A review by michaelgreenreads
Luster by Raven Leilani

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! 
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