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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I purchased a copy of this book at a library book sale.
"Luster" follows a young twenty-something Edie as she tries to make it in her life. Edie's life seems to be crashing down around her as she is trying to build a name for herself. The only good part of her day is painting, and the married man she has just started seeing, Eric. Eric has an open marriage with his wife and has a teenage daughter. When Edie really hits rock bottom and moves in temporarily with Eric's family while he is on a business trip, her life really becomes wild.
This novel eloquently explores the difficulties women face, especially black women, when they are first starting out in their life. Edie just does not seem to be able to catch a break, and she does not want to rely on Eric or his family, but she really does not have many options.
One aspect of the book I really enjoyed was Edie's relationship with Eric's daughter. Eric's daughter was adopted and is a black girl being raised by white parents. Although Eric and his wife love their daughter, there are just things they do not know, and it is difficult for them to always care for her in the best ways. Edie really steps up as an almost guide and helps the girl come into her own and embrace her blackness. I think this was great to see as a character growth, but I think this also helped Edie with her own life.
Edie is ruthless in her attempts to make it on her own. For example, when she needs to find a new job and nothing is panning out, she gets a bike and delivers food to people. She knows how to scrap by and hustle, but she also knows how to practice self-care and not run herself into the ground. Painting is her release, and she continues to allow herself to indulge in this to maintain her sanity.
I think this is an exceptional debut that explores how difficult it can be to start out in life. I definitely recommend this to anyone struggling to find who they are and who they want to be.
"Luster" follows a young twenty-something Edie as she tries to make it in her life. Edie's life seems to be crashing down around her as she is trying to build a name for herself. The only good part of her day is painting, and the married man she has just started seeing, Eric. Eric has an open marriage with his wife and has a teenage daughter. When Edie really hits rock bottom and moves in temporarily with Eric's family while he is on a business trip, her life really becomes wild.
This novel eloquently explores the difficulties women face, especially black women, when they are first starting out in their life. Edie just does not seem to be able to catch a break, and she does not want to rely on Eric or his family, but she really does not have many options.
One aspect of the book I really enjoyed was Edie's relationship with Eric's daughter. Eric's daughter was adopted and is a black girl being raised by white parents. Although Eric and his wife love their daughter, there are just things they do not know, and it is difficult for them to always care for her in the best ways. Edie really steps up as an almost guide and helps the girl come into her own and embrace her blackness. I think this was great to see as a character growth, but I think this also helped Edie with her own life.
Edie is ruthless in her attempts to make it on her own. For example, when she needs to find a new job and nothing is panning out, she gets a bike and delivers food to people. She knows how to scrap by and hustle, but she also knows how to practice self-care and not run herself into the ground. Painting is her release, and she continues to allow herself to indulge in this to maintain her sanity.
I think this is an exceptional debut that explores how difficult it can be to start out in life. I definitely recommend this to anyone struggling to find who they are and who they want to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, and Infidelity
Moderate: Police brutality, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Bullying, and Racism
kalyaniwarrier's review
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
2.25
Luster has been on my TBR for years, and I regret to say that it was underwhelming and disappointing.
Let me go through the positives first: the novel focuses on underlying themes of racism and the struggles of the African-American community in a predominantly white neighbourhood. There is a relatability that can be found when the protagonist, Eddie appears to have problems that the youth of today face such as body shaming, lack of self-esteem, and hyper-fixating on the future.
But apart from these positives, the negatives weigh heavier: the plot involves polygamy in incomplete consensual manner, and presents weird living arrangements that question morality. The plot does not necessarily move forward, as the characters seem to be stuck in a loop of choices that prevents any major advancements in the plot. The characters do not seem to have no clear personality; it's not necessary for characters to have full-round personalities, but the plot, in my opinion, has no significant substance, therefore, it would have been better to have some improvement with the characters; to me, the characters kind of felt robotic.
Overall, it is not a bad book - a pretty average read.
Let me go through the positives first: the novel focuses on underlying themes of racism and the struggles of the African-American community in a predominantly white neighbourhood. There is a relatability that can be found when the protagonist, Eddie appears to have problems that the youth of today face such as body shaming, lack of self-esteem, and hyper-fixating on the future.
But apart from these positives, the negatives weigh heavier: the plot involves polygamy in incomplete consensual manner, and presents weird living arrangements that question morality. The plot does not necessarily move forward, as the characters seem to be stuck in a loop of choices that prevents any major advancements in the plot. The characters do not seem to have no clear personality; it's not necessary for characters to have full-round personalities, but the plot, in my opinion, has no significant substance, therefore, it would have been better to have some improvement with the characters; to me, the characters kind of felt robotic.
Overall, it is not a bad book - a pretty average read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Infidelity, Addiction, and Racism
Minor: Body shaming
jkreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's been a while since I last felt FED by a book, but this one felt like a whole meal. The prose was so lush, it was such a pleasure to consume. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was great.
Raven Leilani has such an exquisite way of describing the mundane - something as ordinary and dare I say, cliche, as a twenty-something living in a crappy roach and mouse infested apartment in New York is recounted in a way that almost adds a layer of magic and whimsy to it.
Don't get me wrong, nothing about it is glamourised, it's bleakly realistic, but the language used is just so divine.
I'm not usually a litfic girlie, I tend to get bored, but I was HOOKED by Luster literally straight away. I anticipated that I would get bored halfway through like I usually do during anything that isn't a fantasy or a romance, but I was pleasantly surprised that Luster kept me hooked from start to finish. Everything about this book felt cliched or inevitable, which it leaned into, but it's really a testament to Leilani's writing that the story was so captivating because in my opinion this is not something that's easy to pull off. I can't wait to read more by this author in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Mental illness, Police brutality, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Medical content
Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, Abandonment, Abortion, and Blood
growplantsreadbooks's review against another edition
challenging
funny
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
Points off for the pregnancy scare even though it was pretty important to the plot.
Messy messy mess!!! So dark, so funny, (so relatable). My heart aches for the daughter character.
Can't wait to see where this author goes next!
Messy messy mess!!! So dark, so funny, (so relatable). My heart aches for the daughter character.
Can't wait to see where this author goes next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
kerrence30's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Difficult to describe, but it feels so honest you can’t dislike it. The situation is regretful, and the main family of characters are distrustful yet likeable, and although the narrator is honest to a fault, she is somewhat of an antihero. The important plot line is the different experiences of living in New York/ New Jersey for the black and white characters. It is intentionally unsubtle, and well delivered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Eating disorder and Police brutality
Minor: Drug use, Suicide, and Infertility
bail33's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
This is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. I feel like I know the characters, and even though I didn’t particularly like Rebecca, I feel like I miss all of the characters now that I’m done reading because I had such a sense of being there. Leilani’s writing is just beyond incredible. She uses many words to explain things that could be summed up in just a few, which imo goes against the trend in literary writing right now, but because of it I know and love and understand her setting and cast more. There were so many passages that I have highlighted because how how much they inspire me to write. Such a beautiful and meaningful novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Pregnancy, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Abortion, Miscarriage, Suicide, Death of parent, and Addiction
Minor: Blood, Car accident, Medical content, and Adult/minor relationship
thatsssorachael's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Racial slurs, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Abortion, Racism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, and Police brutality
seizuredreading's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I didn’t put this book down. I thought, maybe, just maybe, I’ll read one chapter per day. You know as a little treat. Raven truly said to MY face, “WRONG ANSWER FO HEAD!”
She disturbed my peace from the first word right up until the last. Sure, some people may find some of the crucial topics trite (racism: as it was discussed in the book at how exhausting it is to be Black in PWI spaces *Kanye shrug*), however comma. That aside mc is working out parental issues with a couple she stumbles across. An “open” marriage that may not be as what’s advertised.
She disturbed my peace from the first word right up until the last. Sure, some people may find some of the crucial topics trite (racism: as it was discussed in the book at how exhausting it is to be Black in PWI spaces *Kanye shrug*), however comma. That aside mc is working out parental issues with a couple she stumbles across. An “open” marriage that may not be as what’s advertised.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Abortion, Police brutality, and Infidelity
Moderate: Stalking
al_davies_jones's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Slavery, Animal death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, Mental illness, Medical content, Physical abuse, Blood, Infidelity, Addiction, Sexism, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Drug use, and Grief
brittanyisbooked's review against another edition
medium-paced
- 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
I truly just don’t know how I feel about this book. I didn’t like the main character from the beginning, and I hoped the book would show some growth. Unfortunately, I don’t think there was really any growth. However, I do think there was connection with others, which is a different form of character development. She didn’t grow as a person, perse, but she did grow in her ability to form connections with others and that’s still something.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Miscarriage