(This review was originally written and published in April of 2012.)

Fifty Shades of Grey is a romance novel by E. L. James published in 2011.  It is the first of a trilogy and was put out by a small-press publisher called The Writer’s Coffee Shop.

This novel started out as a Twilight fanfic that was ‘expanded’ into an original novel.  The author has taken great pains to assure everyone that it is not anything like Twilight.  I am less than convinced.  The novel also has graphic sex scenes, which I will going through with the same fine-tooth comb as the rest of this novel, but I will make a note of which posts have graphic content so that followers can avoid it if they wish.

Normally, I don’t make too many comments about bad fanfiction.  If it’s something I dislike, I just shudder, close the window, and move on.  I may tell a friend or two, just to see their reaction, but that’s enough.  Fifty Shades of Grey, however, is something of a sensation, with an appearance in EW and the film rights already bought.  So I feel that any protection this work had as a fanfic has been forfeit.  It is not only there for public consumption, it is being promoted for public consumption, and even touted as a thought-provoking novel for ‘daring’ to explore BDSM themes.

I would like to say one thing about myself before we begin, because I predict the BDSM theme will become a big deal.  I have no problems with BDSM.  I have done research into the concept (research that involves talking to actual practitioners, not reading and/or watching a lot of porn) and will likely do even more research through the course of this review.  If I say anything disparaging about the sex in this book, it’s not because I think BDSM is some dirty, dirty practice that should be shunned just for existing. 

With that bit of clarification out of the way, let’s dive in to this.