The Ages of Lulu [Import] [Paperback]

ALMUDENA GRANDES (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: ABACUS; First edition & printing in this form edition (1993)
• ISBN-10: 0349104638
• ISBN-13: 978-0349104638
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,337,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well-written turnoff, March 1, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ages of Lulu (Paperback)

I ordered this book expecting a titillating read, and ended up enjoying it more as a well-written exposition of the obsessions of a rather unfortunate young woman.

Like Nabokov's _Lolita_, _The Ages of Lulu_ is often perceived as scandalous erotica, but in fact deals in a fairly pedestrian way with common forms of fetishism, especially sado-masochism and pedophilia (although the narrator is 15, hardly a little child, when she has her first experience). What is more interesting about the book, however, is the depiction of a woman who enjoys watching gay men having sex -- the flip-side, as she insightfully notes, of the much more common habit of men enjoying "lesbian" erotica. My own experience talking to real women makes me think that this kind of fetish is much more common than one might think, which makes the depiction of it in "Lulu" somewhat refreshing and novel.

Unlike some reviewers, I enjoyed the use of British English slang, which added an air of foreignness to the story -- entirely appropriate, since it takes place in Madrid. Ultimately, though, Lulu's self-destructive and selfish behavior, like that of the hero in _Lolita_, made me feel sorry for her and the people in her life (especially her neglected daughter), and the ending seemed abrupt and perfunctory, not well-thought-out at all. Perhaps Ms. Grandes was writing for a deadline. What prevents me from giving the book another star is the excessive use of erotic-lit cliches -- everything is swelling, bursting, exploding, over and over again, to the point where it sounds like a recipe, rather than a real experience.

So... if you're interested in a well-written fictional journal of female sexual obsession, I recommend this book. But if you're looking for an erousing piece of erotica, I can't say there's much in Lulu that will satisfy you.

To be fair, I am a 33-year-old male heterosexual with a conventional, liberal upbringing.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First introduction to erotica..., August 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ages of Lulu (Paperback)

I read this book several years ago while in high school. I found this book to be very refreshing, fun, erotic, and interesting. I related to some parts of Lulu's experiences, and that to me is incredible because it made it more vivid. As I read this book, I could mentally picture each scene as if it was a movie, I could imagine Lulu's expressions of her emotions, and the emotions and expressions of the other characters too. I really enjoyed this book, I've read it more than once and passed it along to my friends who also enjoyed it immensely.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finally! Some decent erotica!, June 4, 2001

By 

"susie4eyes" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ages of Lulu (Paperback)

Perhaps my standards are low, but I've plowed through a fair bit of erotica, and this currently stands at the top of my list. More accessible that "Story of O" or "Justine" and less pedantic and plodding than any of Anne Rice's erotic writings, Grandes' work finally makes proper use of the power of words in conveying sexual imagery. The protagonist's sexual forays allow us to enjoy that element of sex so often ignored by most erotica and pornography: the tease, the suspense, the yearning, the quiet obsession. To tie it all together, Grandes provides readers with a poignant story of sexual birth and maturation, to give, as they say, a "plot" to all the naughtiness.