A review by lit_laugh_luv
Luster by Raven Leilani

2.0

Leilani is a talented writer and I think Edie was a well-realized character. I didn't find the plot premise particularly engaging - it was borderline surrealism with how unrealistic a lot of the scenarios and reactions were? The relationships between characters are all quite surface level and there is plenty of plot points I would have liked to see further developed. The book highlights important issues surrounding race, but didn't examine them as deeply as I'd hoped for. I'd read future works by Leilani given her writing stands out, but this particular plot wasn't for me.

And when I am alone with myself, this is what I am waiting for someone to do to me, with merciless, deliberate hands, to put me down onto the canvas so that when I'm gone, there will be a record, proof that I was here.