Luster

A Novel

By: Raven Leilani

Narrated by: Ariel Blake

"There is a universal appeal to [Narrator Ariel] Blake's performance as Edie, a protagonist who may be her own worst antagonist. Blake's delivery has an immensely human, relatable quality that makes the listener want the best for Edie as she struggles to make her way in the world." -- AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2020
NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER
LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER
WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

"Ariel Blake narrates, expertly inhabiting Edie’s knowing and analytical tone, and revelling in the writer’s winding sentences and caustic one-liners." --The Guardian

“Exacting, hilarious, and deadly . . . A writer of exhilarating freedom and daring.” —Zadie Smith, Harper’s Bazaar

"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

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

Excellent story. I listened to it in one night.

Well written and well narrated! I enjoyed every moment!!! I hope there will be more novels to come in the future.

Raw and Relatable

Raven Leilani is a fantastic writer with bold imagery and moving story. She captures the angst and insecurity of a 23 year old woman and layers beautifully the extra challenges of being 23 and black in the same body. Heartbreaking and tragic but I can't stop pulling for the protagonist and it also feels a bit triumphant. She beautifully captures how grey the world is in a very realistic and relatable way that leaves you breathless how the same events can be both ordinary and extraordinary.

Must read

This book is just ... exactly what I needed — it is as honest as it is hopeful. You artists and writers should read this immediately.

Takes On Challenging Issues

Ambitious effort. Well worth the time. Lovely twists on usual approaches to issues of "finding"oneself.

Supremely well-written and a great read, narration needs work

I love the story. I am a university student majoring in creative writing, and I can clearly see with my unpracticed eyes how well this story is crafted. I would recommend for any woman, but particularly black women and girls, who may find something of themselves in the main character. Most profoundly I love how this books explores how the desire to create can be mistaken for physical desire.
The narration of this version has patches of corrections that were not worked in very well, which I've never noticed in any other Audible books. Otherwise awesome story and good narration overall.