can't all be wrong.

The Mentalist x