Fifty Shades of Gossip

When I first started hearing all the hype about Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James, I'll admit I was intrigued.  I braced myself for the literary challenge.  I had heard that it had all sorts of S&M and that it put most "Smut" novels to shame.  I had never read a novel like that before, so decided before I embarked on the journey of Fifty Shades, I would read several erotic books so I knew what I was dealing with.  Once I felt adequately prepared for the cheesy plot-lines and predictable sexual escapades, I bought the first novel of the Fifty Shades of Grey series.
Note: This review is based on the literary aspects of the novel, not the content, or the S&M nature of the novel.

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James spins an intriguing story.  From my background research I learned that this was originally a fan-fiction story based offof the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer.  I kept this in mind while I was reading and honestly, if I hadn't known about it previously, I probably would not have picked up on the allusion towards Twilight.  There is one character named the same as a character in Twilight and the characters' backgrounds are similar to the characters in Meyer's novel, but James' plot line is pretty distinguishable from the Twilight elements.  Those who did not enjoy Meyer's novel, may enjoy James' and vice versa.

The main character of the novel, Ana, was very loquacious.  She graduated with an English degree recently and enjoys reading classical literature, which explained her advanced language.  I have an English degree as well and found her linguistics easy to understand, only having to look up a few words. (I am still trying to learn what a hoplophobe is).  However, I could understand a reader possibly getting caught up in those parts.  There are several parts where Ana references parts of classical novels or uses remarkably mature language for her age (21) in the novel, that someone who has not read those novels may miss out on the allusion.  I admire James for adding these allusions however, because it appeals to my literary researcher side, and I look forward to delving in head first to interpret her allusions' bigger purpose someday.

Most people, it can be said, won't pick up this book for the story.  They will, unfortunately, be drawn to it's racy stigmata.  However, I do recommend for readers who enjoy a slightly twisted love story, to pick it up for the actual story.  The sexual nature of the book is only in the forefront on occasion.  Quite frankly, I found it tamer than I expected.

On a literary level, this book will by no means be considered a classic.  It is a new story that hasn't been told before (removing the Twilight likenesses), I will admit that.  There are allusions and other literary techniques that convince me that James is not some amateur writer; she knows what she's doing.  However, because of its reputation already, I think that James will never be able to be taken seriously, regardless of what she writes.  It is unfortunate too, because had she published a different series before this one, she may have become one of the lucky authors to make my favorites list.

Don't listen to the hearsay about this book, my fellow readers.  Give it the chance it deserves and appreciate what it has to offer.  Read all three books, from the beginning to the end, take a deep breath, and then put the books away and read something better.

A Load of Malarkey or Not?

My blog for today is about the book titled The boy who came back from heaven by Kevin and Alex Malarkey.  The book is about a father and son who got into a car accident.  The son Alex was in critical condition for several months and in a coma.  Beginning from the moment the car crashed, Alex reported seeing the devil, angels, and being transported to heaven.  The blog that I am writing is not a reflection on the beliefs of these people, those who believe these people, or those who disagree with the Malarkeys' claim.  My purpose for the blog is to review the book and its writing style, and determine whether or not I would recommend it for reading. With that, I begin.


I did not get the impression that Kevin Malarkey had ever written a book before.  It is explained in the book that he enjoys writing letters and poetry, so I'm sure he had a bit of experience in writing, but by no means was he a well-experienced writer.  Then again, everyone has to start somewhere.  I think the voice of the book was well used, clinical terms were explained, and the entire book had a sense of formality to it.  Because of the topic it was exploring, I think it was appropriate.  Malarkey is often discussing hospital procedures, religious scripture and beliefs, and other subjects that are usually formal in nature.  The chapters that Alex is speaking in, I felt had an appropriate voice as well.  Whether Alex wrote them himself and then they were edited, or his father wrote down what Alex was saying, it is clearly coming from a child.  I enjoyed the fact that Malarkey gave Alex a chance to speak, especially considering the book is mostly about Alex's injuries and experience in heaven.

I will admit, this book took me quite some time to read.  Usually I can read a 200 page book in about an hour to two hours.  If I am reading the book very closely to study it and write a research paper then I will still be able to finish it in one evening.  This book took me over a week to read.  I am still unsure of what it was that made the book so hard for me to read.  It could have been the content, but because it is such a controversial topic, I continued to read.

There were other elements about the style that bothered me as well.  For example, the book was written with individual chapters, but each chapter also had subsections.  Then, there were letters or quotes from scripture added into each chapter as well.  Perhaps it was more of an editing problem, but I was troubled because often I would be reading a section, and then a letter or piece of scripture would be there, and while it was separated by lines and italics, most of these started in the middle of a story or sentence and it made me feel very disjointed as a reader.  I did enjoy the texture of the book added with the scripture, Kevin's own poetry or letters, and then the testimonies of others.  It made the story truly show the reader how many people had been affected and involved and created a greater sense of reality for the book.  I simply wish that when they had been added, they had been put at the end of the chapter, or beginning, and not simply in the middle.

Also, when reading, I had a lot of trouble with the chronology of the book.  It was mostly set in chronological order, however, there would be several chapters passing and then the author would reveal that only a week had passed.  I would feel like months had gone by with Alex in the hospital, but then Malarkey would reveal that the accident had only occurred a week ago, and as a reader I was thrown off balance again.  If a more experienced writer had written this, I would have assumed that his word choice and writing style was trying to make the reader feel like time was dragging on, just as the family felt like time was dragging along being in the hospital awaiting changes in Alex's condition.  But, since Malarkey has not already published several books, I begin to wonder if it was simply a coincidence. 

There are details I wish had been omitted, because it made the story feel less realistic to me.  Also, the testimonies in the book were all of those who supported and believed in the Malarkey family and the power of God.  I wished, in some sense, that Malarkey had shown a bit more portrayal of doubters, because I'm sure they faced their fair share.  I was happy to see that Malarkey at least showed his own doubts and his own strains to demonstrate that he is not a perfect person, but I would have liked for him to interview others who did not believe if only to add a bit more dimension to the book. However, I do not want to judge based on content, because as I said, religion is such a controversial subject.  Personally, I do not know if I would recommend anyone read it.  I think that those who are very religious may be able to overlook the stylistic problems and enjoy it.  I even think that those who are troubled and need some guidance may find hope in the book.  But I do not think that those who enjoy to read, or those who study literature would necessarily enjoy the book.  Content aside, Mr. Malarkey is obviously a beginner, and to me, this was a hard read.