Scan barcode
pikkumarja's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Aluksi suhtauduin kirjaan varauksella; ensimmäinen virke ei saavuttanut sitä shokkiarvoa, jota se ehkä tavoitteli. Kirja muistuttaa kummallisella tavalla Akwaeke Emezin Hölmöä rakkautta.
Kirjasta muotoutui kuitenkin erittäin ansiokas ja tarkkanäköinen tutkielma Ediestä ja hänen suhteistaan Rebeccaan, Akilaan ja Ericiin. Tarinassa käsitellään limittäin rakenteellista rasismia, fanitusta, hyväksikäyttöä ja lohtua ja se muodostaa erittäin erityisen kokonaisuuden.
Kirjasta muotoutui kuitenkin erittäin ansiokas ja tarkkanäköinen tutkielma Ediestä ja hänen suhteistaan Rebeccaan, Akilaan ja Ericiin. Tarinassa käsitellään limittäin rakenteellista rasismia, fanitusta, hyväksikäyttöä ja lohtua ja se muodostaa erittäin erityisen kokonaisuuden.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, Vomit, Alcoholism, and Abortion
Moderate: Medical content, Police brutality, Death, and Blood
Minor: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Abandonment
dixiecarroll's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Sharp, smart, emotional, and more. This is worth the hype (not seen on Goodreads clearly lol). Very quick read and is exactly what I wanted to see from Such a Fun Age, with Edie and Rebecca’s relationship, specifically. I laughed out loud a few times and then held back some heavy emotions at others. Ultimately, well worth your time because it’s finish-able in one sitting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Death, Miscarriage, Racism, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Police brutality, Medical content, Abortion, Blood, and Hate crime
iremisa's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
slow-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 novel moved me…the writing and the way Edie goes through horrible things and explains those things to us in such a detached, witty and charming way is fascinating. I liked to say Edie is like a plastic bag floating and letting things happen to her….. Her trying to simply fit in the boxes society shaped for her is devastating and fascinating to see. I love Edie and I wish I could go on with her. Raven Leilani has made a fan out of me. I cannot wait to see what she does next!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Death
lindseyhall44's review
challenging
reflective
medium-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
5.0
Luster is a novel unlike anything I have ever read. It is sharp, witty, and discusses themes of race, sex, adulthood, and relationships in such a complex way, that I was stunned to discover that this is Leilani’s debut into the literary world.
Luster chronicles the life of Evie in a scathingly raw first person narrative, as she moves in with a white married man, his white wife, and their black child. Edie is black herself, and is meant to serve as a guiding source for their daughter, yet becomes entrapped in a confusing web of racial politics.
I resonated so much with Edie’s insights and findings, and she delivers them in way which seems to break the forth wall itself. She is imperfect, but so is the world we live in, and I loved following Edie’s journey.
Luster chronicles the life of Evie in a scathingly raw first person narrative, as she moves in with a white married man, his white wife, and their black child. Edie is black herself, and is meant to serve as a guiding source for their daughter, yet becomes entrapped in a confusing web of racial politics.
I resonated so much with Edie’s insights and findings, and she delivers them in way which seems to break the forth wall itself. She is imperfect, but so is the world we live in, and I loved following Edie’s journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Abortion, Body horror, Violence, and Death of parent
novella42's review
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
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
4.0
I noticed this book at my library because of its gorgeous cover, and I took it home because I am polyamorous and the blurb mentioned "an open marriage—with rules."
I just need to say... Please don't take this book's depiction of non-monogamy as representative of how to do an ethically open marriage. Holy hell. I feel at a loss to list all the ways Edie and Eric and Rebecca torture each other needlessly. It's a fascinating train wreck to watch, and I found myself looking at my own polycule with renewed gratitude and affection. Leilani doesn't let any of the characters off the hook, and if a lot of their behaviors seem inexplicable to you, well, you won't be alone.
As to the book itself, I appreciated the lyrical, almost psychadelic writing. (If you don't like pose poetry or stream-of-consciousness writing, maybe pass on this one.) Leilani revels in dark Millennial existential dread that kept shocking laughter out of me. She's fantastic at descriptive phrases that catch you off-guard with their originality. I marveled at some of them, their poetic pacing and expansive assumptions, so much I started collecting a list:
"I am suspended in a lurid hypnagogic loop."
"It is impossible to see another black woman on her way up, impossible to see that meticulous, polyglottal origami and not, as a black woman yourself, fall a little bit in love."
"A sudden and swiftly contained conniption."
"Hooked into peripheral intuition."
"The city's breakneck, multilingual carousel."
"Some inconceivable boss-level of concentrated loneliness."
"The bike lanes in Manhattan already terrifying at 11:00 a.m., filled with delivery boys and girls who jet into traffic with fried rice and no reason to live, along with the sentient abdominals who do this for fun."
"The lawn buzzed and alkaline, the vinegar in the wine and carnage in the dew, everywhere the perfume of things that want to live."
I can't imagine what it's like to narrate this as an audiobook, because the rhythm of the words is beautiful and also relentless. Leilani is skilled at pulling you deep into the bewildering internal labyrinth of mental illness and immersive, uncomfortable experiences.
If you carry any traumas, I recommend browsing the full list of content tags. I almost couldn't make it through the scenes with gore and body horror, though Edie's dissociative skills and the eye of an artist made it slightly more bearable. I'm glad I got it in hardcopy instead of audio, so I could skim over difficult dark passages. There were lots of those. I'm not sure why I kept reading, except that I was fascinated. It was hard to look away.
One last thing, a recommendation for anyone who likes disco. I genuinely think one reason I enjoyed this book as much as I did was that in the first 15 pages, Edie references her connection to Idris Muhammad's 1977 song "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This." On a whim, I made a Spotify station out of it and I have to say, it complimented the book and let me surrender to the undertow.
Beautiful writing about broken people living a surreal, twisted story.
I just need to say... Please don't take this book's depiction of non-monogamy as representative of how to do an ethically open marriage. Holy hell. I feel at a loss to list all the ways Edie and Eric and Rebecca torture each other needlessly. It's a fascinating train wreck to watch, and I found myself looking at my own polycule with renewed gratitude and affection. Leilani doesn't let any of the characters off the hook, and if a lot of their behaviors seem inexplicable to you, well, you won't be alone.
As to the book itself, I appreciated the lyrical, almost psychadelic writing. (If you don't like pose poetry or stream-of-consciousness writing, maybe pass on this one.) Leilani revels in dark Millennial existential dread that kept shocking laughter out of me. She's fantastic at descriptive phrases that catch you off-guard with their originality. I marveled at some of them, their poetic pacing and expansive assumptions, so much I started collecting a list:
"I am suspended in a lurid hypnagogic loop."
"It is impossible to see another black woman on her way up, impossible to see that meticulous, polyglottal origami and not, as a black woman yourself, fall a little bit in love."
"A sudden and swiftly contained conniption."
"Hooked into peripheral intuition."
"The city's breakneck, multilingual carousel."
"Some inconceivable boss-level of concentrated loneliness."
"The bike lanes in Manhattan already terrifying at 11:00 a.m., filled with delivery boys and girls who jet into traffic with fried rice and no reason to live, along with the sentient abdominals who do this for fun."
"The lawn buzzed and alkaline, the vinegar in the wine and carnage in the dew, everywhere the perfume of things that want to live."
I can't imagine what it's like to narrate this as an audiobook, because the rhythm of the words is beautiful and also relentless. Leilani is skilled at pulling you deep into the bewildering internal labyrinth of mental illness and immersive, uncomfortable experiences.
If you carry any traumas, I recommend browsing the full list of content tags. I almost couldn't make it through the scenes with gore and body horror, though Edie's dissociative skills and the eye of an artist made it slightly more bearable. I'm glad I got it in hardcopy instead of audio, so I could skim over difficult dark passages. There were lots of those. I'm not sure why I kept reading, except that I was fascinated. It was hard to look away.
One last thing, a recommendation for anyone who likes disco. I genuinely think one reason I enjoyed this book as much as I did was that in the first 15 pages, Edie references her connection to Idris Muhammad's 1977 song "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This." On a whim, I made a Spotify station out of it and I have to say, it complimented the book and let me surrender to the undertow.
Beautiful writing about broken people living a surreal, twisted story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Dysphoria, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Addiction, Animal death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Medical content, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Violence, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Car accident, Gun violence, and Vomit
Minor: Rape, Cancer, Abandonment, Excrement, and Stalking
eilidhbear's review
dark
emotional
funny
slow-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Death, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Violence, and Sexual violence
agatha's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.75
Der Schreibstil war unfassbar interessant und gut. Zwar musste ich einige Sätze tatsächlich häufiger lesen, um zu verstehen, was mit ihnen gemeint ist, aber das ändert nichts daran, das er mir gut gefallen hat.
Die Handlung war ebenfalls sehr interessiert und ganz anders, als alles, was ich seit langer Zeit gelesen habe. Edie ist so schonungslos ehrlich mit sich selbst und ihren Gefühlen und Gedanken und wie sie andere Menschen um sich herum wahrnimmt und diese deutet.
Viele Dinge bleiben ungesagt in diesem Buch und man konnte sich nicht wirklich an die Charaktere gewöhnen und sich mit ihnen anfreunden, weil dafür nicht genügend Zeit war.
Aber es war ein sehr, sehr interessanter Einblick in das Leben von Edie, in die Vorurteile und die Angst, die sie begleiten. Ich fand die Beziehung zwischen ihr und Akila jedoch sehr schön. Es wurden viele Themenbereiche abgedeckt - wie die Comic Con, Kunst, der Job als Patholog*in, die Vergangenheit von Edie und ihren Eltern etc. Vieles davon hat auf jeden Fall neugierig gemacht und vieles war auch tragisch zu lesen. Das Ende ist sehr offen, aber wunderschön geschrieben.
Die Handlung war ebenfalls sehr interessiert und ganz anders, als alles, was ich seit langer Zeit gelesen habe. Edie ist so schonungslos ehrlich mit sich selbst und ihren Gefühlen und Gedanken und wie sie andere Menschen um sich herum wahrnimmt und diese deutet.
Viele Dinge bleiben ungesagt in diesem Buch und man konnte sich nicht wirklich an die Charaktere gewöhnen und sich mit ihnen anfreunden, weil dafür nicht genügend Zeit war.
Aber es war ein sehr, sehr interessanter Einblick in das Leben von Edie, in die Vorurteile und die Angst, die sie begleiten. Ich fand die Beziehung zwischen ihr und Akila jedoch sehr schön. Es wurden viele Themenbereiche abgedeckt - wie die Comic Con, Kunst, der Job als Patholog*in, die Vergangenheit von Edie und ihren Eltern etc. Vieles davon hat auf jeden Fall neugierig gemacht und vieles war auch tragisch zu lesen. Das Ende ist sehr offen, aber wunderschön geschrieben.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, and Abortion
gummifrog's review
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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 was the first book I wanted to annotate in a long time. The prose was so beautiful, I wanted to savor every second of it. This book explores themes of life and death, creation (in both art and life), intimacy and love of all kinds, and an artist's view of the world. I really fell in love with the characters and although the story was more of a thoughtful reverie as the narrator moved through a period of a few months in which she moved in with the family of the man she was seeing. I ended up loving her relationship with the wife most - that strange jealousy and deep understanding, the push and pull of a person who creates and a person who deconstructs. Anyway, I highly recommend it!
Content Warnings
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
littlemaggiemae's review
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
3.5
a really interesting book i couldn’t put down, but also the kind of book where there is no real plot, things are just kind of happening. but it was good!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Racism
Moderate: Suicide and Abortion
graciekay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Infidelity, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Sexual content, Alcoholism, and Death