Eager fans rush to buy new ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ novel

Became highest Kindle pre-order book of the year on ‘Amazon.com’ when released as an e-book at midnight

NEW YORK: Fans of British author EL James’Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy clamoured on Thursday to get the first copies of her new book Grey, a version of the first novel told through the eyes of her famous male character. At Barnes & Noble bookstore in Manhattan, where James was appearing at a book signing on Thursday, the line stretched around the block.

Grey was the highest Kindle pre-order book of the year on Amazon.com when it was released as an ebook at midnight and was expected to be an instant bestseller. Publisher Vintage Books, a division of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, supplied a million copies of the novel to bookstores.The trilogy sold more than 125 million copies worldwide and was published in 52 languages.

James, who dedicated the novel to fans who asked for a book told from the perspective of billionaire Christian Grey, said it was not difficult to write.”I thought it would be hard but once I found his voice it was actually quite easy. Like any man, he is not observant, at all,” she said in an interview on the Today early morning news show.

Early reviews of Grey say the book holds nothing back in revealing Grey’s deepest desires and secrets.

Author EL James

“While action-hungry fans will be thrilled by the more graphic scenes, romance lovers will finally get the answers they’ve been craving,” said Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper.

Adrian Liang, senior book editor at Amazon.com, found the second half of the novel, when Grey gets into his emotional problems, the most engaging.

“I think this is a stronger book because Christian is a more complex character,” she said in an interview. “I think EL James has definitely risen to the challenge of writing a more complex story and her writing style has improved quite a bit since the first book.”

James announced the surprise launch of the book earlier this month in one of the best-kept secrets of publishing. She was prompted to write it by fans who had asked her to tell Grey’s side of the story of his erotic relationship with virginal college student Anastasia Steele.

Fifty Shades of Grey was turned into an R-rated film by Comcast Corp-owned Universal Pictures starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, grossing more than $500 million at the global box office since its February release.

Film adaptations of the second and third books are planned. 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2015.

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