Fifty shades of Grey!

#JustForFun #TrueStory

Note: If you do not know what "Fifty Shades of Grey" book/movie is all about, please skip reading this post! Don't ask questions :) 


Disclaimer: This post is for fun only and is not intended to hurt die-hard Fifty Shades' fans (who I know are in plenty!)

It was year 2012 and I was waiting in Chicago airport for my next flight. So I did what I normally do at such places - looked for book stores. Browsing through books gives me a joy surrounded by calmness, something every book-lover would know. I guess this is the same joy women experience when they do shopping, although book-shopping is way cheaper and a lot healthier!

In the airport book-store, I saw a book being prominently advertised as a best-seller. The book had an interesting cover design - just a classy looking grey tie. It was titled "Fifty Shades of Grey". I thought it was some business book, going by the cover. But I was in for a surprise. It is an "erotic romance" book written by a female author. Normally, one would expect an embarrassing, sexist cover for such a book, but here we have a very decent looking cover! I was very impressed and attributed it to the female author. "You sick male writers! You know nothing about dignified romance and subtle feelings, learn from this lady!", I said to myself. I did not buy the book then but made a mental note about this book.

Several months later, I was in the local library and saw this book again, as it was showcased in the front row. I remembered the airport book-store visit and had no hesitation in picking up this book for reading. After all, it looked like a book any gentleman would read! At the check-out counter, the female librarian had a smile when she saw the book, which I thought was an appreciation of my selection! (It was only after this incident I realized the need to use the self-service check-out option at the library!) Back home, I was rather excited to read this book. I assumed it would be on par with classical Sanskrit romantic literature which I love.

The book started out as a love story between a student girl and a business man. The prose is rather simple and the writing is decent. But nothing very romantic or classy and nothing very impressive yet. I wondered why the book was such a phenomenal success. I continued to read hoping to be hit by some wonderful twist that would at once transform the book into an erotic classic! The twist did happen but it was of an entirely different kind than I expected! It suddenly dawned on me that the classy tie on the cover of the book is possibly a code for the verb "tie"! This kind of romance is not my cup of tea and I was very much embarrassed (Here, it must be pointed out that embarrassment has nothing to do with vulgarity. Sometimes the most vulgar stuff might not embarrass us. Embarrassment has more to do with one's own comfort zone.) Since I do not like to abandon a book in the middle, I continued to read hoping that either the book would get better or I would get bolder! But since neither of these happened and I had to return the book to the library unfinished!

I write this not to criticize the book or to showcase myself as a very decent gentleman! I do not consider the book a "sinful book", it is just not my kind of book. But it does surprise me to learn that women (not just teenagers, but even married women) are going gaga over this book and consider Mr.Grey as an ideal lover/partner/boy-friend! I mean, I don't really get it. One can be good, one can be bad, but how can one be bad in a good way that women love? Well, I guess this will remain an unsolvable puzzle for most men!

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