What women really want
The premise of the book is problematic at best: a sociopathic, albeit handsome, Sicilian crime boss, with a penchant for throat-clutching sex play, kidnaps a “feisty” hotel sales exec and gives her 365 days to fall in love with him. Inexplicably, she does – and a UTIinducing amount of aggressive sexual congress ensues.
Dubbed the Polish Fifty Shades of Grey, 365 Days is the first instalment in a controversial erotic trilogy by Blanka Lipinska, revolving around a swarthy alpha male called Massimo, who racks up his first sexual assault on page two. Granted, he’s not your garden-variety dreamboat. Still, 365 Days has become a global sensation. The novel has sold more than 1.5 million copies in Poland, and the English translation has recently arrived in New Zealand, hot on the heels of the hit Netflix movie that premiered last year to howls of protest. Critics blasted the film for romanticising sexual violence, while Welsh singer Duffy – herself a survivor of abduction and rape – called on the streaming platform to ban it.
“It’s about feeling this powerful, creative, joyful energy that is inside all of us, and letting it flow.” – Jacqueline Hellyer
There’s no doubt is ideologically on the nose and, with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 0%, it’s cinematically not much chop either – has called the “dumber-than-hair” movie “a thoroughly terrible, politically
