This is what Wally Lamb wanted to do with "She's Come Undone." Honestly, I think Jonathan Evison has done one better with "All About Lulu." Outrageous, funny, heartbreaking, this is a must read. ( )

Schwäche war William Miller schon immer ein Anliegen: Wenn man als Vegetarier in einer Familie von Bodybuildern aufwächst, tut man das einem Menschen an. Aber William wird durch den Tod seiner Mutter, die Ankunft einer neuen Stiefmutter und sein unbändiges Verlangen nach seiner neuen Stiefschwester Lulu weiter geschwächt. Während Lulu sich ihren eigenen Herausforderungen stellt, sieht William zu, wie sich sein Leben in Aufruhr und Verzweiflung verwandelt. Sobald Lulu das College verlässt, geht Will in die Welt, um sich selbst zu finden - er entdeckt die westliche Philosophie, eine grausame Dating-Welt, dauerhafte Freundschaft und schließlich seine wahre Berufung. Ermutigt durch seine Rolle als spätabendliche Radiopersönlichkeit rettet Will sich selbst vor dem Selbstbild der Schwäche, dem er schon lange entfliehen wollte. Dieser Debütroman erforscht den grundlegenden Unterschied zwischen dem, woher wir kommen, und den unendlichen Möglichkeiten, wohin wir gehen können.

Evison erinnert iin seinem Motiven und in seinem Stil an den jungen John Irving. Nicht so ausgefeilt und perfekt vielleicht, dafür aber mit viel Herzblut. Die Geschichte einer Bodybuilder-Familie ist voller Witz, Ironie und Tiefgang. Und auch wenn dem aufmerksamen Leser relativ bald klar wird, warum der Ich-Erzähler sein Mädchen nicht bekommen wird, fesselt einen der Roman bis zum Schluss. Wirklich empfehlenswert! (Als E-Book gelesen) ( )

Interesting but long and a little too "hip" for my liking. And I have to admit I saw the "spoiler" in a previous review and already knew "about Lulu" when I started the book. But it was interesting enough following all the flawed characters (and there were lots of them) through their twists and turns and good enough for 3 out of five stars. ( )

Will Miller has it bad; he's in love with his step-sister, Lulu. It all started when Lulu and her mother, Willow, moved in with the Millers, comprised of Big Bill and his three sons. They just connected in a way that Will had not experienced since his mother died. The two were in innocent bliss until Lulu went to Vermont her fifteenth summer and returned different and sullen. Will fretted over what happened to change her, but he could never pry it out of her. Even as Lulu became more and more self-destructive and distant, Will never let her out of his thoughts. She was his obsession and true love.

As the years go by and despite the distance between Will and Lulu, they keep in touch but Lulu is still ambivalent and sketchy when it comes to their relationship. However, one day during a visit from Will, she relents and allows him to make love with her. A few weeks later, Lulu attempts to take her own life, partly from guilt and depression and partly because she was pregnant. After this ordeal, Lulu moves in with Big Bill and Willow, but Will is forbidden from seeing her. A thwarted effort to see Lulu ends with Will and his father on a long drive where Bill finally tells his son the truth (*spoiler*) – Lulu is not his step-sister but his half sister. Even more, Bill tells Will that he has known for years of Will's undying obsession with Lulu and yet he kept this secret, the same secret that Lulu discovered when she was fifteen and had been tearing at her soul ever since.

All in all, this medium-paced, coming of age story of unrequited love was written well though not particularly poetically. While Evison created some nicely dynamic characters, he ties up their lose ends more as an afterthought, leaving the ending slightly forced. The main strength was in watching the innocent love between Lulu and Will blossom and then become ever more confusing and ambivalent. The incestuousness was not nearly as creepy as Kelly Braffat's Josie and Jack, but it was also not as heartrending.