Nine and a Half Weeks: A Memoir of a Love Affair - Elizabeth McNeill
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Published on 24 June 2014 by Harper Perennial (Reissue edition)
First Published in 1978
Number of pages: 160
My rating: ★ ★ It was OK
"An erotic novel which became a film starring Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger. It began as a casual affair and ended nine and a half weeks later in a shattering climax of bondage, humiliation and ecstasy. By day she was a successful career woman in Manhattan; by night, a trembling, erotic slave.
Elizabeth McNeill was an executive for a large corporation when she began an affair with a man she met casually. From the beginning, their sexual excitement escalates through domination and humiliation. As the affair progresses, woman and man play out ever more dangerous and more elaborate sado-masochistic variations. By the end, she has relinquished all control over her body and mind.
With a cool detachment that makes the experiences and sensations she describes all the more frightening in their intensity, Elizabeth McNeill beautifully unfolds her story and invites you to experience the mesmerizing, electrifying, and unforgettablly private world of Nine and a Half Weeks."
Why did I read this book?
The recent cinema release of "50 Shades of Grey" has sparked many debates, one of them being its derivative nature. In particular, two works stood out:
- "The Secretary" - a 2002 erotic romance movie which explores the BDSM relationship between an attorney, E. Edward Grey (James Spader) and his secretary (Maggie Gyllenhaal).
The similarities are utterly undeniable, from his name to his red office, from the spanking to controlling her diet, and, as a final bow, from his own negative feelings towards his BDSM preferences to their happy union. 
"Nine and a Half Weeks" - a 1978 memoir turned into a major flick in 1986. I was familiar with the film but not with the book, hence I just had to read it.
Once again the similarities are there: in the film the man's name is John Gray, he works in finance, and he is a kinky fu*k (riding crops, blind folds, restraints, etc.). He controls her eating, he bruises her, he washes her, he dresses her, he changes her tampons...
What did I think of it, and should you read it?
First of all this book is not an erotic romantic novel.
1