Published in 1989, Las edades de Lulú is the first novel by Almudena Grandes. and tells a complicated story of love and cloudy eroticism. Its editing was carried out Tusquets Editors and is cataloged within the erotic novel. A year later, Bigas Lunas took her to the big screen.
Lulu is the protagonist of a convoluted story marked by desire and personal discovery. She is a very young girl who does not know the love and affection of her, so the relationship that begins in her adolescence with a man older than her will accompany her during her younger years and will be a turning point in her life. .
The ages of Lulú: the first novel by Almudena Grandes
Life and sex on the path of Lulu
Lulu is fifteen years old. Although she has a family, has grown up with affective deficiencies that mark his personality and the way he relates to others. She, with a childish bias, has always had a desire for a family friend much older than her, Pablo, a person who will also determine her destiny. Because when Lulu has her first sexual relationship with him, her life tilts towards a sexual vortex (un)satisfied by Pablo in a perpetual and ritualistic way. The adult accedes to the illusions of a girl who has a birthday, even though she lives in an intimate, very hermetic illusion, and that does not allow you to have a normalized sexual life beyond this figure, much more experienced and stable. The wall that has surrounded Lulú falls when Pablo puts her in an impossible situation. But when she goes out into the outside world, outside of Pablo's influence, she knows another life and other relationships that continue to follow dark and perverse paths.
The ages of Lulu is a story of cloudy eroticism and life in which as chapters burn, Lulu grows older. While it's true, she's stuck in childhood. Time advances, but Lulu will be subjected to years living a fantasy difficult to overcome in the real world. She is addicted to the relationship she has with Pablo.
The erotic novel by Almudena Grandes: context and types
It is a novel that delves into the underworld of Madrid in the 80s.. Especially important is this context, which is very well woven by the author. She manages to recreate that façade of a libertine and dark city that it becomes at night once Francoism has been shelved. Spanish society and its vision of sexuality, non-existent or disseminated in a negative way for generations, is much better understood thanks to the care taken in the context that, together with the character of Lulú, gives shape to the narrative. Sex is smelled and glimpsed as something obscene throughout the novel due to the genuine sin that was inserted in the collective thought.
Lulu's character has multiple nuances, it's very well done. He is not simplified and his emotions, his problems and fears, surround his own story. The rest of the characters are shown in a parade of those classified as morons or abnormal in the times when freedom and tolerance towards the different was barely emerging. These can be homosexuals, transsexuals, or transvestites. An environment and characters very similar to those that can also be found in Almodóvar's films of the same period.
Conclusions
The book is a sordid and perverse story, but gimmicky. Perfect to connect with the quality contemporary erotic novel, by a leading author who, now known about her career, will not be able to disappoint. The ages of Lulu It is the first published novel by Almudena Grandes and, of course, it has also caused a division of opinion. It is a novel with explicit sexual content that unravels the Spanish sexual situation of the XNUMXth century. And it was a door to modernity at the time it was published, with a yearning Lulu and other characters that represent some types of the cloudy night in the Spanish capital.
About the author
Almudena Grandes was born in Madrid in 1960. She is considered one of the most important Spanish authors of contemporary times. His death in 2021 due to cancer unleashed the support and gratitude of readers, civil society, and various institutions. He studied Geography and History at the Complutense University of Madrid, which may explain why in much of his work he used the past XNUMXth century, as well as the XNUMXst, to develop post-war Spain and elucidate the country it has become. .
She was a regular contributor to media such as SER chain y El País, and among his recognitions are many awards, such as el National Narrative for his novel Dr. García's patients. This book belongs to the historical series "Episodes of an endless war", composed entirely of Agnes and joy (2010) The Jules Verne Reader (2012) Manolita's three weddings (2014) Dr. García's patients (2017) Frankenstein's mother (2020) and Mariano in the Bidasoa, which Grandes did not finish. Other essential titles are: Malena is a name of both (1994) Atlas of human geography (1998) Rough Winds (2002), The frozen heart (2007) o Kisses on bread (2015)