Luster, by Raven Leilani

Luster, by Raven Leilani, follows a passionate artist and black woman in her mid-twenties, Edie. In the course of her struggle to find work and make a living, Edie meets a married man, Eric, who she begins a relationship with. After being discovered, Edie is invited by Eric’s wife and eventually comes to live in his home with the wife and their black adoptive daughter. Eddie maintains a strained, tentative relationship with the wife, but comes to care deeply for the daughter, taking an older sister role in the girl’s life. Luster deals with themes like race, sexuality, and womanhood in an entangling, yet intriguing way.

I don't know if it was the narration or the characters themselves but besides Edie, they all felt very one dimensional and unrealistic. I could barely connect with them. I also didn't enjoy the mix of drawn out and short sentences. I kept getting more lost and by the end of the novel everything was strange and confusing (but stream of consciousness books have always been hit or miss for me). Overall I did like how the author's portrayal of racism and the class divide in relationships made me uncomfortable/anxious but the static writing style left some ideas underdeveloped or forgotten. This was similar to an Ottessa Moshfegh novel as it evokes very uneasy feelings but I thought the subject matter and characters were more akin to Sally Rooney’s work. If you enjoyed either of those author’s books then I urge you to give Luster a try!

Reviewed by Sam, Grade 10

Glendale Central Library