50 Shades of Incomprehensible Popularity

[emma_in_dream]

I don’t like to dismiss a book without reading it, so I got *Fifty Shades of Grey* out the library. I can now recommend it… to people who like reading about legal contracts.

Cut for adult content.



Seriously, if you find tendering/negotiating contracts exciting, then this is the novel for you. It had a repetitive structure which went like this:


He emailed me a draft of the CONTRACT. I was very excited as I read the CONTRACT and sent back a suggestion that sub-clause 2(a) referring to the use of gynaecological implements be deleted. He instead suggested a substitution of sub-clause 3(d) regarding genital clamps in the CONTRACT. I was thrilled and agreed to the revised CONTRACT.


Then we had sex. Which was great, obviously.


The next day he emailed me a new CONTRACT with the suggestion that anal plugs be used at clause 8. I was certainly up for negotiations!


I find the mainstream success of this novel baffling.

Comments

[sqbr]

Having watched the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the word "CONTRACT" makes me think of this which makes your description all the more disturbing...

(He's a little alien who makes contracts with young girls)

[emma_in_dream]

That is seriously disturbing.

[fred_mouse]

I haven't read it, but I read enough commentary from people that when a bunch of the ballet mums were gushing about it, I was so very tempted to ask whether it was the bdsm that they were specifically interested in, and should I point them at some less skeevy examples of it....

[emma_in_dream]

I also wanted to point out that this is a weird BDSM novel to make the mainstream. Not very well written.