Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Luster by Raven Leilani

89 reviews

literarylion's review

dark emotional funny reflective 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

4.5

Pros:

• Absolutely staggeringly gorgeous writing
• Rich social commentary that is not didactic or patronizing
• Vivid rendering of characters 

Cons:

• Plot weaved around a bit, not really cohering, but that is to be expected from a character study like this

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage and Racism

Minor: Abortion, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Medical content, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Suicide

toofondofbooks_'s review

dark emotional funny sad tense 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

4.25

The first thing I absolutely have to say about this book is that the writing is beautiful. There is a sense of realism to every page of the book that really makes the story believable. Edie is a painfully raw and real protagonist with a strong narrative voice that I thoroughly enjoyed, I just wish that she, as a character, loved herself as much as I love her. The book follows her as she tries to navigate her life and relationship with a married older man. A relationship that only becomes more complicated when Edie loses her job and is invited into his home by her paramour's wife. Another character that I really enjoyed apart from Edie was Akila, her lover's adopted daughter.

As for drawbacks to this book, I think that more could have happened in the second half and I'm surprised that it didn't. There was a stretch of pages where it seemed like not much of anything was happening, and though I was never *bored* exactly, I was waiting for the pace to pick up.

Overall, this was a really great, quick read, and if you've been thinking about picking it up, here's your sign!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infertility, Murder, Vomit, and War

Minor: Religious bigotry

demo's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Racism, Blood, Medical content, and Death

Moderate: Police brutality, Abortion, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Vomit, Self harm, and Drug use

Minor: Animal death

culown's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

annie_122's review

dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Blood, Excrement, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death and Medical content

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Racism

elikoch's review

challenging emotional tense 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Racism, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Medical content, Infidelity, Infertility, Gun violence, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, and Abortion

a_reader_of_book's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

3.25

"Luster" was a confusing read for me. I don't mean that the plot or story was difficult to follow. I just couldn't tell if I liked the book while I was reading it, but by the end, I believe I liked it. "Luster" was the story of a young, poor, black woman's relationship with an older, white, wealthy, married man. But it's also more than that, because it's also about her relationship with herself. Edie is struggling to find her place within herself and in her life. She wants to be an artist, but she struggles to find any talent or truth within her work. She wants to be in a relationship, but she hates who she is and how she acts once she's in one. My favorite parts of the book were between Edie and Akila and Edie and Rebecca. I think this novel really highlighted the importance of female friendships, or even just female-female interactions, and how the most seemingly simple exchanges can bring about deep insight. Raven Leilani does have a very complex writing style that prompted me to mark a few lines I thought were very jarring, honest, and nearly poetic. While I struggled through some sections of the book, I found hope to keep reading in some really beautifully worded sentences. Overall, I'm glad I read it. Not a lot happens, and no character is really likeable, but "Luster" has its moments. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Medical content

Moderate: Sexual violence and Blood

Minor: Abortion and Police brutality

leah_alexandra's review

challenging emotional reflective fast-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

5.0

I got this from the library, and was so stunned by it that I might just go out and buy a copy to keep. I thought this was a 4-star book for the first third or so, and then it just ramps right up. The writing is phenomenal, the characters are believable, the emotions are acute. Everything is rendered so finely. Leilani writes sentences that are unique and clearly her own, that a lesser writer would have struggled to make come off so naturally. Nothing felt forced, everything is felt deeply. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

Minor: Animal death, Car accident, Racial slurs, and Infidelity

sl680's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

blessing_aj's review

adventurous challenging dark funny reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Medical content, Police brutality, Self harm, and Suicide