Fifty Shames of Earl Grey: A Parody [Paperback]

While I may request a fair amount of titles from NetGalley, there are few review copies for which I keep refreshing my email, hoping for approval. Andrew Shaffer/Fanny Merkin's Fifty Shames of Earl Grey was one of those titles. I'd read the three sample chapters Shaffer had posted earlier on his blog as "Fifty-One Shames" and I was eager to see if the wit he'd demonstrated in those early chapters could be sustained over the entirely of a book.

Ostensibly, Fifty Shames of Earl Grey is a parody of the best-selling trilogy beginning with Fifty Shades of Grey. Fifty Shames stars Anna Steal and Earl Grey, a Walmart cashier and billionaire tycoon respectively who meet and inexplicably fall in love. Anna is dumb as a post and Grey -- well, Grey has his 50 shames, which he believes isolate him from the rest of the world.

Shaffer has filled the book with obvious plays on the book, but as someone who did no more than skim the story when it was in its original form as a Twilight fan fiction, I can assure you that you'll still find the book funny without it. More than a simple parody, it skewers American culture and the associated cult of idiocy that appears to have led to what most have admitted is a poorly written book sitting atop the best-seller charts for months.

I'm hard to please when it comes to comedy, but found myself laughing out loud frequently when reading Fifty Shames of Earl Grey . Shaffers's wit draws from pop culture far beyond the novels he's meant to be parodying, and the intelligence behind the gags and the research behind some of the plot points (I really don't want to spoil anything for potential readers) surprised me for a book written so quickly to take advantage of the other books' press.

Here's hoping Shaffer has a long career ahead of him in parody and satire, this generation's Jonathan Swift.

This review appeared previously on Goodreads.

I'm guessing most folks know the basics of the Fifty Shades of Grey books, originally written as fan-fiction of the Twilight series: mousy Bella and control-freak Edward got a new setting and a hot sex life. Fifty Shades was eventually picked up by publishers, publishers who supposedly edited it, and history was made, although after reading it for myself, I'm reminded of The Emperor's New Clothes. Does everyone love these books because the hype says they're supposed to, or are they afraid to go against popular opinion? Say it ain't so.

With that kind of hoopla and a big fat movie deal in the works, you knew it just a matter of time before the spin-offs and spoofs started, didn't you? A book with characters *borrowed* from another best-selling series is just begging to have the tables turned on it (I would so love to see what the folks from the old Carol Burnett show could do with this material). There's a lengthy list of spoofs already on the market, but the one I wanted to get my hands on was Fifty Shames of Earl Grey by Fanny Merkin AKA Andrew Shaffer (a big thanks to the kind folks at Net Galley and Perseus Books Group, Da Capo Press for giving me the chance to read this).

Anywho, the *lovers* this time around are (Bella) (Ana) Anna Steal and (Edward) (Christian) Earl Grey. (Bella) (Ana) Anna is still the klutzy college student and (Edward) (Christian) Earl Grey the gazillionaire business man. Instead of being fifty shades of messed up, (Edward) (Christian) Earl's got a list of fifty shames, including shopping at Wal-Mart on Saturdays and a bizarre fascination with Tom Cruise and his older movies (lol). Instead of constantly biting her lip, this time (Bella) (Ana) Anna is a compulsive nose-picker, which is a big turn-on for (Edward)(Christian) Earl. (Edward) (Christian) Earl doesn't stay at the Heathman Hotel, it's the Holiday Inn...

And just wait until you find out who (Edward) (Christian) Earl's adopted father is :D

I think you've got the gist of it, and I'm not going to spoil by going further (the twist on the infamous tampon scene was hilarious). Wish I could quote, but unfortunately I can't until I get my hands on a finished copy. I can promise a belly full of laughs, and I strongly urge you not to read this one on the plane or the train - unless you want everyone looking at you funny when you start laughing your you-know-what off. But wait - there's more coming. There was a preview at the end for the next book in the series, Fifty Shames in Space. I can't wait :)

I may be one of the few remaining people who have not read the book series that this book parodies. No matter, Fanny Merkin's (Andrew Shaffer) 50 Shames of Earl Grey stands alone. If you want a book to take with you to the beach while you lay in your beach chair wearing your cool sunglasses looking cool- this is not the one. This book will cause you to snort, guffaw, spit your cool drink in a spray all over whoevers near and choke on your ice cream cone. Seriously it's that funny.