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michaelgreenreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
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
4.5
“I think of all the gods I have made out of feeble men.”
This is a ride! In LUSTER a young Black woman named Edie glides to rock bottom and finds herself in the middle of a couple’s marriage (Literally! She moves in with an older man’s family! 😳). Edie’s relationship with the wife, Rebecca, is beyond tense. WOW.
Does the novel live up to the social media HYPE? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Honestly, too loaded of a question! This novel is funny, brisk, and fascinatingly tense. Sure, its uneven (it’s a debut!), but some people’s reviews on here are ALL or nothing. 😳
What I loved: this book was written in the actual world twenty-somethings live in. Raven Leilani’s protagonist, Edie, is a poor, nerdy voice laughing at the world and honouring its pain points. What other literary fiction about a broken marriage, race, and class ends on an emotional moment at Comic Con? Not many!
Will you like it??? It’s a non-sentimental book with lots of sex that asks you to have empathy for self destruction and loneliness. So... maybe!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
sunpuddles's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
sad
fast-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
4.0
This book is so well-written. The descriptions are vivid and precise, surprising and relatable. I found myself laughing at a brilliant turn of phrase, a simile or metaphor - even when the subject matter was dark. That said, the character development and plot left a bit to be desired. I find myself unable to remember the protagonist name, writing this in the morning after I finish reading the book… I was hoping for more depth to the character or development of a storyline. Not every book needs to be tidy at the end, but I just thought this needed something more to recommend it than the snapshot character study it seemed. I really loved the point of view writing style - The rapidfire descriptions, impressions and thoughts from the Edie were highly entertaining, but did not always lend itself to the best story development. In the end it was like a long short story without a truly fleshed out and memorable story. It is definitely worth the read and I recommend it. I also thought there could be more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, and Toxic relationship
readwithkiks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
read this in one evening. i stumbled into it and proceeded forward with a momentum akin to when you've tripped only slightly, but gravity + your weight + your hunched-over posture leads you to pick up speed and eventually collide with the ground. did that make sense? probably not. i didn't realize how far i had gotten in the book until i had only a chapter left (eBook format binge-reading lends itself to this).
at times, the writing was difficult to get through. some sentences felt too short, like important parts of them were clipped away. others seemed to go on for pages and were hard for me to follow. there were some fantastic, sharp sentiments that seemed so specific to the main character's Zillenial New Yorker perspective. Edie is the type of person who seems aloof, but is really just constantly in her head about everything. she is alone in much of the book, even when she's in the presence of others, she's alone. she regards herself with a level of carelessness that made me want to cry. she personifies this mediocre man in ways that lots of us personify men, projecting onto him an allure and intrigue he doesn't deserve. and yet, she has moments of such cutting clarity.
"He wants me to be myself like a leopard might be herself in a city zoo. Inert, waiting to be fed. Not out in the wild, with tendon in her teeth."
i mean, come on. what a sentence, what an image.
reading this made me feel slightly claustrophobic, or like i was being held underwater. you're seeing into the main character's desires and pain and trauma with such intimacy, it can feel nauseating. Leilani perfectly captures the ways that pleasure can slip into disgust and endearment can slip into repulsion. the lines between those feelings are so blurred. it's uncomfortable to sit with.
*light spoiler ahead*
i will end with another quote from the book that i read over and over. near the end, there's a violent interaction with police officers and Leilani writes:
"I know that the moment between when a black boy is upright and capable of speech and when he is prostrate in his own blood is almost imperceptible, due in great part to the tacit conversation that is happening beyond him, that has happened before him, and that resists his effort to enter it before it concludes."
at times, the writing was difficult to get through. some sentences felt too short, like important parts of them were clipped away. others seemed to go on for pages and were hard for me to follow. there were some fantastic, sharp sentiments that seemed so specific to the main character's Zillenial New Yorker perspective. Edie is the type of person who seems aloof, but is really just constantly in her head about everything. she is alone in much of the book, even when she's in the presence of others, she's alone. she regards herself with a level of carelessness that made me want to cry. she personifies this mediocre man in ways that lots of us personify men, projecting onto him an allure and intrigue he doesn't deserve. and yet, she has moments of such cutting clarity.
"He wants me to be myself like a leopard might be herself in a city zoo. Inert, waiting to be fed. Not out in the wild, with tendon in her teeth."
i mean, come on. what a sentence, what an image.
reading this made me feel slightly claustrophobic, or like i was being held underwater. you're seeing into the main character's desires and pain and trauma with such intimacy, it can feel nauseating. Leilani perfectly captures the ways that pleasure can slip into disgust and endearment can slip into repulsion. the lines between those feelings are so blurred. it's uncomfortable to sit with.
*light spoiler ahead*
i will end with another quote from the book that i read over and over. near the end, there's a violent interaction with police officers and Leilani writes:
"I know that the moment between when a black boy is upright and capable of speech and when he is prostrate in his own blood is almost imperceptible, due in great part to the tacit conversation that is happening beyond him, that has happened before him, and that resists his effort to enter it before it concludes."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence and Violence
ifersinklings's review against another edition
challenging
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
3.0
I have struggled with my thoughts on this book for hours since I finished it. I enjoyed the writing and the way the story was told and how it unfolded, but I just can't figure out what it was supposed to accomplish. There were so many different aspects and nuances to the story that just never felt like anything was given enough time to be fleshed out. Then it ended. It just seemed to end so abruptly without any real resolution. I also struggled with the infidelity as a central theme to this story. That is definitely a personal issue and one that I did know going into this book, but it may have also made me a little bias to the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Abortion, Body shaming, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Infertility, and Police brutality
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.75
I feel like I've seen this book everywhere and luckily it pretty much lived up to the hype for me. I found Leilani's writing style so interesting. It's sharp and darkly funny, featuring very long sentences. The characters don't have many on page conversations and their behaviour often felt surreal, in part because of the way it's written. It's full of insightful observations about race and class and the characters were unlikeable but fascinating.
Edie is a very frustrating character, continuously making bad decisions. The narrative is also very focused in the present and there isn't much reflection on or analysis of her past, leaving you to piece together the possible reasons behind her self-destructive behaviour. I can definitely understand the comparisons to Queenie and Fleabag but I feel like both of those characters learnt and grew more than Edie did. This is more like a glimpse into her life and I still felt worried about her by the end. I just really wanted someone to genuinely be there for her.
Edie is a very frustrating character, continuously making bad decisions. The narrative is also very focused in the present and there isn't much reflection on or analysis of her past, leaving you to piece together the possible reasons behind her self-destructive behaviour. I can definitely understand the comparisons to Queenie and Fleabag but I feel like both of those characters learnt and grew more than Edie did. This is more like a glimpse into her life and I still felt worried about her by the end. I just really wanted someone to genuinely be there for her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion, Alcoholism, Grief, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Animal death
clarafoster's review against another edition
5.0
This book hurts. Like, it really hurts. It is lonely and angry and lovely all at once, rendered with such casual precision that you can't help but watch as it looks back at you and says all the things you are too scared to say but nevertheless know to be true. Leilani's searing, idiosyncratic prose walks you through a few months in the life of her protagonist. By the end, you are at once back where you started and also utterly changed, as is she. I cannot remember the last time a book has made me cry like this has made me cry. I just don't have the words.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Violence, Police brutality, and Suicide
sharese_reads's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Luster by Raven Leilani was a force of a book. I was hesitant to check it out as I had seen some people put it on their list of books that disappointed them. I also had seen some excerpts of the sexual violence included and it made me pause. However, I was offered this book free through Libro.fm when they were doing their local bookstore purchase promo and so I decided that I would listen to it during my daily walks around my neighborhood. It took that place of my dateline and murder, mystery and makeup podcasts.
As this book has been well reviewed many know the plot: the book revolves around Edie who strikes up a sexual relationship with an older man and then moves in with his family (white wife, black adopted daughter) when she loses her job and apartment. What ensues is the dynamics between all of these people, the development and disintegration of relationships between each of them.
Leilani writes from a place and point of view of my own self-absorbed and aware generation, which I appreciate. Her feminist manifesto in the end left me cheering. Her characters, though very flawed, were relatable and the women were well developed (Eric was not but I think that was on purpose). The character development of Edie, her backstory and what made her who she is was thought out and woven into the novel wonderfully. All in all I think the writing, character development and the overall story was well done in a perfectly unsettling way.
As this book has been well reviewed many know the plot: the book revolves around Edie who strikes up a sexual relationship with an older man and then moves in with his family (white wife, black adopted daughter) when she loses her job and apartment. What ensues is the dynamics between all of these people, the development and disintegration of relationships between each of them.
Leilani writes from a place and point of view of my own self-absorbed and aware generation, which I appreciate. Her feminist manifesto in the end left me cheering. Her characters, though very flawed, were relatable and the women were well developed (Eric was not but I think that was on purpose). The character development of Edie, her backstory and what made her who she is was thought out and woven into the novel wonderfully. All in all I think the writing, character development and the overall story was well done in a perfectly unsettling way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion and Violence
amelreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Medical content, Death of parent, and Cursing
Moderate: Vomit, Police brutality, Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Racism, Racial slurs, and Physical abuse
Minor: Body shaming, Gun violence, Animal death, and Cancer
Age gap relationship.capote65's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, and Racism
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Drug use, Violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Animal death and Suicidal thoughts
leahrosereads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Luster is how I like my books sometimes. Dark, shocking and horrific. From the characters and their dynamics to the content, everything about this story was complex and captivating! I'll definitely be picking up more books by the author in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Miscarriage, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Medical content