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gummifrog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Abortion, Blood, Miscarriage, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Medical content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Excrement, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Alcoholism, and Murder
Minor: Vomit, Gun violence, Car accident, and Animal death
avocadotoastbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Edie, a 23-year-old black woman living and finding her way in New York, tries to fill the void left by her loneliness with sex.
The title "Luster" makes sense in this regard. However, the novel wasn't just about sex and lust. For most of the time, the novel depicts the pain and anguish of each character.
Edie: loneliness, loss of her job and apartment, living with her (much older) lover's family, daddy issues, childhood trauma
Rebecca: marital problems, dealing with her husband's younger lover, not wanting to be a mother but having a child
Eric: substance abuse, marital problems, infertility
Akila: childhood trauma, abandonment issues due to multiple adoptive families, the only black kid in the neighborhood, disordered eating
In some ways I hated all the characters and didn't find them likable, but I could also identify with small parts of each character.
While I loved how Raven Leilani described the dynamics between the characters and Edie's thought processes, I didn't like how stuffed with "internet wisdom" the book was. It felt to me like Leilani was trying to sprinkle a little self-help book vibe into the story.
Also, the power dynamic that results from the massive age difference in Edie and Eric's relationship wasn't romanticized, but it also wasn't portrayed for what it really is. Throughout the book, everyone blamed Edie, but really Edie is a victim of Eric.
At least by the end of the novel, Edie admits this.
"He is the most obvious thing that has ever happened to me, and all around the city it is happening to other silly, half-formed women excited by men who've simply met the prerequisite of living a little more life, a terribly unspecial thing that is just what happens when you keep on getting up and brushing your teeth and going to work and ignoring the whisper that comes to you at night and tells you it would be easier to be dead."
Overall, Luster was a good debut novel that deals with important issues and the life experiences of young black women. I can't wait to see where Raven Leilani is going.
Graphic: Racism, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Mental illness
Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Police brutality, Animal death, Abandonment, Eating disorder, Infertility, Abortion, Classism, and Drug abuse
vrcreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Medical content, Racism, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicide, Blood, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Drug use, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit
writtenontheflyleaves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
🌟🌟🌟🌟
🏠The plot: Edie is just scraping by. She's coasting in a dead-end job at an all-white office, having unfulfilling encounters with men, and she's barely doing the thing she really loves, painting. Starting an affair with an older man soon takes an unexpected turn as she moves in with his family: his (kind of intense) wife and adopted black daughter.
I went into this read knowing that it has a divisive main character, and I can kind of see why. Edie's narration is depressive and one-note for much of the novel, especially in the first half, and she is wilfully self-destructive in her relationships. Reading it directly after another book with a mentally struggling main character, I did find it very heavy reading at times.
However, as the novel unfolded I thought the style of narration was very clever, and I found that the connection I formed to Edie was more interesting because of her more complex motives. Particularly as she developed a friendship with her lover's adoptive daughter - and tried to teach her things that her white parents had neglected to - I thought the way she opened up to the reader was really powerful.
To be honest, I suspect a lot of the discomfort around this book - mainly, it has to be said, from white reviewers - comes from the fact that Edie is scathing of white spaces and the behaviour demanded from her to assimilate into them. The book also draws a clear connection between this generalised hostility and police violence. It's a really powerful novel, especially for a debut(!!) so don't let the "unlikeable narrator" label from many reviews put you off!
🏠Read it if you liked My Year of Rest and Relaxation or if you like unflinching portrayals of difficult relationships, grief, racism, and depression.
đźš« Avoid it if you're avoiding scenes of police violence, sexual violence, and workplace discrimination.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Police brutality, Racism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Addiction
dingakaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Racism, Medical content, Miscarriage, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Physical abuse and Blood
Minor: Abortion and Animal death
snavehannah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Suicide, Gore, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Mental illness, Eating disorder, and Drug use
Minor: Animal death
suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Dysphoria
Moderate: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Medical content, Death, Police brutality, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug use, Infertility, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Miscarriage
Minor: Gun violence and Abandonment
itsbumley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Abortion, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Drug use, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Racism, and Sexual content
angel_kiiss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Out of all the “unhinged” women I’ve read, Edie feels the most real; she’s layered and complex, a nice girl and sometimes horrible person, she’s lovable but that is hidden beneath her antagonistic flaws.
Who hasn’t found themselves in love with someone before they realize it wasn’t ever really love. Who hasn’t been struck by the reality of a person only after you’ve dug yourself six feet for them.
I can’t believe this was a debit novel. Very few books have moved me this much, and even fewer gripped me like this from beginning to end.
Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Medical content, Alcoholism, Blood, Dysphoria, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Medical trauma
Minor: Animal death, Racism, and Mental illness
mekaylynn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Violence, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Infertility, Eating disorder, Suicide, Infidelity, Cursing, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence