The Ages of Lulu

"Powerfully written and imparting a disturbing, immediate impact, Grandes' novel, like those of . . . de Sade and Reage . . . is a powerful essay in the darker side of female sexuality."-Booklist

"Grandes has artfully set up a provocative tension between prose that is matter-of-fact and a subject that's anything but, and it leads us into profound questions about the nature of sexuality and the morality of pleasure. Deeply disturbing."-Seattle Weekly

"Carnality, intimacy, shame, and curiosity have made a triumph of this book, which almost gave me a heart attack when I read it. Disturbing from head to toe."-El Mundo

"Almudena Grandes' novel has broken the circle of readers of erotic literature to reach . . . people from a wide and diverse social spectrum."-Jose Luis Munoz

The Ages of Lulu is the lurid and compelling story of the sexual awakening of Maria Luisa Ruiz-Poveda y Garcia de la Casa-affectionately known by her family as Lulu.

Lulu finds that her erotic cravings are already powerfully established when, at 15, she is seduced by her older brother's best friend, Pablo. She has always been fascinated by the thin line separating decency and morality from perversion, and now Pablo gives her the courage to explore the darker side of her carnal desires. But as her forays become increasingly desperate, the world of illicit and dangerous sex threatens to engulf her completely.

Almudena Grandes' Las Edades de Lulu (The Ages of Lulu) won the Sonrisa Vertical prize for erotic fiction and was made into a film starring Javier Bardem. Grandes' novel Los Aires Dificiles debuted in the number-one spot on Spanish bestseller lists when it was published in 2002 and remained on the lists for five months. Her books have been translated into over 20 languages.