But there’s just not enough supplemental material to justify 546 pages of soggy rehash, unless you’re dying to relive the explicit sex scenes from the male point of view (with terminology that’s more even graphic than in the original books).Ĭhristian, fans know, is a “good man,” one twisted by things beyond his control, and an environmental- and Third-World-friendly businessman to boot! This time around we get more details about Christian’s business deals (boring) and his relationships with former sexual partners/stalkers Elena and Leila (eh), plus additional flashbacks to his childhood (revealing if icky). And it’s not very Alpha Male for the formerly steely Christian to continually whine, in italics, about his insecurities when it comes to Ana.
In Grey and Darker, we get Christian via Christian, and his alluring arrogance translates too often as Big Jerk. In the original trilogy, we see Christian through Ana’s eyes. Watching Christian reveal, bit by bit, his horrendous childhood. Watching Christian watch Ana eat (or not). (Hey, this is a family newspaper.) But what really made these books a phenomenon is the romance. Sparks fly, a non-disclosure agreement is trotted out and Ana has to decide if she’s willing to indulge control-freak Christian’s alarming tastes in the boudoir. The original books (dubbed “Mommy Porn” by meanies) were narrated by Ana, an innocent 21-year-old college senior (and a virgin!) who meets the dazzling, mysterious 27-year-old Christian when she interviews him for her student newspaper. Whatever you think of the novels' literary merits or the characters' sexual proclivities, James filled some sort of deep need in her (primarily) female readers.
But the thrill is gone recycling is just not very sexy. With some 150 million copies sold worldwide and two heavy-breathing movie adaptations in the bag (the third is on the way early next year), it’s easy to see why James would want to dip into this well again and again. Now, here’s Darker (Vintage, 546 pp., ★★ out of four), with Seattle’s bad boy of bondage narrating Fifty Shades Darker. Grey, Christian’s version of Fifty Shades of Grey, arrived in 2015 and was an instant No. With readers evidently still panting for more after the original blockbuster trilogy ( Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed), James decided to re-enter the infamous Red Room of Pain and retell the tales from Christian’s point of view.
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