Fifty Shades of Grey

I did not plan to buy and read this book. I don't see the need to jump on every bandwagon going. I thought that I could manage quite happily without it. Until, that is, I heard some ladies of a certain age at a church coffee morning talking about it. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Laugh at the thought of the expression on their faces when they read parts of it, or cry that the church has come to this.

Now I recognise that these ladies may well know more than they are letting on. They would have been of the generation who talked about Lady Chatterley and the furore surrounding the publication of that book. This, at least as far as English literature is concerned, would hardly be ground-breaking stuff for them.

But if they were going to talk about it, and if any of them, or anyone else for that matter, asked my opinion of it, the only way to engage in conversation and have a decent idea of what I'm talking about was to read the book.

So, what is the book about? Well, the general story-line is well-publicised elsewhere, so I'm not going to go into great detail spelling it out. Neither is this going to be a book review in the usual sense, though no doubt bits of both of the above will make an appearance in the paragraphs below.

Without wishing to sound as if I'm preparing a classic three-point sermon, whilst I did enjoy some bits of the general story-line, there were bits that had me in disbelief at being just too far-fetched for the likes of you and me ( or have I just had a very sheltered life?) there were bits, especially the “juicy bits” where I was bored – once you've read an account of a sex-scene you've read them all, and there were other areas where I was looking for, and in a number of cases finding, theological reflection.

Christian Grey seems to have it all – successful business, millions in the bank, chauffeur, housekeeper, private jet, you name it, he's got it. He's also pretty good in bed. Is this just an attempt to get men to feel inadequate, or for women to think that their men are inadequate? Perhaps those who don't keep in mind the fact that this is fiction might think so!

Yet underneath that exterior, there are ghosts from his past which haunt his present. The way he was treated has turned into the way he treats others. You get glimpses of his past in the book. I for one was feeling that I wanted to know more, but no huge revelations were forthcoming. Towards the end of the book there was a bit of a hint that he might find redemption. I won't give the ending away, but that bit had my interest.

So, having read it, what do I make of it? Well, it's certainly not the best book I've ever read. Sorry, but it isn't. It is the most graphic I've ever read, and I don't say that with any degree of pride. It's a piece of fiction and belongs firmly in that genre. There are 2 other books in the series. I haven't read them, but I suspect that they are largely more of the same. Will there be redemption at the end of the 3^rd book? I don't know. (And if you know, please don't spoil it, I may read them one day if I've nothing better to do!)

But basically what it all boils down to is the fact that there are many other books that I would prefer to be having a discussion about at a church coffee morning. I'm not going to become one of the kind of ministers who says it should be banned, don't read it, etc, but there have been other novels which have held my attention better and other books which have been better for my general well-being.

I suppose at the end of the day it's a matter of personal taste, but this wasn't to mine.

Now, do I donate the book to the next church fayre?