Fifty Shades of Grey has topped best-seller lists around the world, including those of the United Kingdom and the United States. The series had sold over 125 million copies worldwide by June 2015, while by October 2017 it had sold more than 150 million copies worldwide. The series has been translated into 52 languages, and set a record in the United Kingdom as the fastest-selling paperback of all time.
Critical response It has received mixed to negative reviews, as most critics noted the poor literary qualities of the work.
Salman Rushdie said about the book: "I've never read anything so badly written that got published. It made
Twilight look like
War and Peace."
Maureen Dowd described the book in
The New York Times as being written "like a
Brontë devoid of talent", and said it was "dull and poorly written". Jesse Kornbluth of
The Huffington Post said: "As a reading experience,
Fifty Shades ... is a sad joke, puny of plot".
Princeton professor April Alliston wrote, "Though no literary masterpiece,
Fifty Shades is more than parasitic fan fiction based on the recent
Twilight vampire series."
Entertainment Weekly writer
Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the book a "B+" rating and praised it for being "in a class by itself". British author
Jenny Colgan in
The Guardian wrote "It is jolly, eminently readable and as sweet and safe as BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism) erotica can be without contravening the
trade descriptions act" and also praised the book for being "more enjoyable" than other "literary erotic books".
The Daily Telegraph noted that the book was "the definition of a page-turner", noting that the book was both "troubling and intriguing". A reviewer for the
Ledger-Enquirer described the book as guilty fun and escapism, and that it "also touches on one aspect of female existence [female submission]. And acknowledging that fact – maybe even appreciating it – shouldn't be a cause for guilt."
The New Zealand Herald stated that the book "will win no prizes for its prose" and that "there are some exceedingly awful descriptions," although it was also an easy read; "(If you only) can suspend your disbelief and your desire to – if you'll pardon the expression – slap the heroine for having so little self respect, you might enjoy it."
The Columbus Dispatch stated that, "Despite the clunky prose, James does cause one to turn the page."
Metro News Canada wrote that "suffering through 500 pages of this heroine's inner dialogue was torturous, and not in the intended, sexy kind of way". Jessica Reaves, of the
Chicago Tribune, wrote that the "book's source material isn't great literature", noting that the novel is "sprinkled liberally and repeatedly with asinine phrases", and described it as "depressing". The book garnered some accolades. In December 2012, it won both "Popular Fiction" and "Book of the Year" categories in the UK
National Book Awards. In that same month,
Publishers Weekly named E. L. James the 'Publishing Person of the Year', a decision whose criticism in the
Los Angeles Times and the
New York Daily News was referred to by and summarised in
The Christian Science Monitor. Earlier, in April 2012, when
E. L. James was listed as one of
Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World", Richard Lawson of
The Atlantic Wire criticised her inclusion due to the trilogy's fan fiction beginnings.
Controversy Fifty Shades of Grey has attracted criticism due to its depictions of
BDSM, with many BDSM participants stating that the book confuses the practice with
abuse, and presents it as a pathology to be overcome, as well as showing incorrect and possibly dangerous BDSM techniques. Coinciding with the release of the book and its surprising popularity, injuries related to BDSM and
sex toy use spiked dramatically. In the year after the novel's publishing in 2012, injuries requiring Emergency Room visits increased by over 50% from 2010 (the year before the book was published). This is speculated to be due to people unfamiliar with both the proper use of these toys and the safe practice of
bondage and other "kinky" sexual fetishes in attempting to recreate what they had read. There has also been criticism against the fact that BDSM is a part of the book. Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati said in an early February 2015 letter, "The story line is presented as a romance; however, the underlying theme is that bondage, dominance, and sadomasochism are normal and pleasurable." The
feminist anti-pornography organization
Stop Porn Culture called for a boycott of the movie based on the book because of its sex scenes involving bondage and violence. By contrast, Timothy Laurie and Jessica Kean argue that "film fleshes out an otherwise legalistic concept like 'consent' into a living, breathing, and at times, uncomfortable interpersonal experience," and "dramatises the dangers of unequal negotiation and the practical complexity of identifying one's limits and having them respected." Several critics and scientists have expressed concern that the nature of the main couple's relationship is not BDSM at all, but rather is characteristic of an abusive relationship. In 2013, social scientist Professor Amy E. Bonomi published a study wherein multiple professionals read and assessed the books for characteristics of
intimate partner violence, or IPV, using the
CDC's standards for emotional abuse and sexual violence. The study found that nearly every interaction between Ana and Christian was emotionally abusive in nature, including stalking, intimidation, and isolation. The study group also observed pervasive sexual violence within the CDC's definition, including Christian's use of alcohol to circumvent Ana's ability to consent, and that Ana exhibits classic signs of an abused woman, including constant perceived threat, stressful managing, and altered identity. A second study in 2014 was conducted to examine the health of women who had read the series, compared with a control group that had never read any part of the novels. The results showed a correlation between having read at least the first book and exhibiting signs of an
eating disorder, having romantic partners that were emotionally abusive and/or engaged in stalking behavior, engaging in
binge drinking in the last month, and having 5 or more sexual partners before age 24. The authors could not conclude whether women who already had these attributes were drawn to the series, or if the series influenced these behaviors to occur after reading by creating underlying context. The study's lead researcher contends that the books romanticize dangerous behavior and "perpetuate dangerous abuse standards." The study was limited in that only women up to age 24 were studied, and no distinction was made among the reader sample between women who enjoyed the series and those that had a strong negative opinion of it, having only read it out of curiosity due to the media hype or other obligation. At the beginning of the media hype,
Dr. Drew and sexologist Logan Levkoff discussed on
The Today Show whether the book perpetuated
violence against women; Levkoff said that while that is an important subject, this trilogy had nothing to do with it – this was a book about a consensual relationship. Dr. Drew commented that the book was "horribly written" in addition to being "disturbing" but stated that "if the book enhances women's real-life sex lives and intimacy, so be it."
Censorship Fifty Shades of Grey has often been challenged, banned, and removed in the United States. The book landed on the American Library Association's Top 10 List of Banned and Challenged Books in 2012 (4), 2013 (4), and 2015 (2) because it is sexually explicit and unsuited for the age group; has nudity and offensive language; and for religious viewpoints. Challengers also stated the book was "poorly written", and they were concerned "a group of teenagers will want to try [BDSM]." In March 2012, branches of the public library in
Brevard County, Florida, removed copies of
Fifty Shades of Grey from their shelves, with an official statement that it did not meet the selection criteria for the library and that reviews for the book had been poor. A representative for the library stated that it was due to the book's sexual content and that other libraries had declined to purchase copies for their branches.
Deborah Caldwell-Stone of the
American Library Association commented that "If the only reason you don't select a book is that you disapprove of its content, but there is demand for it, there's a question of whether you're being fair. In a public library there is usually very little that would prevent a book from being on the shelf if there is a demand for the information." In
Macaé, Brazil, Judge Raphael Queiroz Campos ruled in January 2013 that bookstores throughout the city must either remove the series entirely from their shelves or ensure that the books are wrapped and placed out of the reach of minors. The judge stated that he was prompted to make such an order after seeing children reading them, basing his decision on a law stating that "magazines and publications whose content is improper or inadequate for children and adolescents can only be sold if sealed and with warnings regarding their content". In February 2015, the Malaysian
Home Ministry banned the
Fifty Shades of Grey books shortly after banning its film adaptation after permitting them for three years in local bookstores, citing morality-related reasons. ==Media==