Raven Leilani

Laura Ibáñez

Brillo / Luster

Luster

Gelaine Trinidad

The plot intrigued me and made me want to pick up the book. However, after the first few chapters, I just couldn't get into it. The main character reminded me of those from books such as Queenie, Such a Fun Age, and My Year of Rest and Relaxation. She is a 23-year old artist trying to find success in her field while working a job she doesn't like. In addition to being a broke millennial living in a non-ideal New York City apartment, she finds herself in a complicated relationship with an older man who happens to be in an open relationship with his wife. This book is dark. There are scenes involving violence, suicide, drug abuse, abortion, and cadavers. You can feel the humidity and smell the city of New York with Raven's writing. When she finds herself living with the husband and his wife... things happen; not interesting things, but things nonetheless. This book is like an observation of characters and relationships. Normally, that concept interests me. However, in this case, I felt like things were progressing in a very slow and off-putting way. There is no build up of anything. Raven's writing is smart, but it's maybe too smart for me. I'm sure she's getting at something with this novel, but I'm not quite sure it comes out as clear as she'd like. This novel is melodramatic with an unsatisfying ending. I guess the main thing I like about this book is the main character's sureness of herself. She is honest about her pretend aloofness, her need to appease mediocre men and be degraded in return. There is something so lonely about the main character as evidenced by her decisions and reactions to things happening in her life. Give this a try if you're into contemporary novels involving a masochistic millennial artist and New York City.

Brillo / Luster

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