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bookish_sabrina's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Luster is another installment in the genre of millennial women struggling through their twenties. These novels often feature characters who are messy, making a series of extremely bad, potentially harmful, decisions. While this is true for Luster, it goes deeper. Often these novels feature self-loathing protagonists, but neglect to go beyond the recognition of flaws into something more introspective, or even transformative. In this novel, get to see Edie grapple and reflect, going beyond the acknowledgement and into some semblance of change, even if there are detours along the way. I also really liked how this novel confronts ideas of casual racism and privilege, which has been largely absent in the comparable titles I've read.
I find it interesting that this novel is written in first-person present tense. It gives the prose a lot of momentum, particularly in Leilani's long sentences. They start off innocuous and then suddenly slam you into bitter truths about Edie's past, as well as observations and critiques on society, with a particular focus on racism and misogyny. This novel is propulsive. It is a quick read despite how uncomfortable and upsetting some of the subject matter and scenes are. The present perspective also gives us great insight into Edie, and how she is unable to see herself in the future and is unwilling to dwell too much on her past.
There's no question that Leilani is an excellent writer. I found her characters to be well-rounded. It is funny and insightful. However, I don't think it is perfect. Sometimes, debut novels burst at their seams a bit; it feels like the author is trying to put too many ideas into one book. I think this is the case with Luster. I also found that some of her struggles felt a little too on the nose. I'm specifically thinking about Edie's interview at the clown college and her inability to properly paint a satisfactory self-portrait.
I'm glad I finally read this hyped novel. I didn't love it as much as some, but I also acknowledge that this book wasn't written for me, and I'm glad that others are loving it so much.
I find it interesting that this novel is written in first-person present tense. It gives the prose a lot of momentum, particularly in Leilani's long sentences. They start off innocuous and then suddenly slam you into bitter truths about Edie's past, as well as observations and critiques on society, with a particular focus on racism and misogyny. This novel is propulsive. It is a quick read despite how uncomfortable and upsetting some of the subject matter and scenes are. The present perspective also gives us great insight into Edie, and how she is unable to see herself in the future and is unwilling to dwell too much on her past.
There's no question that Leilani is an excellent writer. I found her characters to be well-rounded. It is funny and insightful. However, I don't think it is perfect. Sometimes, debut novels burst at their seams a bit; it feels like the author is trying to put too many ideas into one book. I think this is the case with Luster. I also found that some of her struggles felt a little too on the nose. I'm specifically thinking about Edie's interview at the clown college and her inability to properly paint a satisfactory self-portrait.
I'm glad I finally read this hyped novel. I didn't love it as much as some, but I also acknowledge that this book wasn't written for me, and I'm glad that others are loving it so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Racism
Minor: Animal death, Death, Grief, Infertility, and Police brutality
honeybeatslibrary's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I didn't hate this book, but it didn't like the lead character. It was literally like reading a train wreck. Edie--a young 20 something struggling with loneliness, some clear emotional trauma, and the trappings of being a confused young person makes poor life choice after poor life choice. I wanted to root for her, but she doesn't do anything that really merits that. It was a WILD....and interesting ride.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Racism
leahrosereads's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Luster is how I like my books sometimes. Dark, shocking and horrific. From the characters and their dynamics to the content, everything about this story was complex and captivating! I'll definitely be picking up more books by the author in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Miscarriage, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Racial slurs, Police brutality, and Medical content
kflv's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Violence
Minor: Animal death
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