Luster

American author Raven Leilani’s debut novel Luster documents the struggles of 23-year-old Edie, a Black woman battling the trauma of her past and its effect on her chaotic life in New York City. Published in 2020, Luster was the winner of the 2020 Kirkus Prize for Fiction. Leilani is a graduate of New York University’s MFA program, where she studied with the acclaimed author Zadie Smith. Luster is written in the first-person point of view and seamlessly blends Edie’s recollections of her tumultuous past as a young Black woman in Upstate New York with her present attempts to navigate the dynamics of a complicated relationship with a White man who is twice her age. Through Edie’s journey, Leilani explores the complications of what it means to be human at the intersections of sex, love, death, gender, and race.

Plot Summary

Twenty-three-year-old Edie meets Eric, a 46-year-old White man in an open relationship. Sexually frustrated and longing for connection, Edie accompanies Eric to Six Flags for their first date. Though she is left unsatisfied, her date with Eric leads her to begin painting again after a two-year hiatus.

Edie works an unfulfilling job in the editorial department of a children’s publishing house. She lives in a vermin-infested apartment with a roommate and struggles to make ends meet. Isolated from her peers, Edie indulges in inappropriate and doomed sexual flings with her co-workers. Eric and Edie continue to see each other without having sex to abide by the strict rules Eric’s wife, Rebecca, has set. Frustrated, Eric gives in to his desire and has sex with Edie in his home.

After not hearing from Eric for 10 days, Edie sneaks into Eric’s house and is confronted by Rebecca. Edie attempts to run away, but Rebecca soon convinces her to stay and attend a party she is throwing. At Eric and Rebecca’s 14th anniversary party, Edie meets Akila, their adopted Black 12-year-old daughter. Distressed to see Edie in his home, Eric drives her home. He punches Edie after she grants him permission and they have sex in her car. Edie receives a voicemail from Rebecca asking to see her again.

The next day at work, Edie is terminated from her job due to her inappropriate sexual contact with her co-workers. She confronts her former lover Mark, who denies turning her in; she injures herself deliberately in front of him with a sword to try to feel something. On her way out, Edie shares a cigarette with her only Black co-worker, Aria, who informs her that she has been given Edie’s job. Edie struggles to find work and pay her rent after her roommate’s departure, and she is evicted. She begins working for a delivery service and unknowingly fulfills an order for Rebecca at the hospital where she works as a medical examiner. Rebecca invites Edie to watch her perform an autopsy. Afterwards, Edie shares that she has been evicted, and Rebecca invites Edie to stay at their house.

While Eric is away on business, Edie moves into Eric and Rebecca’s home. She attempts to forge a relationship with Akila by helping her with her hair, which Akila does not know how to take care of, but Akila rejects her help. Edie continues to look for work and accompanies Rebecca to a concert where they dance in a mosh pit. Upon returning home, Rebecca and Edie discover that Eric has returned home from his trip early.

Edie, Rebecca, and Eric attempt to navigate their new living arrangement. Edie paints still-life portraits of objects she gathers from around the home. Akila opens up to Edie and allows her to help her with her hair, which she burned by keeping on relaxer for too long. Despite Rebecca’s request to terminate the relationship with Eric, Edie reignites her sexual relationship with Eric. Eric and Edie grow increasingly careless. They travel to local hotels during the day to meet in secret. The family prepares to attend Comic-Con with Akila, and they work on developing their costumes. Edie secretly realizes that she is pregnant with Eric’s child. Rebecca invites Edie to join her in the morgue and practice the accuracy of her painting. Edie develops her skill. One afternoon, Eric falls unconscious after a long sex session with Edie and is taken to the hospital. Edie calls Rebecca, who tells Edie that she has one month to move out.

Edie tries to decide whether she will have her baby. The family attends Comic-Con. Eric’s increased reliance on drugs and alcohol becomes more apparent at the convention. Edie confesses to Eric that she does not like him. Upon Rebecca’s request, Edie takes Akila out for a day to inform her she is moving out. When they return home, they are confronted by aggressive police officers who pin them to the ground. The next morning, Edie wakes up covered in blood and learns that she is having a miscarriage. Rebecca accompanies her to urgent care and cares for her afterwards. Edie gets a job at a communications firm and moves out of the house. Rebecca helps Edie move. They drink together, and Edie directs Rebecca to undress and pose for a painting. Edie paints Rebecca, who, after seeing the painting, leaves.