I loved the whole Fifty Shades trilogy, but I loved the first part most of all. The first book has a magic all of its own, and I think that this is mostly due to the alluring and enigmatic character of Christian Grey!
I have read hundreds of novels, and I will usually discard a novel for three main reasons:
unsuccessful or unoriginal characters;
uninteresting plot; bad treatment of women/gender/gay rights issues. It is too often that I find that characters are just facades, or a bunch of stereotypes, or are similar to characters from other novels or films.
Yet Christian Grey was, for me, completely original. I have not found another character like him. Though I do think he is parallelized purposefully with Dorian Grey, I also think that he is authentic, marvelous and true! I mean, who else would be so eccentric as to answer (to the question, "don't you have any friends, to go out and talk"?), "I have no friends, Anastasia. My one friend is Mrs Lincoln - Mrs Robinson to you".
There are faults in Fifty Shades, as there are in most novels. The one novel without fault is probably Great Expectations, or maybe Pride and Prejudice. I am not sure Fifty Shades is a feminist novel, but I don't think it is anti-feminist either. I believe that, the surest thing to say is that it is a novel with feminist elements. Generally, author E.L. James treats women with respect, and there are many positive messages in the novel for women and girls: the friendship between Ana and Kate is celebrated, Ana refuses to give up her job for marriage, Christian is not daunted that Ana is a bookish person, &c.
Right now, I am counting the days to the film! Can't wait! xxx
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