The 50 Shades of Grey trilogy has already spanked the
competition by whipping up 125 million copies sold. The movie version brought in hundreds of
millions of dollars, collaring an ever-growing legion of fans and
curiosity-seekers. E.L. James could
retire, but she’s coming back for more with a fourth book that’s expected to
have a climax that will, well, bring you to climax. The new edition will tell the side of
Christian Grey, moving the book’s perspective away from the young and beautiful
Anastasia Steele.
The news surprised people in that the book was announced
with just two weeks advance notice. Some
publishers have a long coronation for a big title, spending six months or a year
building up suspense. No advance review
copies were shared with book review trades or bloggers. Does this mean the book’s a dog or the
publisher, Vintage Books, just wants to cash in on the book’s fame before word-of-mouth discourages people? Maybe, or
perhaps it’s the element of surprise that makes people realize why they enjoy
being voyeurs to an amazing portrayal of sexual liberation, experimentation,
and power. Or was it degradation,
violence, and insanity? I guess it
depends on your perspective.
Now, we’ll hear what the spoiled rich-boy stud has to say
about why he can only get off when someone suffers unbearable pain. Like all stories, there are two sides. He said, she said will be a good approach to
the controversial series that has unleashed new bedroom antics for
Americans. We won’t have to wait long,
as the novels release is timed to hit the same week as another long-waited sequel
debuts – To Kill A Watchman.
Erotica has been an overheated genre since the works of
James surfaced in 2011. The thing that
surprised me about the books was that they were (a) written by a woman and (b)
enjoyed by both men and women – each for different reasons.
Sure they aren’t master works of writing but they do serve a
purpose. They do grip us in a way that
touches our minds and body. The
animalistic part of us can enjoy something sexual and arousing, and the moralistic
side of us can judge and question whether the actions taken seem appropriate. The books cross many lines. For the man, his actions would otherwise
border on criminal if it weren’t for her consent. For the woman, she gives into curiosity,
desire, and even love, to allow someone to do both something so pleasurable and
so cruel to her.
Perhaps the only book of this genre to rival James’ series in the last
50-60 years is The Story of O. Both have
to do with coming of age stories for sexually exploring women, and both imply
there is a reward associated with pain and abuse. These books test our limits on a number of
levels. No one could have imagined 50
Shades would normalize a behavior that our country would embrace; it's become more mainstream than oddity. Perhaps the book serves less to introduce and
more to coronate the ideas it presents.
Really nothing is new in her books that people didn’t already practice
or know about. But these books made it
okay to talk about, to even encourage, and to publicly accept behavior that for
years was privately embraced by growing legions of people.
I look forward to reading the fourth book. It would be great if everyone reads it and
continues to chip way at all the things that are seen as weird, taboo, or
different. The 1960s of free love and
experimentation may be over, but the best thing we can do is encourage people
to express and live out whatever fate their sexuality holds for them. There should not be any expected roles or
limitations, provided people use common sense, safety, gain consent, and treat
each other with compassion. Sex and love
come in many forms – and erotic books do as well.
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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas
expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can
follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him
at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015
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