Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Luster

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

enoemo's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective 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

4.5

Read this in two sittings, and I really liked it. The story is a bit absurd and yet amazingly human at the same time, and touches on so many important topics alongside the main plotline.

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monalyisha's review

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adventurous challenging dark reflective 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

3.75

I waited too long to review this novel. But what stands out, above all else, is that the prose is captivating & full. I started out thinking I was going to LOVE it…but the weight & unexpected pattern of the sentences lost me partway through and I ended up just really liking it, instead. It’s about a young, unsuccessful Black artist who gets involved with a couple in an open marriage. When she loses her job, she unexpectedly moves in with her lover, his wife, & their adopted, Black daughter.

I liked that the text felt modern, & culturally (& pop culturally) relevant. I loved that Rebecca, the wife, totally upends expectations for what you’d expect a woman in her situation to be like. She’s sharp, edgy, & kind of dark; she’s trying, & failing - but that doesn’t mean that she’s always (or even often!) likable. And, it’s not really about her. At all! 🙈 She’s not even the main character. I’m not trying to center a white woman in a Black woman’s story. I just found her so deeply strange that I can’t help but focus on her.

What this story *is* about is the following: Art, privilege, using people, class, racism, sex, pleasure, casual violence, isolation, failure, mediocrity, evolution, & growing up (even - & especially - when you’re already grown).

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davidbythebay's review

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challenging emotional funny tense 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

3.5

At the start of this book I kept thinking "I'm not a prude, but I am clutching my pearls!" Trust me when I say I am FAR from being squeamish about intimate escapades. But I was still, somehow, shocked by the frankness of the main character. As I read on, I realized what was really gnawing at me was her frankness. She almost sounded like she had already given up and was just an automaton moving about. And I think that was part of the point. As I read, the book grew on me and I really ended up liking it by the end.

Don't get me wrong, I still have some issues with the story. First of all, it was sometimes disjointed almost in that things just happened and felt like there was no thought behind it by the characters. For example - and this is in the description and not a spoiler - when Edie (our main character) becomes unemployed and invited to live with this family given everything that is knowingly going on here by the parties. It just reads as odd. I get setting aside differences and emotions in an emergency situation, but taking someone in whom you think so little of and then seem to be friends with, back and forth on this endless spectrum of what's going on here.

The writing was absolutely lovely, on the whole. Some things were a little over written (poetic to the point of overdoing it) but mostly it was a pleasant read. One issue I had was, and this is something small, the hipster-vibe of acknowledging and naming the patriarchy/capitalism/what-have-you in the middle of a rant. I just don't like a conversation - and I have actually been privy to these happening in real life and even then they feel staged - where something happens and it is named by the grander concept that it embodies. I know this is a patriarchal matter you are discussing and having opinions on. I don't need to be bluntly slapped by that wet fish.

All of that aside, I enjoyed the writing and liked the story. It touched on several important topics and ideas, but sometimes it dealt with them very briefly and it came across as being dismissive. (I'm talking about the key scene in particular. If you know, you know.) As it stands, it was an enjoyable bit of reading but nothing I really connected with. I may just be done with the whole millennial/Gen Z sarcastic "wokeness" even though I am technically called a millennial/Gen Z. It's something that tends to be blunt and generalized without nuance or tact. Luster did not paint with such a wide indiscriminate brush, but it definitely created some bright strokes.

Better than an average book, but just not my taste. 3.5 Stars

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avacate9's review

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emotional 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

4.25

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ejsreads's review

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dark emotional 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

3.5

Darker themes and humor than I would typically go for with very unlikeable characters, IMO. However, the writing style is. absolutely. genius.

3.5/5 stars only because it was difficult for me to sympathize with the characters, plotline, and thematic elements (which I personally deem as bizarre emptiness à la "millennial fiction").
Nevertheless, Lelani's prose is incredibly captivating and deeply human albeit grotesque at times.

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dorsetreader's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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cpskee's review

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challenging dark fast-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An uncomfortable read, to be sure, but one that is well-written. Edie and the characters make poor decisions, and she seems to always be positioning herself in relation to others' feelings and whims, floating along to their current. Peppered throughout with amazing vocab I didn't know. <Spoiler> I wasn't expecting the pregnancy /miscarriage plot, though the repeated mentions of his sterility should have perhaps been an indicator. Also, I have more questions than answers about the relationship with Rebecca, the mom. It feels like there was the intimation of a desire there?!? so many questions

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