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seizuredreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
She disturbed my peace from the first word right up until the last. Sure, some people may find some of the crucial topics trite (racism: as it was discussed in the book at how exhausting it is to be Black in PWI spaces *Kanye shrug*), however comma. That aside mc is working out parental issues with a couple she stumbles across. An “open” marriage that may not be as what’s advertised.
Graphic: Addiction, Infidelity, Police brutality, and Abortion
Moderate: Stalking
taylorsevalia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, and Stalking
novella42's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I just need to say... Please don't take this book's depiction of non-monogamy as representative of how to do an ethically open marriage. Holy hell. I feel at a loss to list all the ways Edie and Eric and Rebecca torture each other needlessly. It's a fascinating train wreck to watch, and I found myself looking at my own polycule with renewed gratitude and affection. Leilani doesn't let any of the characters off the hook, and if a lot of their behaviors seem inexplicable to you, well, you won't be alone.
As to the book itself, I appreciated the lyrical, almost psychadelic writing. (If you don't like pose poetry or stream-of-consciousness writing, maybe pass on this one.) Leilani revels in dark Millennial existential dread that kept shocking laughter out of me. She's fantastic at descriptive phrases that catch you off-guard with their originality. I marveled at some of them, their poetic pacing and expansive assumptions, so much I started collecting a list:
"I am suspended in a lurid hypnagogic loop."
"It is impossible to see another black woman on her way up, impossible to see that meticulous, polyglottal origami and not, as a black woman yourself, fall a little bit in love."
"A sudden and swiftly contained conniption."
"Hooked into peripheral intuition."
"The city's breakneck, multilingual carousel."
"Some inconceivable boss-level of concentrated loneliness."
"The bike lanes in Manhattan already terrifying at 11:00 a.m., filled with delivery boys and girls who jet into traffic with fried rice and no reason to live, along with the sentient abdominals who do this for fun."
"The lawn buzzed and alkaline, the vinegar in the wine and carnage in the dew, everywhere the perfume of things that want to live."
I can't imagine what it's like to narrate this as an audiobook, because the rhythm of the words is beautiful and also relentless. Leilani is skilled at pulling you deep into the bewildering internal labyrinth of mental illness and immersive, uncomfortable experiences.
If you carry any traumas, I recommend browsing the full list of content tags. I almost couldn't make it through the scenes with gore and body horror, though Edie's dissociative skills and the eye of an artist made it slightly more bearable. I'm glad I got it in hardcopy instead of audio, so I could skim over difficult dark passages. There were lots of those. I'm not sure why I kept reading, except that I was fascinated. It was hard to look away.
One last thing, a recommendation for anyone who likes disco. I genuinely think one reason I enjoyed this book as much as I did was that in the first 15 pages, Edie references her connection to Idris Muhammad's 1977 song "Could Heaven Ever Be Like This." On a whim, I made a Spotify station out of it and I have to say, it complimented the book and let me surrender to the undertow.
Beautiful writing about broken people living a surreal, twisted story.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Vomit, and Car accident
Minor: Cancer, Rape, Excrement, Stalking, and Abandonment
onion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual content, Medical content, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Stalking, Pregnancy, and War
davidbythebay's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Don't get me wrong, I still have some issues with the story. First of all, it was sometimes disjointed almost in that things just happened and felt like there was no thought behind it by the characters. For example - and this is in the description and not a spoiler - when Edie (our main character) becomes unemployed and invited to live with this family given everything that is knowingly going on here by the parties. It just reads as odd. I get setting aside differences and emotions in an emergency situation, but taking someone in whom you think so little of and then seem to be friends with, back and forth on this endless spectrum of what's going on here.
The writing was absolutely lovely, on the whole. Some things were a little over written (poetic to the point of overdoing it) but mostly it was a pleasant read. One issue I had was, and this is something small, the hipster-vibe of acknowledging and naming the patriarchy/capitalism/what-have-you in the middle of a rant. I just don't like a conversation - and I have actually been privy to these happening in real life and even then they feel staged - where something happens and it is named by the grander concept that it embodies. I know this is a patriarchal matter you are discussing and having opinions on. I don't need to be bluntly slapped by that wet fish.
All of that aside, I enjoyed the writing and liked the story. It touched on several important topics and ideas, but sometimes it dealt with them very briefly and it came across as being dismissive. (I'm talking about the key scene in particular. If you know, you know.) As it stands, it was an enjoyable bit of reading but nothing I really connected with. I may just be done with the whole millennial/Gen Z sarcastic "wokeness" even though I am technically called a millennial/Gen Z. It's something that tends to be blunt and generalized without nuance or tact. Luster did not paint with such a wide indiscriminate brush, but it definitely created some bright strokes.
Better than an average book, but just not my taste. 3.5 Stars
Graphic: Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Abortion, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
bxs's review
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Abortion
Moderate: Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Stalking
elikoch's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
ifersinklings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Excrement, Police brutality, and Abortion