Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Luster by Raven Leilani

125 reviews

csryann's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

If you like books that describe themselves as “raw” then u might like this. I felt like the writing took itself too seriously and overall just wasn’t the type of work I enjoy 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Miscarriage, and Death of parent

heather_harrison's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

3.75

Would recommend for fans of Sally Rooney. Coming of age story that explores gender, relationships, race, identity and mental health. The characters may not be likeable but they’re compelling and complex. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Mental illness

Moderate: Miscarriage, Death of parent, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Self harm

heisiiri's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-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

3.0

I have mixed feelings about this one. I enjoyed a lot of the themes and social commentary, but didn't find the story super compelling. Sometimes I was in awe of a beautifully written scene, sometimes the writing style felt like it just wasn't for me.

I think my main issue with this book was that it's one of those books that are quite depressing and grim, yet it still doesn't hit the feels enough. Like this isn't the kind of book I would cry over. The main character and narrator Edie seems to hold a certain emotional distance to everything that happens in her life, which can be an interesting character trait, but sometimes it also means that the scenes don't really impact the emotions of the reader either. It's a style choice that can really work for some readers, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

The best parts of this book are definitely the relationships between the female characters. I enjoyed the complexity and depth of Akila and Edie's relationship, and some of the scenes between Edie and Rebecca were great as well.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Racism

Minor: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Classism, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Suicide

ahopper7's review

challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.0

The book wasn’t working for me, but once I switched to the audiobook, I was able to get into the story more. The characters are not likeable, but I gather that was on purpose. The story is dark, but the way the author handled how trauma shows up in our lives and vulnerability of discovering yourself including your worth was beautiful. Overall, the book just wasn’t for me, but I appreciate what the author was doing with the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Sexual content, Miscarriage, Abortion, Blood, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Police brutality, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy

Minor: Death of parent and Suicidal thoughts

luisagerdsmeyer's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Police brutality and Suicide

sarafinley's review against another edition

dark emotional tense 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Drug use, Addiction, Abortion, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

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.

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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!

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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

avocadotoastbee's review against another edition

funny reflective tense 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

3.5

Luster by Raven Leilani was not at all what I expected.
Edie, a 23-year-old black woman living and finding her way in New York, tries to fill the void left by her loneliness with sex.
The title "Luster" makes sense in this regard. However, the novel wasn't just about sex and lust. For most of the time, the novel depicts the pain and anguish of each character.

Edie: loneliness, loss of her job and apartment, living with her (much older) lover's family, daddy issues, childhood trauma
Rebecca: marital problems, dealing with her husband's younger lover, not wanting to be a mother but having a child
Eric: substance abuse, marital problems, infertility
Akila: childhood trauma, abandonment issues due to multiple adoptive families, the only black kid in the neighborhood, disordered eating

In some ways I hated all the characters and didn't find them likable, but I could also identify with small parts of each character.
While I loved how Raven Leilani described the dynamics between the characters and Edie's thought processes, I didn't like how stuffed with "internet wisdom" the book was. It felt to me like Leilani was trying to sprinkle a little self-help book vibe into the story.
Also, the power dynamic that results from the massive age difference in Edie and Eric's relationship wasn't romanticized, but it also wasn't portrayed for what it really is. Throughout the book, everyone blamed Edie, but really Edie is a victim of Eric.
At least by the end of the novel, Edie admits this.

"He is the most obvious thing that has ever happened to me, and all around the city it is happening to other silly, half-formed women excited by men who've simply met the prerequisite of living a little more life, a terribly unspecial thing that is just what happens when you keep on getting up and brushing your teeth and going to work and ignoring the whisper that comes to you at night and tells you it would be easier to be dead."

Overall, Luster was a good debut novel that deals with important issues and the life experiences of young black women. I can't wait to see where Raven Leilani is going.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Mental illness

Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Police brutality, Animal death, Abandonment, Eating disorder, Infertility, Abortion, Classism, and Drug abuse

megmahoney1's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

The writing in this book is stunning and immersive . This was a fascinating exploration of identity, race, sexuality, family and artistry. Raven Leilani weaves life between the pages of this book and I feel like I’m truly reading to our protagonists thoughts. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Racism, Car accident, Cursing, Self harm, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use