I'll admit I wasn't an initial fan of the Fifty Shades series. I read the blurb and heard everyone's opinions and had no interest in the novels to begin with. I reluctantly gave in once I grew tired of feeling like the odd one out and a colleague loaned me the first book to read on holiday. I was surprised to find that the novel did have some plus points after all.
I won't waste blog space with a critique of the writing, storyline, dialogue or characters. I think they have been picked apart enough by other people (and I haven't written a proper book review since the failure in junior school that was 'Fascist Undertones In Peter Rabbit'). Besides, none of that interested me. What did catch my attention was Christian Grey's enormous... bank balance! Yep, the guy is a self-made billionaire (apparently) and has access to the sort of wealth that only the Warren Buffetts and Bill Gates of this world get to experience first hand. He is also barely a year older than me.
As I continued to read through Fifty Shades, I began to care less and less about the relationship (the main plot) and focus more on the kind of lifestyle that Grey seems to be living. The expensive toys obviously stand out (helicopters, flash cars, gliders), but they are just pretty accessories. I also had a look at the Escala penthouse (you can see the real thing here if you're feeling nosy) and can't say I'm impressed. But take all that away and you're left with the one thing that his extreme wealth does offer - control.
I guess the whole series is about control in some form or another (being that it's an S&M romance). But taking the focus off the sex and nice gadgets, Christian Grey has almost complete control over his environment. He owns his company, so sets his own hours, working location, decides which people surround him on a daily basis. He has the freedom to walk away from his job entirely if he wants to. He has control over people's lives (most notably his submissives). He even attempts to control global issues - his obsession with wiping out poverty-induced hunger.
I like this. I wouldn't mind a bit more control myself. Not having to orientate my life around paying the bills would be a good start! So I'm using Fifty Shades as a motivational tool for the time being. If I feel like giving up then I just have to re-read a couple of chapters to remind myself how much easier life could be with a bit of money.
Now I just need to work out how the hell Christian Grey got that rich in the first place!?
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