In the book I read most recently, Fifty Shades Darker (second in the trilogy), James delved much deeper than the surface-level entertainment she captivated readers with in the first novel. There was a much more intense focus on character development and the granting of the opportunity for readers to understand why and how such a couple could exist. While I would have liked to see more of this played out in the first novel, I would say to EL James something along the lines of "better late than never." When she did get around to doing it in the second novel, oh boy was it good! James takes us through highs of a relationship that, at some level, we all crave to have eventually (or crave more of if some have already happened). As good authors should, James has the ability to, in a matter of moments, let our emotions spiral downward into the abyss of sadness and self-loathing Christian Grey experiences and predictably projects into his relationship with Ms. Steele. And, just like that, it has everything to do with the secrets we choose to lock in our personal vaults.For Ana, it is mainly her insecurity she has about being with the famous, extremely eligible, extremely experienced, extremely handsome (but also extremely troubled) Christian Grey. Without spoiling the novel, it is also the way she resembles the female figures of Christian's past that reduces her confidence that she can give him what he needs. She doesn't share this fear that she keeps under wraps with Christian until relatively late in the book, and it is only then when he reciprocates. The message behind this is that the secrets we believe we are holding captive are actually holding us captive in such a way that they can not only inhibit our personal emotional growth, but also the growing we do with others.
I recognize that this is a mere fairy tale with a rather kinky twist to it. I'm pretty sure that it is only in the Land of Far Far Away where a hot CEO makes $100,000 dollars an hour and has toe-curling sex with the girl of his dreams whenever he wants. In addition, I don't think that James's writing is anything special. Sometimes her inability to phrase similar moments throughout the novel differently is distracting, and there is too large an imbalance of dialogue and reflection. Nevertheless, the way James makes the point about secrets holding us captive is riveting and, if the reader is willing to take this step like I did, thought-provoking. I frequently ran into Ana throughout the book (and I'm not talking about my inclination to have relations with the sexualized Christian Grey). Rather, I have previously been in her position of foolishly thinking that sweeping certain emotions under the rug and doing more internal processing than I perhaps should have would help me arrive at a solution faster. I have also learned, as she did after confiding in Christian with many of her insecurities, that showing some of my hand can be a very important vehicle. This rings true for both my self-esteem and my relationship with the confidant.It's rather rare that I read such lofty fiction. I am much more the type of reader than gets deeply engaged in realistic or historical fiction. However, there was something kind of cathartic about reading this to take a mental break. As I said, it also had the added benefit of pushing me into an introspective space–one where I question my own tendencies when it comes to processing and my interactions in relationships with those close to me. It was definitely worth my time.
