Raven Leilani's Books

Luster

A Novel

By: Raven Leilani

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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

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Page Count

240

Publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published Date

ISBN 10

0374910332

ISBN 13

9780374910334

Luster

By: Raven Leilani

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Luster

By: Raven Leilani

A taut, sharp, funny book about being young now. It's brutal-and brilliant.' Zadie Smith WINNER OF THE KIRKUS PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020 LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2021 Meet Edie. Edie is not okay. She's messing up in her dead-end admin job in her all white office, is sleeping with all the wrong men, and has failed at the only thing that meant anything to her, painting. No one seems to care that she doesn't really know what she's doing with her life beyond looking for her next hook-up. And then she meets Eric, a white, middle-aged archivist with a suburban family, including a wife who has sort-of-agreed to an open marriage and an adopted black daughter who doesn't have a single person in her life who can show her how to do her hair. As if navigating the constantly shifting landscape of sexual and racial politics as a young, black woman wasn't already hard enough, with nowhere else left to go, Edie finds herself falling headfirst into Eric's home and family. Razor sharp. provocatively page-turning and surprisingly tender, Luster is a painfully funny coming-of-age story told by a fresh new voice. ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2020 PRAISE FOR LUSTER 'Remarkable, the most delicious novel I've read.' Candice Carty-Williams, bestselling author of Queenie 'Raven Leilani is a writer of unusual daring, with a voice that is unique and fully formed. There is humor, intelligence, emotion, and power in her work. I cannot think of a writer better suited to capture our contemporary moment.' Katie Kitamura, author of A Separation 'Among the most exciting releases of 2020-a lively, unforgettable coming-of-age story . . . Leilani brings painterly precision to each stunning sentence, making for an exacting, darkly comic story of a gifted yet wayward young woman learning to believe in her own talent.' Esquire 'Narrated with fresh and wry jadedness, Edie's every disappointment [is] rendered with a comic twist . . . Edie's life is a mess, her past is filled with sorrow, she's wasting her precious youth, and yet, reading about it all is a whole lot of fun.' Vogue 'Darkly funny with wicked insight . . . This keenly observed, dynamic debut is so cutting, it almost stings.' Elle 'I was blown away by this debut novel . . . It is exquisite.' Dolly Alderton, bestselling author of Everything I Know About Love 'Smart and satirical about everything from the gig economy to racism in publishing to the inner politics of families' Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room and The Pull of the Stars

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Page Count

209

Publisher

Picador

Published Date

ISBN 10

1760983217

ISBN 13

9781760983215

Luster

A Novel

By: Raven Leilani

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Luster

A Novel

By: Raven Leilani

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

240

Publisher

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published Date

ISBN 10

0374910332

ISBN 13

9780374910334

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