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THIRTY, as intensely erotic a book as I’d ever written, is what happened after I stopped writing erotica.Beginning with CARLA in 1958, I spent half a dozen years laboring in the vineyards of Midcentury Erotica, writing no end of books for Midwood, Nightstand, Beacon, et.al. It was a wonderful training ground, a comfortingly forgiving medium, and I’ve never regretted the timer I spent there, although for a time I wanted to disown the work I produced. (That changed with the passage of time, and now I’ve been eagerly reissuing much of that early work in my Collection of Classic Erotica. I like to tell myself this represents great progress in self-acceptance, but I have a hunch Ego and Avarice play a role here.)Never mind. I went on writing for Bill Hamling’s Nightstand Books until a break with my agent deprived me of the market, andI can’t regret that, either, because it’s safe to say I’d stayed too long at the fair, and would have stayed longer still if given the chance. Instead, I took a job editing a numismatic magazine in Wisconsin and went on writing fiction in my free time. I placed some stories with Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and THE GIRL WITH THE LONG GREEN HEART with Gold Medal, and then I wrote THE THIEF WHO COULDN’T SLEEP, which turned out to be the first of a series about a fellow named Evan Tanner.This was the first book in a voice that was uniquely mine, and the most satisfying work I’d ever done. I went on to write a total of seven books about Tanner (an eighth would follow after a 28-year interval) along with a couple of other crime novels, and then one day I got a call from my agent, Henry Morrison. Berkley Books wanted to launch a line of erotic novels, but on a different level from the old Midwood/Nightstand/Beacon ilk. It was 1968, censorship had essentially vanished, and American letters from top to bottom was embracing the sexual revolution and the new freedom. As Cole Porter might have put it, some authors who’d once been stuck with better words were now free to use four-letter words.Meanwhile, I was going through a period of discontent with the whole notion of fiction. I had nothing against the idea of making things up, but the artificiality of the novel suddenly rubbed me the wrong way. Narration, whether first person or third person, was a weird voice in one’s ear. Who are you? Why are you telling me this? And why should I believe you?What appealed more were books that presented themselves as documents. Fictional diaries, fictional collections of letters, whatever. Yes, of course they were novels, we knew they were novels, but they took the form of actual documents.Thus THIRTY, which would take the form of a diary kept by a woman in her thirtieth year. I had just reached that age myself, and while I recognized it as a landmark, it seemed to me that turning thirty was rather a bigger deal for a woman than for a man, that it was very much a turning point. So I plunged in, and I strove throughout to write what Jan would have written in an actual diary, leaving things out, skipping days altogether, and letting characters come into and go out of her life, and events pile one on the other, the way they really do, with less pattern and logic than one typically demands of fiction.I just read the book prefatory to writing this book description, and I was surprised how much I liked it. (And how little of it I recalled.) I decided from the jump to put Jill Emerson’s name on it, a name I’d shelved after WARM AND WILLING and ENOUGH OF SORROW. THIRTY is, to be sure, a creature of its time, as one knows when Jan whines about having to pay $375 a month for a Grove Street apartment. But I think the book holds up.In any event, Jill was back in business, and she’d go on to write two more books for Berkley’s sexy new series, both of them pseudo-documents like THIRTY.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
3 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Block
757 books3,003 followersLawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.
His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.
LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.
Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.
LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.
Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.
LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)
LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.
He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 6, 2015
I'm a big fan of LB and have read a large number of his books - well, there's a lot to read and I'm still only about half way through his total output. He's best known for his New York based crime fiction, with his Matt Scudder series being widely regarded as one of the best out there. But he's a gifted writer and he's produced work outside of this genre too, in the course of a long career.
Recently, some of his very early pieces have been made available, after having been long out of print, and although most are not of the quality of his most recent novels they are in themselves interesting and entertaining. It's possible to glimpse the promise of what's to come and to admire, even in these stories, his ability to put words together in a style that few can match.
So when offered the chance to listen to this ambiguously titled story on audiobook (I'm a huge advocate of listening to others do the reading work for me) I didn't hesitate. In the guise of one of his pseudonyms, this erotic romp is about as far from Scudder as you can get! It tracks the adventures of a 29 year old woman who liberates herself from an unsuccessful marriage to enjoy the full mix of pleasures available in latter day NYC. This turns out to be a downward spiral but there's no doubting the fun she has along the way.
It's a short but engaging tale and I feel all the better for spending a few hours in its company.
Recently, some of his very early pieces have been made available, after having been long out of print, and although most are not of the quality of his most recent novels they are in themselves interesting and entertaining. It's possible to glimpse the promise of what's to come and to admire, even in these stories, his ability to put words together in a style that few can match.
So when offered the chance to listen to this ambiguously titled story on audiobook (I'm a huge advocate of listening to others do the reading work for me) I didn't hesitate. In the guise of one of his pseudonyms, this erotic romp is about as far from Scudder as you can get! It tracks the adventures of a 29 year old woman who liberates herself from an unsuccessful marriage to enjoy the full mix of pleasures available in latter day NYC. This turns out to be a downward spiral but there's no doubting the fun she has along the way.
It's a short but engaging tale and I feel all the better for spending a few hours in its company.
May 31, 2016
Early Lawrence Block writing as Jill Emerson, though this one came out in 1970, and thus is significantly different from the late 1950s/early 1960s pseudonymous books he wrote. His writing chops are better. And this is post-censorship, so the sex scenes cease to be euphemistic, which was the point of this book. But what is remarkable is that Block went all in with the voice of the narrator and delivered a nuanced and conflicted first-person narrative.
Block's original title was Thirty and it is reclaimed with the re-print and ebook versions. The publisher of the 1970 edition changed it to I am Curious (Thirty) to capitalize on a popular erotic movie of the time I am Curious - Yellow.
The structure is a diary. One year in the life of Jan Kurland. Jan is a bored, childless, housewife living in suburban New York. She's just turned twenty-nine and is fearing the big three oh. Her diary starts in despair, cataloging where she's at and setting the stage for the unfolding events, which are: she seduces a high-school boy who comes to shovel snow from the driveway; packs up and leaves her husband; moves to Greenwich Village; runs the gauntlet of sexual experiences; becomes a prostitute; has an abortion; attempts suicide; rebounds; turns thirty; thinks, what could possibly be next? the end.
Could have been horrible, but Block's commitment to the narrative voice and the characterization really elevated this one.
Block's original title was Thirty and it is reclaimed with the re-print and ebook versions. The publisher of the 1970 edition changed it to I am Curious (Thirty) to capitalize on a popular erotic movie of the time I am Curious - Yellow.
The structure is a diary. One year in the life of Jan Kurland. Jan is a bored, childless, housewife living in suburban New York. She's just turned twenty-nine and is fearing the big three oh. Her diary starts in despair, cataloging where she's at and setting the stage for the unfolding events, which are: she seduces a high-school boy who comes to shovel snow from the driveway; packs up and leaves her husband; moves to Greenwich Village; runs the gauntlet of sexual experiences; becomes a prostitute; has an abortion; attempts suicide; rebounds; turns thirty; thinks, what could possibly be next? the end.
Could have been horrible, but Block's commitment to the narrative voice and the characterization really elevated this one.
October 3, 2014
In reading Lawrence Block's crime fiction, I have to come to expect his proficiency in highlighting a character's desperation, his/her frailty. Turns out he's been doing that under pen names as well, as evidenced by this erotic novel originally published under the name Jill Emerson.
With Janet, a twenty-nine year old wife, Block shows a desperation of a life not yet lived. Oh, she has the loving husband and the house and the comfortable life, but it absent of passion. And as she nears her thirtieth birthday, desperation sets it. This can't be all there is. Oh no, it is not.
It begins with a brief, almost spontaneous encounter with a young man that she invited into her bed, and after that Janet's life is irrevocably altered. She sees a way out of her dull existence, leaves her husband, drains their savings, and moves to New York. From there, her experiences become more fiery, and skirt towards even manic.
Emily Beresford offers a pitch-perfect narration through the book, as Block has it written as a series of diary entires. Emily quite capably captures the prim and proper bourgeoisie, continually tempered by her obsessions, self-doubt, and fear with each subsequent diary entry.
Erotic at its core, it also offers a fair share of suspense when Janet becomes a bit overwhelmed with at least one of her encounters. It might feel a bit dated, but heck, so did 'Mad Men' on AMC and that was well-received.
With Janet, a twenty-nine year old wife, Block shows a desperation of a life not yet lived. Oh, she has the loving husband and the house and the comfortable life, but it absent of passion. And as she nears her thirtieth birthday, desperation sets it. This can't be all there is. Oh no, it is not.
It begins with a brief, almost spontaneous encounter with a young man that she invited into her bed, and after that Janet's life is irrevocably altered. She sees a way out of her dull existence, leaves her husband, drains their savings, and moves to New York. From there, her experiences become more fiery, and skirt towards even manic.
Emily Beresford offers a pitch-perfect narration through the book, as Block has it written as a series of diary entires. Emily quite capably captures the prim and proper bourgeoisie, continually tempered by her obsessions, self-doubt, and fear with each subsequent diary entry.
Erotic at its core, it also offers a fair share of suspense when Janet becomes a bit overwhelmed with at least one of her encounters. It might feel a bit dated, but heck, so did 'Mad Men' on AMC and that was well-received.
Read
September 11, 2021Very depressing
May 9, 2018
This is a rare occurrence, a Lawrence Block novel that I did not much enjoy. Most of them—even the rough early pseudonymous ones—usually have something that makes them unique or memorable. This was a bit of a misfire. However, it is also easy to see how this was a stepping stone that led to some of his best novels in the 1970’s.
The book is written in the form of a diary. Jan is a housewife facing a sort of midlife crisis as she approaches 30. She leaves her husband and embarks on a series of increasingly bizarre, graphic, and unrealistic sexual experiences. A lot of Block’s books contain adult content, but this one is basically pornography. It lacks Block’s usual subtlety of characterization and his trademark comic wit.
Characters had a tendency to enter and pass through Jan’s life almost at random, just like real life. Some characters were hinted or foreshadowed to have interesting arcs and mysterious backstories, but they never materialized. Or perhaps they did, but it must have happened after the seminal year was up and Jan had abandoned her diary.
Alongside Such Men Are Dangerous, this novel marks the beginning of an odd literary phase in Block’s career that lasted from 1969-1974. He was experimenting with novels that purported to be manuscripts or have some other tangible reason for their existence. The rest were better than this one. No Score purported to be an autobiography and was published with the protagonist’s name as author. Ronald Rabbit is a Dirty Old Man was a comedic epistolary novel. Threesome featured alternating chapters written by people in a troilistic marriage. Different Strokes consisted of a (fake) feature-length screenplay written by the author, as well as a (made up) production diary, and an interview with a (nonexistent) leading actress.
The book is written in the form of a diary. Jan is a housewife facing a sort of midlife crisis as she approaches 30. She leaves her husband and embarks on a series of increasingly bizarre, graphic, and unrealistic sexual experiences. A lot of Block’s books contain adult content, but this one is basically pornography. It lacks Block’s usual subtlety of characterization and his trademark comic wit.
Characters had a tendency to enter and pass through Jan’s life almost at random, just like real life. Some characters were hinted or foreshadowed to have interesting arcs and mysterious backstories, but they never materialized. Or perhaps they did, but it must have happened after the seminal year was up and Jan had abandoned her diary.
Alongside Such Men Are Dangerous, this novel marks the beginning of an odd literary phase in Block’s career that lasted from 1969-1974. He was experimenting with novels that purported to be manuscripts or have some other tangible reason for their existence. The rest were better than this one. No Score purported to be an autobiography and was published with the protagonist’s name as author. Ronald Rabbit is a Dirty Old Man was a comedic epistolary novel. Threesome featured alternating chapters written by people in a troilistic marriage. Different Strokes consisted of a (fake) feature-length screenplay written by the author, as well as a (made up) production diary, and an interview with a (nonexistent) leading actress.
October 3, 2014
Review coming soon.
Merged review:
In reading Lawrence Block's crime fiction, I have to come to expect his proficiency in highlighting a character's desperation, his/her frailty. Turns out he's been doing that under pen names as well, as evidenced by this erotic novel originally published under the name Jill Emerson.
With Janet, a twenty-nine year old wife, Block shows a desperation of a life not yet lived. Oh, she has the loving husband and the house and the comfortable life, but it absent of passion. And as she nears her thirtieth birthday, desperation sets it. This can't be all there is. Oh no, it is not.
It begins with a brief, almost spontaneous encounter with a young man that she invited into her bed, and after that Janet's life is irrevocably altered. She sees a way out of her dull existence, leaves her husband, drains their savings, and moves to New York. From there, her experiences become more fiery, and skirt towards even manic.
Emily Beresford offers a pitch-perfect narration through the book, as Block has it written as a series of diary entires. Emily quite capably captures the prim and proper bourgeoisie, continually tempered by her obsessions, self-doubt, and fear with each subsequent diary entry.
Erotic at its core, it also offers a fair share of suspense when Janet becomes a bit overwhelmed with at least one of her encounters. It might feel a bit dated, but heck, so did 'Mad Men' on AMC and that was well-received.
Merged review:
In reading Lawrence Block's crime fiction, I have to come to expect his proficiency in highlighting a character's desperation, his/her frailty. Turns out he's been doing that under pen names as well, as evidenced by this erotic novel originally published under the name Jill Emerson.
With Janet, a twenty-nine year old wife, Block shows a desperation of a life not yet lived. Oh, she has the loving husband and the house and the comfortable life, but it absent of passion. And as she nears her thirtieth birthday, desperation sets it. This can't be all there is. Oh no, it is not.
It begins with a brief, almost spontaneous encounter with a young man that she invited into her bed, and after that Janet's life is irrevocably altered. She sees a way out of her dull existence, leaves her husband, drains their savings, and moves to New York. From there, her experiences become more fiery, and skirt towards even manic.
Emily Beresford offers a pitch-perfect narration through the book, as Block has it written as a series of diary entires. Emily quite capably captures the prim and proper bourgeoisie, continually tempered by her obsessions, self-doubt, and fear with each subsequent diary entry.
Erotic at its core, it also offers a fair share of suspense when Janet becomes a bit overwhelmed with at least one of her encounters. It might feel a bit dated, but heck, so did 'Mad Men' on AMC and that was well-received.
August 25, 2014
I'm a pretty big Lawrence Block fan and although erotica is not usually what I read - I did jump at the chance to read this book. It was released in 1970 when Block was writing erotica as Jill Emerson.
We follow a year in the life of a woman who turns 29 and feels something missing in her life.
This is standard Block in that is oozes New York and the dark side of life. He has the talent to just transport you somewhere else and make you feel what his characters are feeling, it's an amazing talent and Block has plenty of it.
We follow our hero as she travels down life experiencing group sex, orgies, drugs, prostitution etc. etc. etc. Some of this is tame compared to life now but I'm sure was incredibly shocking in 1970 but the time difference doesn't really diminish the enjoyment of the book.
I didn't give it a perfect rating just based on my personal enjoyment - a little too dark for me and I'm not thrilled with the ending (don't worry, no spoilers) but I would recommend this book.
We follow a year in the life of a woman who turns 29 and feels something missing in her life.
This is standard Block in that is oozes New York and the dark side of life. He has the talent to just transport you somewhere else and make you feel what his characters are feeling, it's an amazing talent and Block has plenty of it.
We follow our hero as she travels down life experiencing group sex, orgies, drugs, prostitution etc. etc. etc. Some of this is tame compared to life now but I'm sure was incredibly shocking in 1970 but the time difference doesn't really diminish the enjoyment of the book.
I didn't give it a perfect rating just based on my personal enjoyment - a little too dark for me and I'm not thrilled with the ending (don't worry, no spoilers) but I would recommend this book.
September 3, 2014
Vintage Erotica! This is erotica as only Lawrence Block could pull it off. It's a coming of sexual age story wrapped up in erotica. Janet is a bored suburban housewife who sees 30 looming every time she looks in the mirror. When her last birthday before 30 comes around, she starts to take a harsh, realistic look at her life. She's a suburban housewife with no children and a station wagon. When she literally walks away from that life, she starts a life of sexual depravity that accelerate like a snowball rolling downhill. Lawrence Block tells this story with his usual wit and understatement. My only problem with the story, other than the overuse of the word c--t when vagina would have served just as well, was that it was dated. The sums of money that Janet has and spends on rent may have worked thirty-five years ago, but certainly not today. For that, Thirty went from five stars to four stars.
February 22, 2019
Trying to make progress on these old Lawrence Block writing as...
October 11, 2015
Lawrence Block writing as Jill Emerson.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews