Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

Luster by Raven Leilani

56 reviews

whatannikareads's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

wowowowowow. so i can see why people hate this book, but i personally loved it, and i like how polarizing the book can make its audience. i was so absorbed the whole time. the writing is sharp and captivating. while none of the characters are particularly likable (except maybe akila, although imo she's not written to be obviously likable), there are some really real, relatable moments leilani incorporates to make the characters all feel tangible. and there is some really beautiful, poetic commentary of edie's world around her, despite the fact that it's mostly bleak and unforgiving. sometimes i think the book veers into lengthy descriptions (particularly during comic con) that doesn't contribute to the plot, but overall it is tight and to the point. it's a book i actually feel compelled to look through again bc there felt like there were so many little nuances and subtleties i could've missed. this could be used in classes for picking apart and analyzing for more depth. i really enjoyed this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Medical content, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

alireadsbooks's review

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Eating disorder

bookish_sabrina's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Luster is another installment in the genre of millennial women struggling through their twenties. These novels often feature characters who are messy, making a series of extremely bad, potentially harmful, decisions. While this is true for Luster, it goes deeper. Often these novels feature self-loathing protagonists, but neglect to go beyond the recognition of flaws into something more introspective, or even transformative. In this novel, get to see Edie grapple and reflect, going beyond the acknowledgement and into some semblance of change, even if there are detours along the way. I also really liked how this novel confronts ideas of casual racism and privilege, which has been largely absent in the comparable titles I've read.

I find it interesting that this novel is written in first-person present tense. It gives the prose a lot of momentum, particularly in Leilani's long sentences. They start off innocuous and then suddenly slam you into bitter truths about Edie's past, as well as observations and critiques on society, with a particular focus on racism and misogyny. This novel is propulsive. It is a quick read despite how uncomfortable and upsetting some of the subject matter and scenes are. The present perspective also gives us great insight into Edie, and how she is unable to see herself in the future and is unwilling to dwell too much on her past.

There's no question that Leilani is an excellent writer. I found her characters to be well-rounded. It is funny and insightful. However, I don't think it is perfect. Sometimes, debut novels burst at their seams a bit; it feels like the author is trying to put too many ideas into one book. I think this is the case with Luster. I also found that some of her struggles felt a little too on the nose. I'm specifically thinking about Edie's interview at the clown college and her inability to properly paint a satisfactory self-portrait.

I'm glad I finally read this hyped novel. I didn't love it as much as some, but I also acknowledge that this book wasn't written for me, and I'm glad that others are loving it so much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Racism

Minor: Animal death, Death, Grief, Infertility, and Police brutality

clem's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Drug use, Medical content, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Eating disorder

Minor: Police brutality and Miscarriage

mfeldma3's review

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

oh....my god

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

latisha's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

One of the best books I’ve read in years.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage

Minor: Alcoholism, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship