Fifty Shames of Earl Grey: A Parody

by Andrew Shaffer and Fanny Merkin

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?

• ISBN10: 0306821990
• ISBN13: 9780306821998
• Publish Date: 31 July 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: INGRAM PUBLISHER SERVICES US
• Imprint: Da Capo Press Inc
• Format: Paperback (UK Trade)
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[jamiereadthis]

All the LOLs needed. Also, makes a point out of how toxic this “relationship” is, so YES for that. Also also, how did I not know before now that Andrew Shaffer, aka husband of Tiffany Reisz, wrote a Fifty Shades parody?

[celinenyx]

This is the first parody book that I've trusted myself to read. At least, unless you count Pride, Prejudice & Zombies a parody. I've passed up the Twilight ones, the Hunger Games ones, and one or two lesser known ones, just because I figured it wouldn't be for me. Until I encountered Fifty Shames of Earl Grey.

I hate the idea of Fifty Shades of Grey. I don't hate the book itself, I just hate the idea of the book. It's mommy Edward-Bella porn. A middle-aged woman just sat at home and thought, man, that boy Robert Pattinson is so hot with his tousled hair and I'm-stoned look that I want to write copious sex scenes about him, even though he is probably half my age. If this was written by a man, he would be called a pervert. The fact that this book is essentially fan-fiction just rubs me the wrong way. EL James didn't invent new characters; she just took them, altered them a bit so they fit her story, and that's it. In my opinion, Fifty Shades should have just stayed fan-fic.

Over the last few months I have read so many about the Fifty Shades books that I feel like I have read the book itself. I must have read at least a quarter of the book, just from all the quotes. I refuse to buy it; not going to reward writing paid fan-fiction. But, having a good laugh at the expense of it.. That seems like my thing!

And it was. It really really was.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fifty Shames of Earl Grey. It mocks the bizarreness of the original, and adds a fine dash of surrealism to the story. Where many parodies always strike me as petty and condescending, for me Fifty Shames stayed far clear of that. It doesn't take itself too seriously. I admit that I have chuckled out loud at certain passages, something that rarely happens for me when reading a book.

I would definitely recommend Fifty Shames of Earl Grey for everyone that isn't completely blown away by the Fifty Shades of Grey hype, or those that are but do enjoy parodies. If you don't at least have a rudimentary awareness of what happens in the Fifty Shades books, this might not be for you.

For your enjoyment I have added a few quotes:

"With his tousled brown hair and brilliant gray eyes, he's the kind of guy you want to write fanfic about."

"Would you like a tour of the building? Perhaps a peek inside my sex dungeon?"

"Hello, Miss Steal," he says, gazing at me gazingly with his gazing gray eyes.

"I've already seen him at what I figured was the depth of his shame, buying a Nickelback CD. Do I want to know how deep his perversions go?"

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

I’ve not read many parodies before but Andrew Shaffer is mildly amusing on twitter so I thought I’d give his book ago. Fifty Shames of Earl Grey is an obvious dig at Fifty Shades of Grey but it also has fun with the Twilight fanfic elements as well; clearly pointing out the similarities of the two books with lines like; “I’m Edward Cullen. I mean, ‘Earl Grey.’ Have a seat?” This novel reminds me of a Leslie Nielsen style parody with the farfetched and over done humour, but that’s what makes it so much fun to read. Earl Grey is billionaire with fifty secret shames; some of them involve his love of BDSM (Bards, Dragons, Sorcery, and Magick) while others are even worse, like his love of Nickelback.

Obviously this is never going to be high literature with lines like “Moan,” I moan. “Moan, moan, moooooooan.” but is this book suppose to reflect the literary flaws of 50 Shades and Twilight or is this just meant to be a fun read? I’m not going to think too much about it, I went into this book for a fun read and that is how I will review it. I’ve heard people claim that Edward Cullen and Christian Grey are hot but none come close to Earl Grey because “HOLY MOTHER EFFING SPARKLY VAMPIRES IS HE HOT”.

Let’s face it Andrew Shaffer had a lot of fun with this book, from the pseudonym (Fanny Merkin) to the cover and everything in between. It was awkward and unexpected, I had so much fun reading this book, I don’t normally highlight but my kindle version of this book has over thirty different highlighted passages in it. I really enjoyed what Shaffer did with this book; highlights for me included the Spanking scene with the Count from Sesame Street and the Cleo sex quiz (which I really want to read the other 200 pages of). I’m looking forward to Fifty Shames in Space but right now I need a sandwich.

[Cocktails and Books]

I will admit this book is over the top, but it was freaking hilarious. I think if Christian Grey were a real person, he would be highly offended by this parody of his story Fifty Shades of Grey. But the over the top millionaire Earl Grey and the somewhat dimwitted Anna Steal are a riot.

The storyline follows 50SOG pretty much to the tee, but Earl has got to be the most over the top character I have read in a book in a long time. Here are some Earl points that had me laughing.

Earl buys up just about everything to get Anna to do what he wants, including the WalMart she works at
Earl has the ability to order off the menu seasonal McDonalds items, such as McRibs and Shamrock shakes, at will
The most expensive hotel in Seattle is a Holiday Inn (who knew)
Earl writes for the internet, via Wikipedia (Anna's not the sharpest pencil in the box)
Earl is into BDSM, which stands for Bards, Dragons, Sourcery and Magick.
Earl loves classic Tom Cruise movies
Earl's a part time bartender, because he loves the movie Cocktail.
Earl flies and F-14 fighter jet, just like the ones used in Top Gun
Earl has a "Room of Doom", which houses all of his role playing accessories for BDSM, including a waterbed
Earl plays a soulful tambourine
Earl is turned on by Anna's nose picking (gross!)
Data for Star Trek: The Next Generation is Earl's butler (loved that!)

Honestly, if you've read 50SOG, you know Christian would be mortified at some of the things Earl does.



If you want to spend a few hours laughing a ridiculousness, this is definitely one to pick up. It's sophomoric humor, yes, but who doesn't need a good laugh now and then?

[Linda]

*Copy received via Netgalley on July 3rd 2012*

This and other reviews can be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

I read the first couple of chapters when they were on Shaffer's blog, and I found the writing to be hilarious!

This whole book is fan-fricking-tastic. The snark goes from win to win, and I couldn't read more than a few sentences at a time without laughing (sometimes, it was every single sentence).