It has been a while since I posted something fanfiction related, I suppose. Day by day, I'm finding it more difficult to write, because of work and my personal commitments. Nevertheless, I'm still fighting for every minute to write, as long as I have the desire to write, I will.
Wasn't Chapter 20 such a lovely chapter? Not surprisingly, many reviewers reviewed with criticism and doubts about the characters. I would love to say that I've got all the answers, but the truth is that... I DON'T. But one thing is for sure, I've made up my mind to walk down this plot and I hope that you will have the patience with me to walk till the end. Perhaps you might like how things turn out :)
Also, I've mentioned in my review on Eona that I tried out the whole thing of not-always-siding-with-the-protagonist thing into this chapter (and future chapters) so why don't you just give Meia another shot? :P
Don't say I didn't warn you, Chapter 21 onwards will definitely contains parts that you may not like or you may say 'This could've been better if it's this way'. I am also experimenting on my part so I'm afraid yet excited to know how this will turn out. I assure you, the non-Meia parts is still worth reading!
I know many of you will disagree, but I've also made up my mind that I'll bring down the word count of each chapter back to 4500-5000. If you haven't noticed, you guys have been reading close to 6000 word chapters. I don't know about you, but I get really frustrated when the chapter is long. Especially if the story is not as engaging. I really don't have the confidence that you guys will willingly plough through 6000 words and appreciation everything that I've written (even if you assure me again and again!)
At last, this is my review to everyone - because everyone's reviews are almost the same.
Firstly, thank you for putting in the effort to review. I appreciate it. Don’t worry about criticizing, I need a fresh perspective, though it may not mean that I’ll adjust
my ways to suit everyone. That being said, of course everyone's reviews are taken for consideration for improvement. Thank you TWA, for reminding me that I've got to show Meia's photographic memory instead of only mentioning it ;P So never hesitate to comment. You never know when your words become the push factor to making someone better.
Just be assured that in the story, everything
that everyone had said and done are within my awareness. I am aware of how I’m
portraying Meia and everyone in Shinra. Yes, you are free to feel your
displeasure at certain people, even protagonists, because it is intentional. :) Hopefully once things unfold and at the end of it, you’ll see things in a
different light.
I'm glad that everyone liked Reeve/Cait Sith. Like what my fellow author redcherryamber said, Reeve is one of the least developed characters in FF7. Hope I can expand his character much deeper.
Lastly, to Cracked: Meia doesn't know what exactly happened to the previous lab assistant. Yes, she'll flip if she knew what happened. But the lab assistant wasn't killed so that Meia could fill in the role, just to clear things up. Shinra wanted the previous one dead already, before Meia even came along. Tseng's decision to take Meia into the Shinra Building was rather spontaneous (read Chapter 6 ^^).
Alright, that's all for the week! Have a great week, my sweet cheeks!
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Book Review (5): Eon/Eona
When I first saw the two books side by side each other last year, I sniggered to my friend. "Can they get more boring with their sequel books?"
But with encouragement from a friend, I finally got the book, "Eon".
Eon/Eon Duology
Alison Goodman
Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Eona was a candidate to be a dragoneye, key leaders who held powers of the 12 dragons in their world. Problem is that Eona is actually posing as a boy, Eon. When the Mirror Dragon, missing from 500 years, chose Eona to be its Dragoneye, Eona faced many difficulties trying to cover up her true identity.
-----
So the fact that I've read both Eon and its sequel Eona, you'd expect that I like it?
Well... yes, and no.
In general, I must say that I didn't love this book. It wasn't a bad read, but it's not really a book that I'll read again. So maybe borrow it from the library or something, but it's not necessary to own one copy.
The setting of the book was a fusion of the Chinese and Japanese culture. The land was ruled under an emperor. As a Chinese, I identified many, many oriental elements in this book. The 12 Dragons are from the Chinese Zodiac and the imperial court was very similar to that of the Eastern countries. Not a problem for me, but Westerners may take a while to take it all in, I suppose?
-----
Now, there were some annoying parts of the entire reading experience, and some parts that were simply great. So... I'm gonna start off with the good.
1. Amazing Protagonist
Meet Eona. She had the typical background - orphaned to unknown parents, rescued by her master to be a Dragoneye candidate. Just when I thought it was getting really normal-going... surprise surprise. I discovered her to be really... flawed. She lied constantly... and lied about lying. She had the biggest doubts of her ability and she lived in constant fear of having her true identity discovered.
In the sequel, more of her flaws surfaced (can't say more in case I spoil the story). You find that she is actually inching on Mary Sue at times, but ultimately, the author really brings Eona's character down. It's one of those books where you put down the book in the middle of it and go, "Dang, Eona, that was a dumb move." It's one of those moments that you think to yourself that protagonists aren't goody goody as you thought.
Do I like Eona? No, I don't. I really dislike her (and I have people who agree with me!), but I salute the author for making her so... different from a typical protagonist. There's a certain quality about Eona that is very different from other girls.
This is the best picture I can get of Eona, poor thing :P It's pretty accurate as how my mind sees it, all the way down to her twin swords.
2. Asian culture research, I give you props
As mentioned, the book was set in a fusion of Chinese and Japanese culture. From the clothing that people wear, to the rituals that people have, to the customs (such as bowing towards the senior) and the setting of the imperial court and the emperor's monarchy... you know this author really did enough research. As a Chinese I don't go all, "Pooh! This is all crap!", so you know it's not that ridiculous.
3. Conflicts of beliefs
This book played the dangerous card of conflicting beliefs. The theme of power versus compassion was dominant in the book, and Eona constantly struggles at the fine line between both. That means, this book is kinda philosophical and all. Not everything is as black-and-white as we like.
Well, seeing how similar this is with "I Want To Be A Turk!" and "Days of Exile", I gotta say, I'm quite intrigued with how the author deals with the conflicting beliefs. And she did it quite well. I really suck at writing philosophical chapters, so I wonder how did I survive explaining why Meia could be a Turk even though she disliked what they did...
Alas, that's all the goodies I have for this book, so let the baddies begin :X
4. Love Triangles... AGAIN?
First it was Twilight. Then it was Hunger Games. Now this. And in all three series, the female protagonist was deeply swayed by the third party. Okay, maybe not so in Eon/Eona but still there is! I doubt I really need to explain more about love triangles. I mean it's great, but I've been reading too many of those. This is just a personal complaint.
5. Yes, Eona does get annoying.
Another personal complaint of mine. She lies and she harps too much about her lying, her unworthiness and her flaws. Honestly, I quite liked the experience of disliking Eona. This book gave me my first - I've never disliked a protagonist till now. Previously, I had absolutely no issues with any protagonists. Now I know. It was quite a novel experience.
In fact, I liked it so much I kinda incorporated it into my own story. As some of you have commented, my recent chapter, Chapter 20 of Days of Exile, Meia did some things that you are not fully agreeable with. Well, that's great. Enjoy the feeling of 'Oh man, why did you do that you nincompoop!!"
So... I disliked Eona, yet I liked the experience. Is that a compliment for the book? You decide.
---
Rating: Consider It
Yeah, it's not a book that'll change your life, but it's not too bad if you are willing to read it in an unbiased manner.
Have you read the book before? What do you think?
The pictures above were shamelessly taken from these websites:
- http://www.thereadventurer.com/1/post/2012/7/three-heads-are-better-than-one-or-two-is-there-hope-for-ya-fantasy.html
- http://veari.deviantart.com/art/Eona-257692864
Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.
Monday, February 4, 2013
China: A Writing Inspiration + The Birth of "I Want To Be A Turk!"
And hello again!
From the beginning of this blog's birth, I've been wanting to talk about my China trip. And so I shall!
Back in early 2011, I promised my father that I'll visit him in the June holidays (yeah, our holidays are in June). He is working in China and he suggested that I fly over to find him alone. So to keep my promise, I dropped my schedule in June (which was full of dance rehearsals and the like) and flew to China to visit him.
I thought I'll be more sulky about it because I'm missing out almost a month of rehearsals, but I wasn't. It was really because I was getting really tired and worn out from the daily practice. The trip did me some good; a short getaway. Most of all, I brought my laptop along because I thought it would be a great opportunity to write.
At that time, I was beginning to write again. If you remember, I mentioned in my writing history that I went on a very long hiatus in the middle of writing "Their Memories of Fukinara High". When I wanted to continue the story again, my old readers have left already. Still, I continued to write. I knew that I had one reader who was still waiting for me to finish that story and I knew that I can't let her down until that story is finished.
So anyway, I thought it was a good time to clear my head from the busy day-to-day schedule and write instead.
I've been to Nanjing a few times. However, in this trip I did not have many pictures (because my dear father accidentally deleted them all). All pictures below are taken from good ol' Google. Here, let me show you some pictures of Nanjing and the places I was in. I've been in other places while I was there but I thought I'll just show you the place I was in most of the time.
This is Hunan Road, Nanjing. It is one of the most popular eating streets in the city. Yup, you've heard me. I reside in a hotel that is filled with FOOD. (I was obviously in heaven.) Food prices ranging from USD 1.60 for a large bowl of noodles, to USD 100 for a highclass restaurant, you have your variety right here! This is one end of the street, of which it is right next to a departmental store...
This is the other end of the Hunan street. See that huge-ass hotel on the left? Nope, I didn't stay there. I stayed in a small motel on the right. It was opened by a friend of my father's, over the last 15 years it had been a place of accomodation for my father whenever he's in China for business.
While I was there, he brought me to this tower above, which boasts of one of the nicest daytime cityviews of Nanjing. Indeed, Yuejiang Tower was gorgeous.
Okay, so that's how my four weeks were like. In the weekdays, I'll follow my dad to his company, where he works and I sit by his table and write. In the evening we would return and have dinner. Then I would return to my room and continue writing. Did I mention that I was writing like a mad woman, as if I don't have much time to live and I wanted to write everything? Thinking back I felt kinda bad for leaving my father alone sometimes. Sometimes he hangs out with his friends, but sometimes he leaves me be and watches TV.
On the weekends, if I'm game for it, he'd bring me to tourist attractions, like the tower. I went to the zoo to look at pandas and then we took a train to our ancestral hometown, Hunan, to attend my cousin's wedding.
Honestly? That's A LOT of time to write. So there I was, writing my "Their Memories of Fukinara High" happily. Blogspot and Facebook are banned in China, by the way, leaving me with nothing to muse about. So apart from writing, I was reading fanfiction. I was reading some Final Fantasy VIII fics and then suddenly, I was reading Final Fantasy VII.
Truth is, I knew nothing about FF7 then. I remembered playing it in secondary school, but I can't remember much, except that Aerith died and that my freaking chocobo wouldn't turn gold. So guess what? I spent my time on finalfantasy.wikia, reading up on FF7. Yup, dear readers, that was how I eventually became the expert on FF7 :P The formula is just 'lots of time' and 'finalfantasy.wikia'.
While reading one of the FF7 fics, "From Slum to SOLDIER" by UnchainedMelody94, there was a sudden thought in my head: Yeah, this story looks cool. Maybe I should have an OC like this, but she'll fall in love with Reno instead. (I fell in love with Reno after watching Advent Children... yes, it's 'cause he moved from hooligan-looking to smexy!)
The idea was profound to me. After FF8, I've never ventured into anything apart from Samurai Deeper Kyo. Do I dare to take the plunge? What if my characters were out of character?
Then, as I was reading Samantha Sheffield's "Storm", I was paranoid that our stories will be too similar, and I shared my doubts with her. Thankfully, she encouraged me to give it a try. So, even while finishing "Their Memories of Fukinara High", I began my first chapter of "I Want To Be A Turk!"
And the rest is history.
Of course, I had two weeks to play with, when I began "I Want To Be A Turk!". I was writing like a madwoman who had a burning secret to share. I would eat, sleep, dream and wake up thinking of the story. There was once that I wrote until 11 PM and I was so tired I fell asleep. But my brain was still thinking... I automatically woke up at 5.30 AM, with the only thought in my head: I must get that into the story. Now.
Gee whiz.
Amazingly, it was the fact that I had nothing. Absolutely nothing on my schedule, no facebook or blog to wander around, that my mind cleared and plot ideas just couldn't stop coming. I could focus on writing and enjoying the beautiful China. It was one of the happiest four weeks of my life. I've accomplished a lot, in my opinion.
The stories I've written while in China were:
- Their Memories of Fukinara High (Chapter 41-44)
- Dress Off!
- Brotherhood
- I Want To Be A Turk! (Chapter 1-5)
It was quite a feat for four weeks.
So guess what? Perhaps someday I'll run to another country for four more weeks to write and write only. Alas! My job is not going to let me have that luxury...
Taken from:
- http://www.visitourchina.com/guide/hunan_road.htm
- http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/482597031_7caabb5a6d.jpg
- http://www.panoramio.com/photo/59861499
From the beginning of this blog's birth, I've been wanting to talk about my China trip. And so I shall!
Back in early 2011, I promised my father that I'll visit him in the June holidays (yeah, our holidays are in June). He is working in China and he suggested that I fly over to find him alone. So to keep my promise, I dropped my schedule in June (which was full of dance rehearsals and the like) and flew to China to visit him.
I thought I'll be more sulky about it because I'm missing out almost a month of rehearsals, but I wasn't. It was really because I was getting really tired and worn out from the daily practice. The trip did me some good; a short getaway. Most of all, I brought my laptop along because I thought it would be a great opportunity to write.
At that time, I was beginning to write again. If you remember, I mentioned in my writing history that I went on a very long hiatus in the middle of writing "Their Memories of Fukinara High". When I wanted to continue the story again, my old readers have left already. Still, I continued to write. I knew that I had one reader who was still waiting for me to finish that story and I knew that I can't let her down until that story is finished.
So anyway, I thought it was a good time to clear my head from the busy day-to-day schedule and write instead.
I've been to Nanjing a few times. However, in this trip I did not have many pictures (because my dear father accidentally deleted them all). All pictures below are taken from good ol' Google. Here, let me show you some pictures of Nanjing and the places I was in. I've been in other places while I was there but I thought I'll just show you the place I was in most of the time.
This is Hunan Road, Nanjing. It is one of the most popular eating streets in the city. Yup, you've heard me. I reside in a hotel that is filled with FOOD. (I was obviously in heaven.) Food prices ranging from USD 1.60 for a large bowl of noodles, to USD 100 for a highclass restaurant, you have your variety right here! This is one end of the street, of which it is right next to a departmental store...
This is the other end of the Hunan street. See that huge-ass hotel on the left? Nope, I didn't stay there. I stayed in a small motel on the right. It was opened by a friend of my father's, over the last 15 years it had been a place of accomodation for my father whenever he's in China for business.
While I was there, he brought me to this tower above, which boasts of one of the nicest daytime cityviews of Nanjing. Indeed, Yuejiang Tower was gorgeous.
Okay, so that's how my four weeks were like. In the weekdays, I'll follow my dad to his company, where he works and I sit by his table and write. In the evening we would return and have dinner. Then I would return to my room and continue writing. Did I mention that I was writing like a mad woman, as if I don't have much time to live and I wanted to write everything? Thinking back I felt kinda bad for leaving my father alone sometimes. Sometimes he hangs out with his friends, but sometimes he leaves me be and watches TV.
On the weekends, if I'm game for it, he'd bring me to tourist attractions, like the tower. I went to the zoo to look at pandas and then we took a train to our ancestral hometown, Hunan, to attend my cousin's wedding.
Honestly? That's A LOT of time to write. So there I was, writing my "Their Memories of Fukinara High" happily. Blogspot and Facebook are banned in China, by the way, leaving me with nothing to muse about. So apart from writing, I was reading fanfiction. I was reading some Final Fantasy VIII fics and then suddenly, I was reading Final Fantasy VII.
Truth is, I knew nothing about FF7 then. I remembered playing it in secondary school, but I can't remember much, except that Aerith died and that my freaking chocobo wouldn't turn gold. So guess what? I spent my time on finalfantasy.wikia, reading up on FF7. Yup, dear readers, that was how I eventually became the expert on FF7 :P The formula is just 'lots of time' and 'finalfantasy.wikia'.
While reading one of the FF7 fics, "From Slum to SOLDIER" by UnchainedMelody94, there was a sudden thought in my head: Yeah, this story looks cool. Maybe I should have an OC like this, but she'll fall in love with Reno instead. (I fell in love with Reno after watching Advent Children... yes, it's 'cause he moved from hooligan-looking to smexy!)
The idea was profound to me. After FF8, I've never ventured into anything apart from Samurai Deeper Kyo. Do I dare to take the plunge? What if my characters were out of character?
Then, as I was reading Samantha Sheffield's "Storm", I was paranoid that our stories will be too similar, and I shared my doubts with her. Thankfully, she encouraged me to give it a try. So, even while finishing "Their Memories of Fukinara High", I began my first chapter of "I Want To Be A Turk!"
And the rest is history.
Of course, I had two weeks to play with, when I began "I Want To Be A Turk!". I was writing like a madwoman who had a burning secret to share. I would eat, sleep, dream and wake up thinking of the story. There was once that I wrote until 11 PM and I was so tired I fell asleep. But my brain was still thinking... I automatically woke up at 5.30 AM, with the only thought in my head: I must get that into the story. Now.
Gee whiz.
Amazingly, it was the fact that I had nothing. Absolutely nothing on my schedule, no facebook or blog to wander around, that my mind cleared and plot ideas just couldn't stop coming. I could focus on writing and enjoying the beautiful China. It was one of the happiest four weeks of my life. I've accomplished a lot, in my opinion.
The stories I've written while in China were:
- Their Memories of Fukinara High (Chapter 41-44)
- Dress Off!
- Brotherhood
- I Want To Be A Turk! (Chapter 1-5)
It was quite a feat for four weeks.
So guess what? Perhaps someday I'll run to another country for four more weeks to write and write only. Alas! My job is not going to let me have that luxury...
Taken from:
- http://www.visitourchina.com/guide/hunan_road.htm
- http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/482597031_7caabb5a6d.jpg
- http://www.panoramio.com/photo/59861499
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Book Review (4): Fifty Shades of Grey
(YOU NEVER THOUGHT I'LL ACTUALLY READ IT, DID YOU??)
I wish I can go back my posts here, here and here... and change my views.
Because I LOVE IT.
...
Ha! I'm joking! (I hope no one has switched off the window in frustration) Well, I did mention the other time that I would read it, then the book was in my office untouched for almost three weeks (for it would be most inappropriate to read such a book in my workplace). But I finally brought it home and I read it.
I better give my opinion before going into details. As many of you know, I was pretty apprehensive about the book because so many people flames the book for being really bad. As in, bad writing. I wouldn't say that after reading it my mind has been completely converted. I have different feelings about this book in many areas, which I'll reveal shortly.
The plan was to review only after I've read all three books, but as I've found out, I should review after I read because the book is still fresh in my head and delaying the review will dull the feelings and criticism. So I'm going to just jump in.
(by the way, my reviews will have a bit more structure, but I'm still ironing out the crinkles. Please bear with me!)
Fifty Shades of Grey
E. L. James
Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Anastasia Steele meets Christian Grey, who is hot, wealthy and very very desirable. However, Ana soon finds out that he is a terrible control freak. Yet she falls for him anyway. The book continues in a medley of uncomfortable positions (pun intended) as Christian and Anastasia bare themselves to each other (literally and figuratively).
Characters
This is my number one gripe in this book. I hate the characters. HATE. Most of them all, Anastasia Steele. She is, in essence, very very unrealistic. I'm sorry, but just WHO in this world actually still don't know anything about the birds and the bees? Heck, even ten year olds are speaking in innunendos, how so for a twenty one year-old? She has none. No desirable thoughts of guys, in fact she didn't see any guy that way until she met Christian. Oh-kayy... if you say so, Ana. But how does this innocent girl all of a sudden become this sexually-deprived woman who would do anything (even enduring pain) for... that? A little too much of a character jump.
Another thing, how is it that she does not know ANYTHING about laptops and email accounts? How the heck did she go through her college? This book is printed in 2011, no excuses there, EL James. Don't get me started on her appetite. She's perpetually not hungry. No breakfast, no lunch and still, "No thanks, I'm not hungry"??? Thank goodness she didn't go all whiny about her weight, I'll clobber her with a turkey leg.
Many reviewers have criticised the book for shallow characterisation, and I join them in this accusation. The other characters didn't irk me as much as Ana, but it's just that she could've done so much more. Her best characterisation, ironically, was Kate the roommate. Always sharp, bossy and overprotective. Good.
Christian Grey... ah. Apart from his ridiculously good looks, I don't know much else about him. He has a very wide spectrum of characteristics, which should've made him more real and 3-dimensional, but instead I feel really confused. What is he really like? The only thing I know is that he's a control freak (and trust me, that's all you need to read this book).
Perhaps I should move on.
Twist
No twist. Everything was within my expectations. The story has yet to reveal what is that dark, sinister past of his. It has dropped hints, and nothing much else.
Writing (general)
It's fanfiction standard. I'm sorry. When I read her story, the entire feeling was like reading fanfiction. Sometimes overdescriptive, sometimes vague. Not wanting to be a snob, but if I work hard enough, I can publish something of that standard in the next five years. In fact, I think in terms of writing, some fanfiction writers have already surpassed her. So you'll be sure to know that I'm not reading the book because it has wonderful writing.
Also, the wonderful feature of Fifty Shades is this. Every page is littered with at least one of these:
- Oh my
- Holy crap
- Holy shit
- my inner goddess
- my subconscious
As you might have figured out by now, I don't like vulgarities (look how clean my stories are! *insert cute unicorn and rainbow here*). Seriously, these words are more offensive to my eye than the vulgarities.
Writing (description)
Ana is a Literature student, giving EL James a reason to put in bombastic words that I basically skim through just by reading in context. For some reason, Christian Grey likes to use bombastic words too. The whole feeling is rather thesaurus-ish. You know... like the author writing "That's really reckless of you" and decides to check the thesaurus to see if there's a more fanciful name for reckless. Then she changes the sentence to "That's really profilgate of you." I know because that's my trick too. Well, the word is kinda out of place. That, or I'm not well read enough to feel that it's appropriate in normal conversations.
Going back to Ana's inner goddess and subconscious, I couldn't understand the author's intentions. I kept asking myself what is their role? Only further research with my trusty friend Google told me that they are her desire and her logic respectively, the heart and the mind kinda thing. Ah. That finally made sense, if not I wouldn't have gotten it at all.
[sidenote: she uses it an awfully lot]
Content (sans sex scenes)
Probably the only reason why I'll continue reading this. I'm really interested to know why Christian Grey is so messed up. And just how is he going to get rid of his inner demons. As of now, there are no subplots. Okay, there are, but not significant enough to affect the main plot.
(a short commercial break as we enjoy the little comic below)
I shall not comment on the sex scenes because I do not have the experience nor writing expertise in that area to judge. Nevertheless, I should say that thank goodness our local bookstores have the sense to shrinkwrap and stick a rating sticker on it.
Association with Twilight
On that note on content, perhaps it's time to assess its similarity to Twilight. As I've mentioned before, it started off as Twilight fanfiction. I sincerely hoped that there had been major changes that led to Fifty Shades, because I'll totally shoot her for being OOC. Ana was fashioned off Bella Swan, but man, she is NOT like Bella at all. I actually liked Bella, for Twilight at least. Ana is nothing like Bella, puh-lease. And Christian Grey is a control freak. Edward Cullen will never do that to Bella. See how he abstained from even kissing Bella? This is like the vertical opposite!
Still, I see how the story parallels lightly with Twilight. The entire helpless-for-the-other feeling, the knowledge that the guy has never fell for other people but the girl, breathlessness, not knowing what the other is thinking, the girl's cluelessness on just how pretty she is... yeah.
I prefer Twilight to Fifty Shades.
Themes... and a bit of a moral lesson here.
The book centralises around submission. But rather than talk about the themes of the book, I really should set my foot down on this. I am not advocating the actions of the characters. Christian Grey is a compulsive control freak. He controls EVERYTHING about Ana and I'm not talking about the dirty stuff. He decides what she wears, what she eats, what she does, who she talks to... ARGH! No one should subject themselves to that. Nobody. By the way, I've not found anything romantic in this novel. Nothing. Boys, please take notes. This is NOT the way to win a girl.
Of course, Ana is at fault too. She could walk away from all these. Grey had the slightest bit of sense to let her decide from the beginning. Of course, she wouldn't leave Christian. No, she'd rather go through all that just to be with him. In Chinese when we see a situation whether it's very disadvantaged but both parties aren't complaining, we would say (literally), "One is willing to punish and one is willing to endure".
What many reviewers are saying is right: I don't care how good-looking you are, how traumatised your past is. You don't treat people like that. Will you allow your daughters to be in such a relationship? I wouldn't... I can't bear to. I hope my readers, if they ever read this book, will not be over their heads with the 'romance' and thus endure abusive relationships. If you need to get out, get out.
---
In conclusion, this book is over hyped-up. But the entertainment value is there, alright. There is a school of thought that sometimes it doesn't matter if you can write well... as long as your story can captivate readers. That is indeed the case for Fifty Shades. You either like it or hate it. I can thrash the story and writing all I want, but I know that it wasn't boring me for the 4-5 hours that I was reading it.
Rating: Consider It. I'm serious. I'm not loving it, but I'm really not going to give it a "thrash it" rating. If you have the time and brain cells to spare, do it. Also, if you're like me and you cannot help but wonder what the fuss is about, spare yourself the torture and read it.
Finally, for my little readers, Fifty Shades of Grey is rated M18 (in my opinion). Don't read it if you're not of age.
Don't worry, you aren't missing much.
aichioluv
-
Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.
Layman terms: Don't judge my reviewing skills. Thank you. :P
I wish I can go back my posts here, here and here... and change my views.
Because I LOVE IT.
...
Ha! I'm joking! (I hope no one has switched off the window in frustration) Well, I did mention the other time that I would read it, then the book was in my office untouched for almost three weeks (for it would be most inappropriate to read such a book in my workplace). But I finally brought it home and I read it.
I better give my opinion before going into details. As many of you know, I was pretty apprehensive about the book because so many people flames the book for being really bad. As in, bad writing. I wouldn't say that after reading it my mind has been completely converted. I have different feelings about this book in many areas, which I'll reveal shortly.
The plan was to review only after I've read all three books, but as I've found out, I should review after I read because the book is still fresh in my head and delaying the review will dull the feelings and criticism. So I'm going to just jump in.
(by the way, my reviews will have a bit more structure, but I'm still ironing out the crinkles. Please bear with me!)
Fifty Shades of Grey
E. L. James
Story Sypnosis (in my own words): Anastasia Steele meets Christian Grey, who is hot, wealthy and very very desirable. However, Ana soon finds out that he is a terrible control freak. Yet she falls for him anyway. The book continues in a medley of uncomfortable positions (pun intended) as Christian and Anastasia bare themselves to each other (literally and figuratively).
Characters
This is my number one gripe in this book. I hate the characters. HATE. Most of them all, Anastasia Steele. She is, in essence, very very unrealistic. I'm sorry, but just WHO in this world actually still don't know anything about the birds and the bees? Heck, even ten year olds are speaking in innunendos, how so for a twenty one year-old? She has none. No desirable thoughts of guys, in fact she didn't see any guy that way until she met Christian. Oh-kayy... if you say so, Ana. But how does this innocent girl all of a sudden become this sexually-deprived woman who would do anything (even enduring pain) for... that? A little too much of a character jump.
Another thing, how is it that she does not know ANYTHING about laptops and email accounts? How the heck did she go through her college? This book is printed in 2011, no excuses there, EL James. Don't get me started on her appetite. She's perpetually not hungry. No breakfast, no lunch and still, "No thanks, I'm not hungry"??? Thank goodness she didn't go all whiny about her weight, I'll clobber her with a turkey leg.
Many reviewers have criticised the book for shallow characterisation, and I join them in this accusation. The other characters didn't irk me as much as Ana, but it's just that she could've done so much more. Her best characterisation, ironically, was Kate the roommate. Always sharp, bossy and overprotective. Good.
Christian Grey... ah. Apart from his ridiculously good looks, I don't know much else about him. He has a very wide spectrum of characteristics, which should've made him more real and 3-dimensional, but instead I feel really confused. What is he really like? The only thing I know is that he's a control freak (and trust me, that's all you need to read this book).
Perhaps I should move on.
Twist
No twist. Everything was within my expectations. The story has yet to reveal what is that dark, sinister past of his. It has dropped hints, and nothing much else.
Writing (general)
It's fanfiction standard. I'm sorry. When I read her story, the entire feeling was like reading fanfiction. Sometimes overdescriptive, sometimes vague. Not wanting to be a snob, but if I work hard enough, I can publish something of that standard in the next five years. In fact, I think in terms of writing, some fanfiction writers have already surpassed her. So you'll be sure to know that I'm not reading the book because it has wonderful writing.
Also, the wonderful feature of Fifty Shades is this. Every page is littered with at least one of these:
- Oh my
- Holy crap
- Holy shit
- my inner goddess
- my subconscious
As you might have figured out by now, I don't like vulgarities (look how clean my stories are! *insert cute unicorn and rainbow here*). Seriously, these words are more offensive to my eye than the vulgarities.
Writing (description)
Ana is a Literature student, giving EL James a reason to put in bombastic words that I basically skim through just by reading in context. For some reason, Christian Grey likes to use bombastic words too. The whole feeling is rather thesaurus-ish. You know... like the author writing "That's really reckless of you" and decides to check the thesaurus to see if there's a more fanciful name for reckless. Then she changes the sentence to "That's really profilgate of you." I know because that's my trick too. Well, the word is kinda out of place. That, or I'm not well read enough to feel that it's appropriate in normal conversations.
Going back to Ana's inner goddess and subconscious, I couldn't understand the author's intentions. I kept asking myself what is their role? Only further research with my trusty friend Google told me that they are her desire and her logic respectively, the heart and the mind kinda thing. Ah. That finally made sense, if not I wouldn't have gotten it at all.
[sidenote: she uses it an awfully lot]
Content (sans sex scenes)
Probably the only reason why I'll continue reading this. I'm really interested to know why Christian Grey is so messed up. And just how is he going to get rid of his inner demons. As of now, there are no subplots. Okay, there are, but not significant enough to affect the main plot.
(a short commercial break as we enjoy the little comic below)
I shall not comment on the sex scenes because I do not have the experience nor writing expertise in that area to judge. Nevertheless, I should say that thank goodness our local bookstores have the sense to shrinkwrap and stick a rating sticker on it.
Association with Twilight
On that note on content, perhaps it's time to assess its similarity to Twilight. As I've mentioned before, it started off as Twilight fanfiction. I sincerely hoped that there had been major changes that led to Fifty Shades, because I'll totally shoot her for being OOC. Ana was fashioned off Bella Swan, but man, she is NOT like Bella at all. I actually liked Bella, for Twilight at least. Ana is nothing like Bella, puh-lease. And Christian Grey is a control freak. Edward Cullen will never do that to Bella. See how he abstained from even kissing Bella? This is like the vertical opposite!
Still, I see how the story parallels lightly with Twilight. The entire helpless-for-the-other feeling, the knowledge that the guy has never fell for other people but the girl, breathlessness, not knowing what the other is thinking, the girl's cluelessness on just how pretty she is... yeah.
I prefer Twilight to Fifty Shades.
Themes... and a bit of a moral lesson here.
The book centralises around submission. But rather than talk about the themes of the book, I really should set my foot down on this. I am not advocating the actions of the characters. Christian Grey is a compulsive control freak. He controls EVERYTHING about Ana and I'm not talking about the dirty stuff. He decides what she wears, what she eats, what she does, who she talks to... ARGH! No one should subject themselves to that. Nobody. By the way, I've not found anything romantic in this novel. Nothing. Boys, please take notes. This is NOT the way to win a girl.
Of course, Ana is at fault too. She could walk away from all these. Grey had the slightest bit of sense to let her decide from the beginning. Of course, she wouldn't leave Christian. No, she'd rather go through all that just to be with him. In Chinese when we see a situation whether it's very disadvantaged but both parties aren't complaining, we would say (literally), "One is willing to punish and one is willing to endure".
What many reviewers are saying is right: I don't care how good-looking you are, how traumatised your past is. You don't treat people like that. Will you allow your daughters to be in such a relationship? I wouldn't... I can't bear to. I hope my readers, if they ever read this book, will not be over their heads with the 'romance' and thus endure abusive relationships. If you need to get out, get out.
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In conclusion, this book is over hyped-up. But the entertainment value is there, alright. There is a school of thought that sometimes it doesn't matter if you can write well... as long as your story can captivate readers. That is indeed the case for Fifty Shades. You either like it or hate it. I can thrash the story and writing all I want, but I know that it wasn't boring me for the 4-5 hours that I was reading it.
Rating: Consider It. I'm serious. I'm not loving it, but I'm really not going to give it a "thrash it" rating. If you have the time and brain cells to spare, do it. Also, if you're like me and you cannot help but wonder what the fuss is about, spare yourself the torture and read it.
Finally, for my little readers, Fifty Shades of Grey is rated M18 (in my opinion). Don't read it if you're not of age.
Don't worry, you aren't missing much.
aichioluv
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Disclaimer: Despite the official term, the above book review is not a wholesome and fully critical one. The book is merely reviewed and reflected on based on story writing skills and other literary elements.
Layman terms: Don't judge my reviewing skills. Thank you. :P
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