Luster

Author Raven Leilani
Narrator Ariel Blake
Publisher Pan Macmillan
Run Time 6 hours and 39 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Family life fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction, Narrative theme: Love and relationships, Narrative theme: Social issues.

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Razor sharp, provocatively page-turning and surprisingly tender, Luster by Raven Leilani is a painfully funny debut.

'A taut, sharp, funny book about being young now. It's brutal–and brilliant.' - Zadie Smith, author of White Teeth

'A book of pure fineness, exceptional.' – Diana Evans, Guardian

Winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards Fiction Debut of the Year
Longlisted for the Women's Prize For Fiction

Edie is just trying to survive. 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 head-first into Eric’s home and family.

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Guardian, New York Times, New Yorker, Boston Globe, Literary Hub, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times, Glamour, Time, Good Housekeeping, InStyle, NPR, O Magazine, Buzzfeed, Electric Literature, Town & Country, Wired, New Statesman, Vox, Shelf Awareness, i-D, BookPage and more.

One of Barack Obama’s Favourite Books of 2020

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, the PEN/Hemingway Award.

'A giddy joy, crafted with mischievous perfection.' – Mail on Sunday

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

More from the same

Narrator

About xigxag

Enjoy the best audiobooks on xigxag, an innovative, user-friendly audiobook platform that makes it easy to find, purchase, and enjoy your favorite books in audio format. xigxag’s flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less – affordable prices and the best audiobook deals with no subscription required. Give the perfect gift with our audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

xigxag’s commitment to sustainability and ethical practices ensures a guilt-free listening experience from an exceptional digital book platform – an exciting alternative to big tech. Enjoy audiobooks from the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service and a leader in audiobook innovation.

Search effortlessly, read honest audiobook reviews evaluating both the book and the narration, and discover hidden gems. Download or stream top audiobook titles anytime, anywhere and get the best possible listening experience on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Experience the future of audiobooks today.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.

Find your favourite titles