Sex sells… Part 3

...interesting but rather disappointing for me.

Repetition is one of the areas that as a writer I try to avoid.

We, writers, are advised (by editors and many published writers) that our readers do not need to be told over and over again the same information and yet in this book the rule seems to have been ignored.

Therefore I have to ask this question: Is this what readers want? Judging by sales – sadly the answer is probably - yes!

Or maybe its not that simple.

There are passages in the book that irritated me because of the number of times a repetition of the same set of words ‘a hint of a smile’ were used. None of my work has ever survived editing with this many repetitions…

And why did Mr Grey have to have gray eyes? Just reading that line visually feels wrong. And if you believe all you read on the internet it can mean: “Gray is the colour of sorrow. People who favour gray can be the lone wolf type or narrow-minded – or - the Colour Gray is the colour of intellect, knowledge, and wisdom!”

His trousers are pants. Which conjures a peculiar image of a picture in my head but this is American English and it is accurate. There is nothing wrong with referring to trousers as pants but in this type of romance/erotica book it does affect my thought process, especially as I read – I visualise. It creates a wonky image, which I had to readjust.

But worst of all, the amount of ‘blushing’ or ‘flushing.’ I’m sorry but flushing singularly conjures an un-erotic image and for me was the worst offender in the repetition stakes.

Yet I’m not published and EL James is. So what do I know?

Her readership reach has extended beyond my wildest dreams, hopes and aspirations.

So it can’t be all wrong. Can it?

This book should be taken lightly, and accepted as an easy read. Not too taxing, perfect for a day at the beach or alongside the pool. It is easy to put down and pick up later.

If you’re a grammarian then it’s likely that some of the sentence structures will trip you up or leave you reeling but let’s hope the desire to hurl the e-reader across the room is not enacted.

And don’t get me started on similes and metaphors; some terrible descriptions were adopted that conjured up odd images rather than shocking. Personally I would rather not read a bad metaphor.

This story is meant to be read as a fantasy.

It is not real life.

My real concern is that in the wrong hands and if this book is given credence then it could become a weapon of destruction. It could be used in away that I would find dangerous if women lost rights.

At heart I’m a feminist. And I find it a worrying trend that this book could if the media runs away with itself, and twists it out of perspective, then women as a group in society could be pushed back centuries and loose all the gains we have made in recent times.

I’ve no desire to be a subordinate. Nor a dominatrix. Unless it suits my character…

Ultimately I have to take my hat off to EL James because there can be no denying that this women has succeeded in a tough industry.