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Luster
- Narrated by: Ariel Blake
- Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins
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Luster
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Summary
Razor sharp, provocatively thrilling and surprisingly tender, Luster by Raven Leilani is a painfully funny debut.
Winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize 2021
Shortlisted for the British Book Awards Fiction Debut of the Year
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021
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.
Critic reviews
"A taut, sharp, funny book about being young now. It’s brutal - and brilliant." (Zadie Smith, author of Swing Time)
"Remarkable, the most delicious novel I’ve read." (Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie)
"Ridiculously good.... I will follow this author anywhere she wants to take me." (Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties)
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What listeners say about Luster
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- MJH
- 28-01-21
Interesting little snapshot of a life
I enjoyed this book. It was different. I liked the way it didn't turn out the way I might have expected. Good to read a new style of writing.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- KBo
- 14-03-22
unexpectedly enjoyable
One of those novels where the central character is a frustrating yet compelling figure. At times I wanted to not care or grew annoyed with her behaviour but I was still too invested not to finish. An absurdist technicolour rendering of life in America as a young black woman. I would note that this novel covers difficult topics such as sexual assault so bear that in mind before listening.
Performance was decent but with audible insertions (hence my marking down a star)
Overall would highly recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dohm64
- 20-03-21
Aggressively Sad, Majestically Written.
Painful, raw and gorgeous prose. At times, the darkness feels relentless and excessive, although for the exploration of anti-Blackness and poverty it is fitting.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 25-04-21
Didn't enjoy it
Perhaps this isn't my type of story but I didn't like this at all. The characters felt messy and unclear with regards to motivation and I could feel the hint of certain themes about bad youthful decisions & race but nothing really engaged with. And I wonder if that was the point? Either way, it was a weird listen & not one of my faves.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 28-06-21
This book is hatd to pin down but beautiful.
It tells the story of an unconventional extramarital affair involving three people on the edge in various ways. How children can be messed up by the adults who supposedly care for them. Race, gender and sexuality and age are also important themes. However the best thing about this book are the beautiful prose that drip from the page.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Keevaweeva
- 09-07-23
Not your average formulaic story
So unusual but still gripping - almost finished in one go. So well written. It evoked so many emotions -a complete rollercoaster. Narration was excellent!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sofia Eleonora Greenacre
- 17-03-21
Brilliant book, brilliant narration
This story is perfectly crafted, so intense and unique. Ariel’s narration brings such empathy and control to the narrative, I could hear her speak all day. Highly, highly recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- alexandra
- 23-04-23
Good story
Good story, well told. I looked forward to hearing this story on my way to work and back. Skilful author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- papapownall
- 31-01-21
Rampant and pithy
This debut novel by Raven Leilani has been heavily hyped. It tells the story of a young black women called Edie who loves disco music and enters a strange relationship with an older married white man, with the permission of his wife. At times darkly comedic and at times excruciatingly cringeworthy, this is full on stuff with no holding back. Subjects such as race and class are tackled head on, but the strength of this story is the insight it gives into the complex lives of the characters who are believable and compelling. It is rampant and pithy stuff and I loved it.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- jojo
- 07-02-21
A gutting staggering debut.
Leilani's perceptive acuity and linguistic exactitude dissects as she creates, each scene rich with revelation.
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3 people found this helpful