The moment has arrived for French book shops to begin selling Fifty Shades of Grey or in French, Cinquante Nuances de Grey this morning. It is evident that we have nothing to teach the French about sadomasochism according to the reviews.
Those from across the pond have said that they are disappointed with the porn de ménagère (housewife) or ‘mummy porn’ trilogy by our very own EL James.
Although it has sold 1 million eBooks on Amazon, the first book to sell this many, the reviews in France were less than kind.
The most common complaint was that it could be liked to that of "Mills & Boon". Le Figaro released an article on the "20 most ridiculous quotes from Fifty Shades". It has been said by others to lack any literary worth.
The French have been subjected to the likes of Sade, a French man, which is where the words "sadist" and "sadism" originate from. He was recognized for his philosophy, coupled with that of extreme sexual fantasies and pictures to stimulate sexual excitement, most of which were written while he was in prison. Since his death in 1814, the French have found his work to have a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ as it has repulsed and titillated them over the years.
Fans of the book have said that it is not a book purely of love or purely of eroticism it is more a combination of both which has never been read before.
Fifty Shades can be likened to the1954 novel Story of O, written by Anne Desclos under the pseudonym Pauline Réage. This not unlike Fifty Shades as it centres around an attractive Parisian fashion photographer as the protagonist. She is subjected to similar encounters of Steele as she blindfolded, whipped and chained and agrees to be a slave to her lover, René.
Despite the scrutiny, the Fifty Shades of Grey's Paris publisher, JC Lattès, has ordered 500,000 copies after an initial estimation of 350,000, however there has been more orders than expected for this British phenomenon.
Female First Lucy Walton
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