Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Luster

I finished Luster in November, and it really left me with all the emotions. I picked this book up from a recommendation for people who like Sally Rooney and I found it to be a somewhat accurate recommendation. Messy characters?? Yes. Stressful situations? Yup. Unique prose? For sure!

A simple version of what the book is about: A painfully honest book about Edie, a 23 year old Black woman, lost in life and stumbling into a white couple’s “open” marriage.

The book is mainly character driven, following Edie, a 20 something year old just trying to survive. The book begins with her living in Bushwick, New York, struggling in her publishing job and barely making ends meet. She’s really an artist and feeling unfulfilled by her life. And then she’s suddenly let go from her job because of her reputation at work. I saw someone write that’s she’s a character where life happens to her, and I think that’s an accurate depiction.

Meanwhile Edie starts dating Eric, a middle aged, white, married man (who is now in an open marriage), with an adopted preteen Black girl (Akila), and lives in a upper class neighborhood in New Jersey. Once Edie looses her job, she unexpectedly is invited to live with his family, but is invited to do so by his wife, Rebecca. Things are very different in this predominantly white, upper class neighborhood for Edie. On top of this she’s now spending her time navigating her relationship with Rebecca and Akila. Akila is one of the few Black girls in the neighborhood, and Edie is one of the only Black adults she knows. Things are awkward and uncomfortable and WEIRD. There were so many interesting points around messy people, bad decisions, mental health, misogynoir, class, sexuality, plus much more.

As mentioned, there’s for sure some weird and unrealistic (truly unhinged) scenes that I really had to suspend my disbelief for. Edie was unlikeable and making questionable decisions. She truly was a mess, but I had a fondness for her. And to be fair, Eric and Rebecca were just as messy, if not more so. And that’s what made it so engaging - I couldn’t look away from the ugly reality of these characters. They were all such creepy and strange characters. I was honestly so worried throughout the novel about what was gonna happen. So while at times it got weird or the pacing and prose was slow, my desire to see where the characters and their relationships were going kept me reading the book. I truly felt every emotion while reading this.

The downside to the book is that there was a constant play into negative stereotypes about Black women’s experiences. And I saw many reviews discussing their dislike for the way it was written into the narrative. Plus some of the strange scenes often felt like I was reading a horror, which as I mentioned made me have to suspend my disbelief and took me out of the story.

If you’ve read the book, please discuss with me!! This is for sure a book that needs to be discussed!

Content Warnings

anygivenmemory's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

This book has a unique writing style. It's like you never quite get into Edie's emotions or thoughts, but rather are told only what she does; leaving her feelings up to you to speculate on. Some of the metaphors and descriptions in this book were unusual and refreshing, so I look forward to seeing what the author can do in the future. However, since we didn't get that emotional component, I felt somewhat disconnected from the characters.

The characters are all flawed. This is not a plot heavy book but rather a character study of both the characters themselves and their relationships with each other. I felt that some aspects of the little plot there was were not addressed and so you weren't quite sure what exactly transpired. For example,

did Rebecca shoot the neighbor's dog with the gun? Did the attack by the police cause Edie's miscarriage? Is anyone ever going to address Eric's drug/alcohol abuse and his desire for violence towards women?

I kept hoping we would see more growth from Edie...that she would realize she deserved better...but I guess true growth is slow and filled with misteps and falling into old habits.

Content Warnings

kathleen_theresa's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I guess my biggest issue was ultimately I wanted more in the ending for all the characters.

Content Warnings

gabyaponte's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Honestly, while it was a decent and interesting enough read, I'm not sure why it has been so highly praised. I just felt like many of the character's actions, other than Edie's, required a lot more explanation or insight. Eric and Rebecca's characters just felt odd and much of the way they acted went either completely or insufficiently explained. On a positive note, the discussions of race and the implications of being a black daughter to white parents was very captivating and I would have liked to see a lot more of that and a lot less of the awkward and honestly unnecessary sexual interactions between Edie and Eric. Overall, it was a good read but nothing too extraordinary or worth revisiting.

Content Warnings

pollyflorence's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

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epellicci's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I found Luster to be quite monotonous. In trying to be grandly poetic, the writing came across as dreary monologues that I struggled to invest in. And while this story is full of complex characters, I failed to find an emotional connection with any of them. For me, the reading experience was quite tedious, and it wasn't until about 59% of the way through the book that I started to find moments I was enjoying.
I also found that the ending came out of nowhere. While I understand that the abruptness, and unconcluded feeling of it were very true to the writing and Eddie's character, it did feel like it came as I was only just getting into the book which left me quite disappointed.

Content Warnings

brigeorgie's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

masscrafter's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad slow-paced

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

4.0

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