Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Luster by Raven Leilani

104 reviews

lilyblum's review against another edition

3.0

This book was nothing like how I had imagined it to be. I thought it was going to be spicey, steamy and chaotic, however, it was depressing, messy and tense. 
I felt so sorry for Edie and I would not have been able to handle her life circumstances. So in a sense this book was written so well that it made me feel a lot, even if negative emotions. Edie reminded me of that one woman in Cleopatra and Frankenstein and the dreamlike story telling of the one in Hot Milk. Messy, flawed and broken female characters seem to be on my radar lately. I despised Eric and felt ambiguous about Rebecca -as you are supposed to probably- but felt so much gentleness for Akila. 
A short and confusing read, not sure if I’d recommend it but definitely look up trigger warnings in advance!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Pregnancy

charliedon's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicide, and Abortion

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Police brutality

jennireadsmaybe's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad tense slow-paced

• 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

I read Luster as apart of my local in person book club. I'm still not certain how I feel about it. Leilani's prose is certainly my favorite part of the book because it oscillated between laugh out loud hilarious, gut-punchingly relatable, and outright hurtful at some points. I also enjoyed Edie's entire early twenty-something struggle in life, because most books I've read featuring twenty-somethings are not as honest with the struggle. If you're into literary fiction/trauma porn/not-completely-likable characters I would recommend this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, and Abortion

victorsbookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Police brutality, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Abortion, and War

thatsssorachael's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, and Abortion

al_davies's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

kjofalltrades's review against another edition

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

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Abortion, and Alcohol

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, and Drug use

jujuwithbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol

scarroll178's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.75

The writing is beautiful and thought provoking. I loved the relationship between Edie and Akilah. It was interesting watching Edie’s relationships with Eric and Rebecca change as the story went on. 

The only reason I didn’t rate it 5 stars was that the ending felt a bit anticlimactic. That was probably the author’s intention, but I just can’t understand why Rebecca ran away after seeing Edie’s painting. I really thought the draw they felt for each other would culminate into something more. 

Side note: Can you believe Rebecca shot that dog??

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

abmochapman's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

If Luster is the portrait of a woman, then it is one with so many conflicting strokes that it is not easy to make out, to see it all together as one whole. At twenty-three, Edie is entirely unsure of herself and what she wants. Her life feels out of control so she just lets it happen to her, seeming to relish the moments when it inches closer to an end. There is no neat plot. She is directionless. It is difficult to read but also difficult to look away. 

As a main character, Edie is dizzying. Her decisions, and the decisions of the people around her, are very frequently erratic and inexplicable. This makes a lot of sense for where she is in her life (that is, stumbling around) but it feels kind of strange for the older couple in whose relationship she has become entangled. There’s also so much fruitless internal monologue. The author’s generous use of metaphors and run-on-sentences is sometimes striking and poetic but oftentimes pretentious and incomprehensible. 

At the end of the book, I feel like the narrative has barely moved forward. Maybe that’s just the reality of such a situation. This is a the story of a young woman struggling to get anywhere. The moments Edie shares with the wife, Rebecca, and the daughter, Akila, feel the most meaningful but I almost feel like they are still not fully developed. With such a slow build-up to an abrupt end, I am left wanting much more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Self harm

Minor: Animal death