Luster - Raven Leilani

Luster

By Raven Leilani

  • Release Date: 2020-08-04
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
Score: 3.5
3.5
From 516 Ratings

Description

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

WINNER of the NBCC John Leonard Prize, the Kirkus Prize, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize, and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award

One of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2020
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, The New York Times Book Review, O Magazine, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times, Glamour, Shondaland, Boston Globe, and many more!

"So delicious that it feels illicit . . . Raven Leilani’s first novel reads like summer: sentences like ice that crackle or melt into a languorous drip; plot suddenly, wildly flying forward like a bike down a hill." —Jazmine Hughes, The New York Times Book Review

No one wants what no one wants.
And how do we even know what we want? How do we know we’re ready to take it?

Edie is stumbling her way through her twenties—sharing a subpar apartment in Bushwick, clocking in and out of her admin job, making a series of inappropriate sexual choices. She is also haltingly, fitfully giving heat and air to the art that simmers inside her. And then she meets Eric, a digital archivist with a family in New Jersey, including an autopsist wife who has agreed to an open marriage—with rules.

As if navigating the constantly shifting landscapes of contemporary sexual manners and racial politics weren’t hard enough, Edie finds herself unemployed and invited into Eric’s home—though not by Eric. She becomes a hesitant ally to his wife and a de facto role model to his adopted daughter. Edie may be the only Black woman young Akila knows.

Irresistibly unruly and strikingly beautiful, razor-sharp and slyly comic, sexually charged and utterly absorbing, Raven Leilani’s Luster is a portrait of a young woman trying to make sense of her life—her hunger, her anger—in a tumultuous era. It is also a haunting, aching description of how hard it is to believe in your own talent, and the unexpected influences that bring us into ourselves along the way.

“An irreverent intergenerational tale of race and class that’s blisteringly smart and fan-yourself sexy.” —Michelle Hart, O: The Oprah Magazine

Reviews

  • Wow!

    5
    By laplayia
    Couldn’t put this down! I found it funny and similar to the vibes of Insecure, as a 20 something trying to navigate the pleasure spectrum of today.
  • A different kind of read

    3
    By PrettyMajor
    Great story. Truly relatable for the young girl with an old soul. The writing is different and at times hard to keep up with.
  • Incredibly strange

    3
    By Coral7788
    I didn’t hate it. But I didn’t like it very much either. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone I know.
  • Luster

    2
    By Rio. Rita
    Mundane..trudging through.
  • Lackluster and wordy

    1
    By Nessiethefoodie
    It started out well, but then went adrift into long, meaningless monologues. It was at times boring and I couldn’t wait to finish it. Very predictable character adaptation of the lonely white guy who objectifies black women and the stupid, typical suburban body conscious wife . The kicker was a black child , really!! that was the worst ; a figurine not without the unruly hair that her white mother could handle; this was awful representation. I wouldn’t recommend this book .
  • It was okay

    2
    By idreamofprada
    The author was a little too descriptive about EVERYTHING!!! The ending was not good in my opinion. It’s honestly about a young girl in her 20’s finding herself while staying with a married couple (she sleeps with the married man) and a adopted kid. It’s weird to me.
  • Nothing feels settled

    4
    By Lanski12345
    I can’t tell if that’s a good or bad thing
  • 👍

    5
    By Daniel s (and stefanie)
    Poetic and perceptive and so so darkly funny. I held by breath while reading many many times.
  • Disappointing

    1
    By ygigrl
    Disappointing. I did not like the writers style. The main character was portrayed in such a dysfunctional manner. The language utilized was vulgar and unnecessary. The storyline was weak. Struggled to maintain interest. I gave up half way thru.
  • Rough read

    1
    By AMQ:AMQ
    Felt obligated to finish bc I spent $15 on the download. I did not like the author’s writing style, the story, the characters or the ending.

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