Dissecting Grey's anatomy (Second of Two Parts)

In the first part of my mini-review of the E.L. James phenomenal trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed  I asked: What is it about the book series that drives readers, mostly women, crazy?

Topping the list is the terrific, mind-blowing sex written in detail by James. It’s not every day that one gets to read about this, how much more experience it in real life? Talk about feeding women’s fantasies! The trilogy “aims to please.”

The Red Room of Pain and all the “ toys” inside it: For a 41-year-old mom like me (Read: Not a stranger to adult sex), I didn’t know what BDSM really was prior to reading the novel. I mean, I’ve heard of it in passing before but never discussed it in detail within my inner social circle, not even with my own hubby.

After all, we live in the Philippines and BDSM is not publicly talked about or normally practiced here as a lifestyle (at least, not legally, I think). It is something that is taboo in a country like ours. In other countries, I learned that there are BDSM clubs and communities.

The main characters Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele made us voyeurs of their BDSM relationship inside what Christian calls “The Red Room of Pain.”

Vanilla: Prior to reading Fifty Shades, my only vocabulary of Vanilla is the ice cream flavor. Thanks to Christian, “Vanilla” has taken on a whole new meaning as far as I am concerned. 

All the sex, yes. All the porn, yes. But all the romance in the trilogy, too. Let’s face it girls, this is a page-turner because we all turn googly-eyed with Christian’s brand of romance. Despite his “Fifty shades of f**d-upness,” as Ana puts it, Christian is one helluva romantic guy who sweeps you off your feet. He is fiction-perfect!

 At first, Christian made it clear to Ana that he was not the “hearts and flowers” kind of man. He admitted it. His ulterior motive was to make Ana his “SUB.” And so, the first thing he offered to Ana was the Non-Disclosure Agreement. The DOM-SUB contract.

 But as the story unfolds, his true color surfaces. He is a romantic guy!

Want examples?

 Christian woke up Ana just before dawn and took her gliding.

And you know what he said to Ana? “I want to chase the dawn with you.”

In another chapter of the book, Christian took Ana for a helicopter ride from Seattle to Portland — which he pilots himself! What else can Christian not do?

 And it was so romantic when he told Ana, “We’ve chased the dawn, Anastasia, now the dusk…”

If that ain’t romantic, then I don’t know what is.

Christian and Ana make e-mail correspondence so funny, witty and romantic, you’d love to start sending e-mails to your husband, too. Call it modern-day flirting!

 Christian, being the insanely wealthy bachelor that he is, sweeps Ana off her feet by buying her expensive stuff. Very domineering yes, but he’s very generous and thoughtful, too, as a way of “controlling” Ana. (Although in real life, having an obsessive-controlling partner isn’t really ideal, is it?)

Aside from being “enlightened” about BDSM, I am thankful to Fifty Shades because I got to know who Ian Somerhalder and Henry Cavill are. Have you seen the fan-made trailers for Fifty Shades? So much effort was put into them. You should watch them on YouTube. All the fan-made trailers for Fifty Shades, whose cast is yet to be finalized, are clear indications of how much fans are going gaga over the books. (And my vote goes to Ian who I think is born to play Christian.)

Spoiler alert! Don’t read beyond this if you haven’t read Book 2.

Ana wants “more.” In Fifty Shades Darker, Christian surprises Ana. He took her to an attic filled with flowers, twinkling fairy lights and formally proposed marriage to her with a ring.

Christian is one man who is head over heels in love with his woman. Women looove that kind of man! Christian is just so in love with Ana. He adores everything about Ana. Her always biting her lip. Her smart mouth. The sound of her giggles. Her childlike naivete, yet her being a woman. Her being a “goddess” in many ways. Her power over him. He always verbalizes his feelings with words like “You beguile me.”

“You are beautiful, Anastasia.”

“You intoxicate me.”

“Do you realize how beautiful you are, Anastasia?”

“You look mighty fine Miss Steele.”

And just how many times did Christian say this to Ana — “You. Are. Mine.” (yes, punctuated that way)?

No wonder her inner goddess always “hugs herself and does somersaults” as James puts it.

Christian always makes Ana feel that she is the most beautiful woman in the universe. Christian always, always, says it to her. (Now, this reminds me of my hubby, hahahaha. Thanks, hubby.)

 Nevertheless, the books are my baptism of fire when it comes to erotic literature. They shocked me out of my wits at first, but admittedly, they are a delicious “can’t-put-down-the-book” read. In fact, I read all three in four days. And guess what — I am reading all three for the second time. The BDSM parts still shock me though, but upon reading them for the second time around, I am drawn to the music that inspired James while writing the book, and what she used as an important tool to further flesh out Christian’s character. It’s an eclectic choice of songs. James has come up with her own playlist on YouTube. I like The Flower Duet from Lakme.

And Fifty Shades has spawned an album titled Fifty Shades of Grey the Classical Album, curated by James herself and released worldwide last Sept. 17. Guess who will buy?

So, whatever literary critics say about Fifty Shades, no doubt it is a page-turner. I let my hubby read some of the exciting chapters, and he was receptive and didn’t turn “mercurial.” Thank God, hubby understands my craziness.

So I guess, the trilogy’s charm lies in its relatable and even non-relatable parts. Whether you are a believer and doer of BDSM or just plain curious about it, whether you go for just plain old “vanilla,” whether or not you have discovered your “inner goddess,” whether you subscribe to the lifestyle of the rich and famous or aspire to have one, there’s something about the books that just draws you.    

To borrow Christian’s words, Fifty Shades “aims to please.”

Christian and Ana are fictional characters who you can relate to somehow on different levels. Such is the universal language that is love.

Post-Fifty Shades, the next good read is the other erotica being compared to it now: Bared to You by award-winning author Sylvia Day, which is peppered with scorching love scenes in the tradition of Fifty Shades.

But for now, let me get through with my Fifty Shades round two of reading. Can’t have too much of a good thing right?

As Anastasia would say it all the time to her inner goddess: “Oh my.”

(Trivia: She said “Oh my” 75 times in the first book, 35 times in Darker and at least, 40 times in Freed.) 

Wait, there’s more. In an interview, James said that she is deluged with fan requests to write a fourth book, this time written from Christian’s point of view. Wow. To this possibility, James quipped, “Yeah. Never say never.”

Hmm. Do you think it’s time for our husbands and partners to devour the books this time around and explore their sexuality?

As Christian would charmingly say, “Laters, baby.”

(P.S. Thank you, E.L. James for replying to my tweets and sending me a direct message on Twitter. Holy cow! Ultimate fan moment!)