Before I even cracked the cover my interest was peaked by a
question on Facebook posted by friend and columnist Jim Stingl, “I'm writing
about "50 Shades of Grey" for tomorrow's column. Any of my female
Facebook friends want to help me explain the appeal of this steamy,
domination-theme book everyone's talking about?” Whoa, what? Not yet having read the book, I didn’t feel I could respond, but
I haven’t stopped thinking about the question. So here it is, (a little late for Jim’s column) my answer…
Pick up any steamy romance, written by a woman, for women and
the formula is always the same. She’s beautiful (but doesn’t know it), willful, smart, young and a
virgin. He’s an older, drop dead
gorgeous, perfect male (as described by the cut of his clothing), incredibly
rich and inscrutable. She has a trendy name – Ashley, Serene, Elenora; he’s got
a manly name – Roque, Gavin, Crawford. The story begins with the meet cute;
pages of literary foreplay; the coming together in a blaze of sexual glory and
multiple orgasms; more hot sex and always orgasms; betrayal and
misunderstanding; deep regret and longing; clarity; a return to each other; more
hot sex and happily ever after.
It’s that simple, and it’s that complex. Now, if you’re a man reading this, you
read hot sex and orgasms, and bam, that was all you needed. Think about it, for a man, every issue
of a Playboy is a brand new visual – so many variations on the theme. If a woman even has a Playgirl, she
probably has just the one and it’s not the current issue. Why? Because there are so few variations on the theme, it’s all
just junk. But a well written
romance novel will transport you to emotional heights and visceral
responses. It will leave you
unable to set the book down as the end of each page has the promise of more
tension and deliciousness on the next page. It’s pure escape; it’s inspiring and it's fun.
Fifty Shades of Grey takes this theme to a whole new level, but
it’s the same story. She’s a
beautiful, young, willful virgin; he’s a handsome, rich and inscrutable
man. Pages of relationship
foreplay, a cautious introduction of the domination theme with the heightened
tension of fear. The story hits
it’s first peak around page 120 and it’s a roller coaster ride from there. So there it is, it’s about the escapism,
the quality of the build-up, the tension, the response and the . . . education.
Songs that resonate:
Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri
Ooh La La - Goldfrapp
