A review by mmcloe
Luster by Raven Leilani

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A very tight and mean and gorgeous novel. It's got me thinking a lot about how we represent ourselves and present ourselves for/through other people, especially our romantic and interpersonal relationships. The novel is, to me, about spectatorship and artist-audience relationships and the blurring of those lines as well as confounding what we mean by "art." I think these themes tease out very smartly the way that Gen Z process intersecting race/class/gender/sexual identities in whatever hell-stage of capitalism we're currently in. A novel for the 2020s, definitely.

Also, Leilani's prose is just masterful. I love how light and bouncy and observant and satirical it is. 
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