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A review by iiitsmarissaaa
Luster by Raven Leilani
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
4.5
I finished Luster in November, and it really left me with all the emotions. I picked this book up from a recommendation for people who like Sally Rooney and I found it to be a somewhat accurate recommendation. Messy characters?? Yes. Stressful situations? Yup. Unique prose? For sure!
A simple version of what the book is about: A painfully honest book about Edie, a 23 year old Black woman, lost in life and stumbling into a white couple’s “open” marriage.
The book is mainly character driven, following Edie, a 20 something year old just trying to survive. The book begins with her living in Bushwick, New York, struggling in her publishing job and barely making ends meet. She’s really an artist and feeling unfulfilled by her life. And then she’s suddenly let go from her job because of her reputation at work. I saw someone write that’s she’s a character where life happens to her, and I think that’s an accurate depiction.
Meanwhile Edie starts dating Eric, a middle aged, white, married man (who is now in an open marriage), with an adopted preteen Black girl (Akila), and lives in a upper class neighborhood in New Jersey. Once Edie looses her job, she unexpectedly is invited to live with his family, but is invited to do so by his wife, Rebecca. Things are very different in this predominantly white, upper class neighborhood for Edie. On top of this she’s now spending her time navigating her relationship with Rebecca and Akila. Akila is one of the few Black girls in the neighborhood, and Edie is one of the only Black adults she knows. Things are awkward and uncomfortable and WEIRD. There were so many interesting points around messy people, bad decisions, mental health, misogynoir, class, sexuality, plus much more.
As mentioned, there’s for sure some weird and unrealistic (truly unhinged) scenes that I really had to suspend my disbelief for. Edie was unlikeable and making questionable decisions. She truly was a mess, but I had a fondness for her. And to be fair, Eric and Rebecca were just as messy, if not more so. And that’s what made it so engaging - I couldn’t look away from the ugly reality of these characters. They were all such creepy and strange characters. I was honestly so worried throughout the novel about what was gonna happen. So while at times it got weird or the pacing and prose was slow, my desire to see where the characters and their relationships were going kept me reading the book. I truly felt every emotion while reading this.
The downside to the book is that there was a constant play into negative stereotypes about Black women’s experiences. And I saw many reviews discussing their dislike for the way it was written into the narrative. Plus some of the strange scenes often felt like I was reading a horror, which as I mentioned made me have to suspend my disbelief and took me out of the story.
If you’ve read the book, please discuss with me!! This is for sure a book that needs to be discussed!
A simple version of what the book is about: A painfully honest book about Edie, a 23 year old Black woman, lost in life and stumbling into a white couple’s “open” marriage.
The book is mainly character driven, following Edie, a 20 something year old just trying to survive. The book begins with her living in Bushwick, New York, struggling in her publishing job and barely making ends meet. She’s really an artist and feeling unfulfilled by her life. And then she’s suddenly let go from her job because of her reputation at work. I saw someone write that’s she’s a character where life happens to her, and I think that’s an accurate depiction.
Meanwhile Edie starts dating Eric, a middle aged, white, married man (who is now in an open marriage), with an adopted preteen Black girl (Akila), and lives in a upper class neighborhood in New Jersey. Once Edie looses her job, she unexpectedly is invited to live with his family, but is invited to do so by his wife, Rebecca. Things are very different in this predominantly white, upper class neighborhood for Edie. On top of this she’s now spending her time navigating her relationship with Rebecca and Akila. Akila is one of the few Black girls in the neighborhood, and Edie is one of the only Black adults she knows. Things are awkward and uncomfortable and WEIRD. There were so many interesting points around messy people, bad decisions, mental health, misogynoir, class, sexuality, plus much more.
As mentioned, there’s for sure some weird and unrealistic (truly unhinged) scenes that I really had to suspend my disbelief for. Edie was unlikeable and making questionable decisions. She truly was a mess, but I had a fondness for her. And to be fair, Eric and Rebecca were just as messy, if not more so. And that’s what made it so engaging - I couldn’t look away from the ugly reality of these characters. They were all such creepy and strange characters. I was honestly so worried throughout the novel about what was gonna happen. So while at times it got weird or the pacing and prose was slow, my desire to see where the characters and their relationships were going kept me reading the book. I truly felt every emotion while reading this.
The downside to the book is that there was a constant play into negative stereotypes about Black women’s experiences. And I saw many reviews discussing their dislike for the way it was written into the narrative. Plus some of the strange scenes often felt like I was reading a horror, which as I mentioned made me have to suspend my disbelief and took me out of the story.
If you’ve read the book, please discuss with me!! This is for sure a book that needs to be discussed!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Police brutality