Review: Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

In which Ana returns to Christian and resumes their abusive relationship because she is an idiot.

I really do not understand why this whole series is so popular. If Fifty Shades of Grey a book which basically depicted an abusive control freak and his successful attempt at seducing an innocent virgin into a kinky, semi-sadomasochistic arrangement, is supposedly liberating then how come Christian Grey shows all the signs of being an abusive partner. Seriously. The guy controls every aspect of Ana's life, from what she eats to what she wears. He even hires people to sit outside her workplace all day and watch her and seems to object to the idea of her undertaking any type of paid employment at all. He justifies his behaviour with pathetic statements that go somewhere along the lines of, "This is who I am," and "This is the only way I know how to be." And if you've read the series and don't believe me that the relationship is abusive, I suggest you read this: abuse-warning-signs-types.html And once you've finishing reading that article, go out and read The Female Eunuch instead of the next installment in this very silly trilogy.

Anyway, the plot. In this installment, Christian basically opens up about his abusive childhood but actually does fuck all to help himself apart from scribbling on his chest with lipstick. The psychiatrist he's been seeing for years still hasn't made any major breakthroughs, but Ana is sure that she can singlehandedly help him. There are a couple of kinky sex scenes and a wedding proposal. Oh and there are a couple of people out to kill both Christian and Ana. And that's basically it. The intoxicating, exquisite and beguiling text remains annoying and repetitive. Of course, some may argue that Ana's actions are done out of love and that Christian attempts to help himself because he loves Ana and that's all quite romantic, but I'm not really fooled. Just call me the misery chick.

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