Fifty Shades of Grey on sale in the UAE

Fifty Shades of Grey, the erotic novel that has become the fastest selling book in the world, is available to buy in the UAE - contrary to popular belief that it is banned.
  
The novel, written by British author E L James, is the first book in a trilogy that traces the sado-masochistic relationship between a college graduate and a young business magnate.
 
Most book stores in the Emirates have decided not to stock the novel, or have stocked it in the past but have not re-stocked it, citing a ban by the UAE National Media Council (NMC).

However the book is on sale at Borders.

The NMC could not confirm whether Fifty Shades of Grey is banned in the UAE, but an official said that any shops selling the book must have clearance.

A salesgirl at Borders in Dubai said: “We get at least 50 new enquiries a day for the book. The demand for this book is so high that we couldn’t keep a book reserved for more than three days.”

Over at Books Plus, a salesman said: “There are lots of customers here to buy Fifty Shades of Grey. But stocks are over and we are not selling it any more because of the government ban.”

The book is also available on online classifieds and community portal Dubizzle.

Borders is also taking pre-orders for Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, the other two books in the series.

‘Mummy porn’

Reports suggest the success of the racy trilogy, dubbed ‘mummy porn’, has been driven by frustrated middle-aged mothers.

The author, who became an overnight millionaire due to the success of Fifty Shades, describes her books as “romantic fantasy” stories, which offer women a “holiday from their husbands”.

Fifty Shades of Grey has smashed UK records after selling more than a million paperback copies in a single week.

The book has outstripped Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code to become the fastest selling book of all time in the UK.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy has sold almost 20 million copies in the US in the last five months. It took the acclaimed Dragon Tattoo trilogy three years to reach the same level of sales.

A movie version of the book could also soon be on its way. E L James is reported to have chosen Michael De Luca and Dana Brunetti, the producers of The Social Network, to produce the movie version.