Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - Luster

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Luster by Raven Leilani

86 reviews

helenkadetroika's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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caughtbetweenpages's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

What an absolute masterclass of a novel. I am gobsmacked that this is a DEBUT. Before even getting into the content of Luster, I cannot overstate Leilani's mastery of language and the writing craft. She's sparing with her word count but it never feels as though she's leaving out any important descriptions or moments; every sentence counts, and most of them hold a poeticism (albeit, often a bleak one, though one that the Russian Greats would be proud to call their own) that makes them stick with you even after you shut the book.

Edie's struggle to discover herself and "come of age" without yet understanding what her identity is or what she wants it to be feels inevitable given the culmination of factors surrounding her life. Her attempts to find herself in men, in her art, in jobs she's told she's too Black or too promiscuous or not XYZ enough to be part of, are heartbreaking. She is so, desperately lonely. And then, her internal musings about the absurdity of applying to a million dead end jobs to make rent, or about how older men are not necessarily deep so much as they've just lived more life, pull a painful laugh out of you even if you don't want to be amused. If a reader in your life says they they like stories about messy, damaged female leads, put Luster in their hands.

My favorite relationships of this book are between Edie and Rebecca and Edie and Akila. There's a complex dynamic with Rebecca where, while Edie might seem to have some power over Rebecca being the woman that R's husband is having an affair with, Rebecca is by far the one holding Edie's life in her hands. The scene where

Rebecca takes Edie to the punk show and they both get beaten up some in the pit

Rebecca is clearly in control, having chosen to go there herself and being prepared for the violence of the moment, whereas Edie is very much drifting and only there because... well, how can she say no to Rebecca, given that

Rebecca could make her homeless in an instant? As she does later in the book, when she finds out Edie is pregnant!

It's a petty assertion of control, as many of Rebecca's actions are. And yet, Edie is drawn to that in some way, seeking the approval of this older woman whose life is comparatively easy and put together and resilient even to the point of being able to invite her husband's affair partner into her home. And yet! It's clear that Rebecca sees herself as the one who is put upon, the one who is the victim, despite having such control. It's a fascinating dynamic.

And then there's Akila and Edie. In many ways, Akila is who Edie must have been like as a kid--incredibly nerdy, passionate, artistic--and in other ways, she's who Edie is now--lost, a stranger in her own home. Lonely. Black in a context that is deeply unfriendly to Blackness. It was so touching to see Edie nurture Akila, not only protecting her from the racism of the police and her tutor and helping her take care of her natural hair in a way that Akila's (White, Adoptive) parents don't know how to, but in encouraging her art and storytelling and engaging with her on her interests. I think they very much needed each other, and it made it all the worse when

Edie got kicked out of the house and had to leave Akila

and Akila knew about it, and was so matter-of-fact.

This was a difficult book to read, emotionally speaking. But so well worth it.

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koalachlox's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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eilidhbear's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny 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

4.25

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alecrigdon's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Luster is a deeply intimate novel that to read feels like getting sucked into a black hole at the core of the main character's soul. The prose is beautiful and plot frustrating and while it seems to spin in place, defying gravity, I kept returning to find out what happened next, or didn't happen.

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brianareads's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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julianicolls's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I really enjoyed the authors writing at times for this book. And it found it to be engaging. I think i would have liked it less if there was less stream of conscious going on. Definitely a lot of overt vs. covert messaging and writing. I liked the exploration of race, generational trauma, human relationships, and how interpersonal relationships affect sexual desires. I just didn’t find the overall storyline to be very compelling and gripping. Going to do some research and literary analysis and potentially update my review

ADDED: changing from 3.5 to 3.75 stars after doing some analysis and reflecting more on the characters. Would have rated higher if I liked the style of writing

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hannahmayoddy's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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sabmanosa's review against another edition

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dark funny hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I enjoyed this book at the start, then found it tedious, then enjoyed it again. It feels like an extremely personal diary, and the writing is sardonic, dirty, and too honest. I didn’t much care for any of the characters except Akila.

The power and sex dynamics made me very uncomfortable, and I don’t know if the plot had a point, but not necessarily in a bad way. I didn’t learn anything from it, I just experienced the book. I’m interested in reading some of her shorter works, because I feel like I would enjoy them more with her writing style.

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megmahoney1's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The writing in this book is stunning and immersive . This was a fascinating exploration of identity, race, sexuality, family and artistry. Raven Leilani weaves life between the pages of this book and I feel like I’m truly reading to our protagonists thoughts.

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