Wherever there is fiction, there has always been fan fiction – a fantasy version of what could have been the characters’ stories put forward by readers. There are various categories in fan fiction, namely, humour, romance, angst, drama, alternate universe, etc. To say that most fan fiction materials are romanticised versions of an original piece of fiction would be unfair, although it is rare to find a brilliant piece of fan fiction that surpasses the original.

Fifty Shades of Grey is not one of the aforementioned brilliant pieces of fan fiction. The writing is average, and the characters are not very well-defined. There is a lot of teenage angst, despite being a novel for adults and young adults. Adding to that, the names of the main characters are alarmingly like the names one would find in a Mills and Boon novel. However, there are several silver linings to this dark novel.

Firstly, the plot revolves around the two main characters, Anastasia ‘Ana’ Steele, a college senior, and Christian Grey, a wealthy and successful entrepreneur. The two protagonists are brought together by sheer coincidence, and they develop a relationship that, while not of a romantic nature, sees them together in intimate situations. Although Ana decides to end her relationship with Christian towards the end of the book, there is a cliff-hanger of sorts, in that their story is unfinished, as evidenced by the second and third parts that follow, namely, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, respectively. The backbone of the story is the continuously evolving relationship between Ana and Christian, although the BDSM deceives readers into concentrating on that factor of the plot.  In truth, the sexual chemistry between Ana and Christian is the description of how their relationship metamorphoses from friends to lovers to strangers. Towards the end of the book, Ana decides that she in incompatible with Gray and leaves him.

The book is the first in a trilogy by E. L. James. The title of the book is a double entendre, since one of the main characters of the novel is named Christian Grey, and also the plot explores the relationship between Grey and his supposed subservient, Ana. It is possible that the title is a wordplay on the varying degrees of BDSM, that is, the gradient changes in Grey’s character, despite having an affinity for pain and domination, he is still the same person; it is just the battle of light and dark in his head. This character trait is especially brought out in the scene where Grey asks Ana to sign a contract that forbids any sentiments of a romantic nature between them, and yet he continues his relationship with Ana despite her not having signed the contract.

There is a point in the novel where Gray presents Ana with a copy of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. This gesture might be a dramatic irony considering the story of Tess, who was victimised in the beginning of the novel and who murders her oppressor towards the end. There are a few similarities between Fifty Shades of Grey and Tess of the d’Urbervilles in that both novels have very explicit sexual content and overtures that are ahead of their time. Also, both Ana and Tess have been traumatised and left confused by the sexual activities in their lives.

Although it was originally a fan fiction based on the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer, the characters of Fifty Shades of Grey have been renamed and fortunately there is no mention of vampires or werewolves, probably due to infringement rights.

The sole reason for reading the second and third instalment of this series is purely due to the mystique woven into the novel by the author. In that area, the author has done a brilliant job in keeping the suspense alive for the next two books, enticing readers to wait for the rest of the story to unfold with baited breath.

Article Posted By : prajwal316  On March 17, 2013lView All Articles

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/fifty-shades-of-grey--review-article-1789.htm

Keywords :
novel , fiction