Fifty Shames of Earl Grey by Fanny Merkin

Fifty Shames, Book 1

Synopsis: A shrewd, laugh–out–loud parody of E. L. James’ bestselling Fifty Shades of Grey series:

Young, arrogant, tycoon Earl Grey seduces the naïve coed Anna Steal with his overpowering good looks and staggering amounts of money, but will she be able to get past his fifty shames, including shopping at Walmart on Saturdays, bondage with handcuffs, and his love of BDSM (Bards, Dragons, Sorcery, and Magick)? Or will his dark secrets and constant smirking drive her over the edge?

Review: I did read a long time after everyone else, Fifty Shades of Grey, when I was given the opportunity I confess. It wasn’t my favorite book as it was for some but I still had a good time without actually having the urge to read the other volumes in the series. But when I saw the release of Fifty Shames of Earl Grey, I was intrigued right away. It must be said that the summary is quite appealing, and it is true that I thought it could be a great idea to make a good parody of the original novel. Besides, I had seen some very good reviews for this book and I was curious to see how it was in the end. Yet it is true that I didn’t really get into the story and even if it’s possible to read the story fast enough, I think it was a little too crazy for me to really get into the book.

The history between the two novels, as you can imagine, basically remains the same. Some small differences are made without really changing the whole thing. Anna, for example, does not bite at all her lip, but she keeps putting her fingers in her nose. Yes a bad habit that’s for sure. It’s funny because while reading the summary and when I saw the explanation of BDSM (Bards, Dragons, Sorcery and Magic), I thought that the story might not turn out not around their intimate relationships, but ultimately it is still the case and we don’t really have something about Bards, Dragons, Sorcery and Magic. But it might be me and I just made a misconception about what the story was going to be.

It is true that the whole is a fast read, the writing is airy, simple, which is really nice but I think for me the problem is the history itself. I have not really hung on the humor of the author or understood why she had chosen to achieve certain events so. Everything is really crazy, maybe a little too much for we to have a bit of realism. I do not think that this will impair everyone but it’s true that it’s the first parody novel I read and I have perhaps not enough critical sense to really appreciate it. Yet it is still interesting to discover all that but like for the original work, I do not think I’ll read more.

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mellianefini

 

35 thoughts on “Fifty Shames of Earl Grey by Fanny Merkin

  1. If I have read and liked the original book, a parady does not appeal to me at all. Just like there are action movies, and those parodies that make fun of it with very over the top and silly and childish humor. I really don’t like that kind at all. So don’t worry if you did not like it. In my opinion, a parody is a cheap shot at a best seller, and written for haters of the original book. But that is just my own private thinking here.

  2. Ha! I can see why this was a bit off putting for you, Melliane. For a parody, it seems to have veered so off the the field from the original work it’s making fun of. Lol. I think I’d like to read this one, anyway just for sh*ts and giggles. 🙂

  3. The author is actually Andrew Shaffer (Tiffany Reisz’s husband). That is what pulled me to the book. I actually read where this book came from. He was reading FSoG and was just randomly tweeting stuff and his publisher wanted to know if he could write an entire book, and this was born.

    I tried to read this book. I’ve never read a parody before, but I think Andrew Shaffer is really funny on Twitter, so I thought I would give it a try. It wasn’t my cup of tea either. I don’t know why I thought it would be. I hate movies that are parodies (Scary Movie, etc.). It was just too over the top for me. I have not read FSoG, so I wasn’t sure if that made me like it less or not.

    Anyway, great review.

  4. I’ve had fun with parody and satirical novels (Willful Child by Steven Erikson is an example that I think we’ve both read) but only if they’re done well and in a “classy” way. Parodies with humor like this seems pretty simple and crude (fingers up her nose, etc.) which would probably irritate me more than amuse me, so I’d probably rate it like you as well!

  5. I’m loving all the parodies of books coming out lately, but the same as 50 Shades, not my cup of tea, especially when it’s basically the same thing, you know? Sounds like you didn’t enjoy it that much either.

  6. I’m not gonna lie…I really enjoyed 50 Shades despite some of my concerns, it was an addictive read for me. *shrugs* Anyway, I’m sorry this book didn’t work out for you but I think I might read it because I’m kinda curious about it and I could use a laugh! 😉

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