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A review by lit_terary
Luster by Raven Leilani
4.0
“Luster” is one of the most honest, genuine portrayals of what it means to be a twenty-something girl today. Edie, the main character, is flawed, scarred and lost; she’s got more issues than she can count, she tries to use sex to fill her void; she’s broke, alone and with no safety net - in short, this girl is struggling, and she has been all her life. However, her story is not written in a way that draws in pity from the reader, it’s never too self-indulgent in its portrayal, and there’s always this humorous and witty coat on top of everything that makes it all the more enjoyable and digestible.
Leilani’s great strength was being able to write about tension(s) in such an effective and palpable way. This whole novel is built on tensions between the characters, and they can be personal, social, racial and generational, and the brilliance comes from her being able to mix all of these. What makes these dynamics so taut and on the edge is that they come from unexpressed conflicts. Rarely are things discussed or talked about; so much is left unspoken, but it’s still very much there as characters struggle to maintain balance. There’s almost a fear of saying too much, of stating the obvious, of overstepping the line. I feel like incommunicability is becoming key in these types of contemporary novels, and Leilani has made it justice.
Overall, it was a pretty exceptional debut and I’m so excited to see what Raven Leilani has in store for us.
Leilani’s great strength was being able to write about tension(s) in such an effective and palpable way. This whole novel is built on tensions between the characters, and they can be personal, social, racial and generational, and the brilliance comes from her being able to mix all of these. What makes these dynamics so taut and on the edge is that they come from unexpressed conflicts. Rarely are things discussed or talked about; so much is left unspoken, but it’s still very much there as characters struggle to maintain balance. There’s almost a fear of saying too much, of stating the obvious, of overstepping the line. I feel like incommunicability is becoming key in these types of contemporary novels, and Leilani has made it justice.
Overall, it was a pretty exceptional debut and I’m so excited to see what Raven Leilani has in store for us.