ALL ABOUT LULU by Jonathan Evison

Finished We 10/5/16

This was a library book that I got because I loved THIS IS YOUR LIFE, HARRIET CHANCE! which was also written by Evison.

Another comic/tragedy tied together by a dark sexual secret

The Miller's

Big Bill, Doug, Ross (Alistar), Annie (first wife), Willow, and William (the narrator)

Big Bill is an ex-Haight Street Hippie living with his family near Muscle Beach in Venice, CA.
His firs wife Annie dies of cancer and he takes up with his grief counselor. She has a daughter, Louisa (Lulu).

William is a slight boy and the only male in the family not involved with bodybuilding.
Doug and Ross are twins; Meatheats, Dumb and Dumber. Crude and Rude.

William becomes obsessed with Lulu from the first time he sees her. They become inseparable pals until Lulu turns fourteen.

Troy- one of The Benders- Rich kids from out of the Venice area who live to party; Troy becomes a boyfriend of Lulu- a rival to William

Dan- When Lulu moves to the Seattle area after high school Dan becomes her boyfriend. He is a base player and fairly well known in the Grunge Circuit.

The Great Reveal-

Lulu is NOT just William's step-sister, she is his half-sister. Big Will, Annie, and Willow were all friends in San Francisco and Will had a brief sexual affair with Willow when he first took up with Willow.

When Annie died, he went back to her.

At age fourteen, Lulu went to a cheer leading camp in Maine. It was there that one of the relatives told her who she really was. This is why she changed so dramatically when she returned.

Secrets, Misdirections, and Incest.

William wants a career in radio. He loves baseball, especially the LA Dodgers. He has a great radio voice.

Big Bill wants to become an Olympic champion in bodybuilding, but never makes it.

Big Bill tells William his real relationship to Lulu in The Haight, Golden Gate Park.

Willow and Big Bill don't want William to have any contact with Lulu, but after he learns the truth, he confronts Lulu to tell her he knows.

In the epilogue we learn that later Lulu has two children and William goes on to be a "successful and very happy, but I would be lying about one of the two".

No Pain, No Gain

I loved the book and will read more by this author.

amazon link-

https://www.amazon.com/All-About-Lulu-Jonathan-Evison/dp/1593761961