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lindseyhall44's review against another edition
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
joanacanada's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Narrativa com potencial, que desperta curiosidade do que vai acontecer na vida das personagens, mas senti que não chegava a haver esse momento, que não houve fim/propósito na história.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Abortion
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide
alessaaa38's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
3.75
This book made me feel uncomfortable and confused, but it made me feel something. Not often can books make you have such a strong feeling.
The lengthy run on sentences catered to the main character's delusion (not the right word) and really helped it build her.
The lengthy run on sentences catered to the main character's delusion (not the right word) and really helped it build her.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual violence, Abortion, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide
slascano's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-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 book really surprised me. I thought it would be filled with sex because of the plot description. I was ready to stop reading it because I wasn’t looking for that but it was a very small part of it. Insight into a 20 something black woman who is searching for her identity and self worth. Really good book that leaves you valuing all the characters and their role in influencing the plot.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Infidelity, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Misogyny
The triggers are not explicit or graphic just presentnovella42's review against another edition
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
bookedbykiki's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.25
Personal, introspective, and uncomfortable is how I would describe this novel. Edie is so hyper aware of her flaws it can be frustrating.
Edie’s relationships with the men in her life are toxic, demeaning, and lack emotional intimacy or depth. Being so insecure, it was interesting to see what different men brought out in her, or maybe it’s more that they cultivated it in her.
Edie, Eric, and Rebecca are seemingly trying to hurt and using each other for personal gain. The ending was unexpected and leaved me wanting more, but I don’t think in a bad way. The plot seems to take more of a back seat to the characters flaws and interpersonal relationships.
I really want to take time to highlight the writing style, it’s fluid like an continuous stream of consciousness. There’s a sense of existential dread but frustration with the character often making choices that were guaranteed to have painful and messy consequences.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Addiction and Violence
ashleyxx8's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Miscarriage
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Mental illness
Moderate: Miscarriage, Death of parent, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Self harm
archiveofrasa's review against another edition
reflective
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
5.0
I have so much love for this book I can't even form proper words that'll do it justice
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Miscarriage
Moderate: Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, and Abortion
dee_hzz's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Medical content, Abortion, Alcohol, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, Addiction, Miscarriage, and Violence