Critics Review

• A taut, sharp, funny book about being young now. It’s brutal—and brilliant.

  Zadie Smith, author of Swing Time

• 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

• Luster is entirely remarkable, and the most delicious novel I’ve read. I couldn’t get enough of Raven Leilani’s starkly accurate portrayal of the nuances of being a young woman today.

  Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie

• A darkly funny, hilariously moving debut from a stunning new voice. Raven Leilani crafts a beautiful, bighearted story about intimacy and art that will astound and wound you. I couldn’t put this one down.

  Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing Half

• Luster is ridiculously good: gorgeous, dark, and funny, with sentences that’ll wreck you. I will follow this author anywhere she wants to take me.

  Carmen Maria Machado author of In the Dream House

• The narrative voice of this startling novel is layered, complex, pitch-black comic, and deadly earnest, even ardent in its will to sift through the chaos and idiocy of our madhouse culture and find some glimpse of human reality. Raven Leilani has made a truly lustrous piece of art.

  Mary Gaitskill, author of This Is Pleasure

• If you like Normal People, you’ll love Luster . . . a squirm inducing marvel

  Buzzfeed Books

• Raven Leilani’s style is a truly original mix of the new and the wise, of wit and despair. She has poignantly captured the obsession that drives, and often destroys, every true artist. I adored Luster for its honesty and weird beauty.

  Sara Baume, author of Spill Simmer Falter Wither

• A beguiling fever dream of a novel, shot through with wistfulness, humor, and a kind of breathless, furious verve. You’ll find it impossible to put down.

  Ling Ma, author of Severance

• Hilarious, honest, bursting with desire and cutting insight, Luster is absolutely captivating. I didn’t so much read it, as gulp it down. There’s so much to learn here, so much to admire. Leilani is an irreverent, impeccable stylist—a voice we need right now.

  Justin Torres, author of We the Animals

• A coming-of-age story that’s sure to keep you turning pages

  Refinery29

• Spinning fresh commentary on both race and class, tensions in the house rise as Raven Leilani propels her lost protagonist on a darkly funny journey of self-discovery.

  Time

• Raw, racy, and utterly mesmerizing, Luster is among the most dazzling novels of the year, marking the arrival of a major new voice . . . Dreamlike, tender, and big-hearted, Luster is a must-read

  Esquire

• This book is luminous, glorious. From the first sentence I knew there was word-magic here and that I would read any sentence Leilani cares to write. What a marvel.

  Daisy Johnson, author of Everything Under

• I adored this wry, vital, mesmeric novel. In glorious, exhilarating sentences, Leilani crafts a story that is both deeply moving and brimming with originality and insight.

  Megan Hunter, author of The Harpy

• Luster is a headlong carousel of a novel. With liquid prose and a painter’s eye for colour, texture and light, Luster grapples vigorously with what it means to make art in a world pumping out racism-induced cortisol.

  Naoise Dolan, author of Exciting Times

• Luster is as close to perfect a book as you’ll read this year. I promise you – Raven Leilani is about to become your new obsession.

  Louise O'Neill, author of Asking For It

• This debut novel has been getting a lot of press, and Ariel Blake’s narration of the audiobook could well add to the buzz. There is a universal appeal to 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