Good message, bad method
EL James’s return has two sides to it, writes Kat Brown
EL James is such a strange writer. She’s capable of a compelling plot, as the Fifty Shades trilogy showed, albeit one strewn with terrible, frequently hilarious moments, but her self- imposed incarceration in the world of Twilight fan- fiction has clearly taken its toll.
The Mister, her first book to break away from that universe, is filled with the same tropes and terrible lines – the first page alone features so much word repetition it reminds you of Little Britain’s Dame Sally Markham trying to up her word count. You will laugh a lot during this book, and not in a good way. But James has obviously worked hard on creating a story that, interestingly, has a lot to say about sexual consent and women’s rights.
Model, DJ, photographer and society shagger Maxim Trevelyan is mourning the death of his elder brother, Kit, and his own subsequent rise to become Earl of Trevethick, with a fling with Kit’s widow, who is Maxim’s long- ago ex.
His attentions are soon diverted when his cleaner is replaced one day by young Alessia Demarchi who is young, beautiful and poor, and a synaesthetic concert- level pianist. Please keep up.
James has the shoddy builder’s attitude to detail, piling it on in the strangest of places – for example, train times to Brentford – and skimping on it where it matters.
She credits a “posh” language adviser in her credits, but the speech of these English aristos still manages to incorporate enough Americanisms to make Made in Chelsea blush. Sorry, but no Brit, let alone an earl, would ever call them “panties”.
However, about two- thirds of the way through, and inspired by multiple encounters with Maxim’s agreeable penis, Alessia discovers a personality, and some of the exchanges there make you forget you’re reading another serious yet parodic romance with bonking.
All that said, James does a valiant job of playing up the importance of contraception and consent, and ( clearly taking on board feedback from Fifty Shades) the dangers of abusive relationships.
During a sex scene, Maxim asks Alessia continuously if she is OK and happy. The Mister will sell a gazillion copies, but at least it will do so with good messages at its heart. ■