~GREY Review-
With EL James new release of "Grey" readers get the
opportunity to hear Christian's perspective from his point of view. In the
original Fifty Shades Trilogy we were privy to Anastasia "Ana" Rose
Steele Grey as the female protagonist's voice whose reflections were often a sounding
board from her "Inner Goddess" as she maneuvered through the
complexities of her first sexual encounter with a billionaire and a man trained
in the Dominant/submissive culture who has been emotionally unavailable in
his past as they develop deeper feelings for each other.
Christian T. Grey's voice is one character's perspective readers
have been itching to delve into since the excerpt was provided in the Trilogy.
Now in "Grey" we are seeking to find his depth of character as the
lead male protagonist, the Dominant voice who pursues the virginal Ana while he
endeavors to command and leave his dark past and nightmares behind him in order
to embrace a new love and a chance at Happily Ever After.
As the author of the Echoes in Eternity (Book 1 in the Pella
Series), I have been writing from the male protagonist’s perspective for over
six years. You can see some pre-publishing chapters here and read more on
Amazon.com:
I’ve
always been a huge fan of EL James since she was writing her fan fiction
“Master of the Universe”. I love the trilogy and adore Christian’s character
which I had had studied in the last four years. As I read the book, I couldn't help but notice that Christian's voice and
tone in "Grey" sometimes meshes from Ana's timbre.
For
example: “My scalp prickles.” (This is the voice of inner
goddess/Ana, but Christian says it about 6 times throughout the book).
GREY
states:
“ “How
have you avoided sex? Tell me, please.” Because I don’t get it.
She’s in
college— and from what I remember of college all the kids were fucking like
rabbits.
All of
them.
Except
me.”
But
that’s not true. For someone who was introduced to hardcore sex at the age of
15, he was having sex with Elena and often at her bidding. This statement
should be describing Ana. She wasn’t having sex in college while her peers
were.
The
insecurities Anastasia has reflected in the original trilogy that she isn’t
good enough for Christian or that she isn’t experienced, or that she may not
meet Christian’s needs, switched voices and came through as Christian voice
which constantly sees Ana as a flight risk because of his deficiencies.
What the
hell? “I don’t like to share, Miss Steele. Remember that.” I storm out of the
room before I say anything else.
Is she
hung up on him?
Was she
just using me to break her in?
Clearly
Ana wouldn’t use someone so advanced in sexual prowess to break her in for a
man like Jose Rodriguez. This would be where Ana’s insecure
word/pitch/voice/tone crossing over into Christian’s expressions. It’s a female
tone. (“Am I being used for sex?”)
Christian
should be strong, arrogant, confident, resolute then conflicted, intense,
possessive as he battles with his former life style and philosophies since he
has lived his life with contractual relationships with cursory care and
feelings. The relationships around him (Dr. Flynn, Taylor, Bastille, and
staffers close to him like Roz who don't fear him) should allow him to
voice his turmoil, drives, impulses and his leadership choices in a
distinctive tone and not melded with Ana's underlying sentiment. Christian is
more experienced in some areas and learning in others (love, for instance). He
should speak and his language should have a rougher rhythm. "I don't make
love, I fuck HARD" blunt and to the point, no pussy footing. This took us
by surprise and all the female readers were saying “Tell me more!” He takes a
position, makes a decision, takes action and you feel it. There should be no
ambivalence about his transition from being a wounded being to one healed by
allowing love to release his inner demons.
We, the readers love Christian.
What it boils down to is that every woman has a version of Christian in her
head which is why I wrote his point of view and you, the readers from 187 different countries came to read it. We are also a community who first came together
because of Christian Grey. We invested our love and time in his character by
studying it, discussing it, bringing him to life. We’ve bonded, made friends
around the globe, met one another; heck, I went all the way down to Brazil after traveling 34 hours to meet my readers,
and to me, that was amazing; a totally priceless experience! All due for a book some people hate! So, in the end, when people
flock to the movie, or to see the author to get her autograph or to read Christian's point of view, it’s not just because it’s “just a book”; he personifies what the trilogy brought
out to the surface in all of us. I will never forget when one of my Brazilian
readers' husband said to me on the phone: “What you write, saved our marriage.”
That’s good enough reason for me to continue writing him. It’s my community
service, and my expression of his character, cementing our friendship, helping
others to communicate in their bedrooms.
(My Brazilian sisters and I)
So, what’s the verdict?
Read it in New York Times! A Walk in The Clouds blog and I are in
the following review:
