Luster by Raven Leilani

Introduction

I am a slow reader and I pick up and exchange books from a local street exchange library.

Recently I picked up "The Blood Crows" by Simon Scarrow, not my thing but it grabbed me and kept my attention and I documented it on my blog, which I use for the books that I read:

Last week I picked up "Luster" by Raven Leilani and though it was even more not my thing than the Simon Scarrow book this has been a surprising revelation to me.

"Luster" by Raven Leilani

This is not my sort of thing but Raven's writing makes you feel welcome in Erica's life. Erica is not a hero or villain but a young woman trying to get through life.

I have not finished the book yet but will do this week, and this is a very fast read for me.

There is a lot of sex, described with expected four-letter words but it is not gratuitous or explicit.

Erica describes herself as black and that, and the fact she is a woman makes many things difficult for her, but she tells us how she deals with the situations.

She becomes involved with a much older white man, his wife and their black daughter, which may sound like a recipe for disaster but Raven's writing makes it an interesting and easy-to-read journey.

This sort of writing makes it a joy to read the book.

Conclusion

This is not so much a critique as just to say that despite my misgivings I am finding this an excellent read, and would recommend it to anyone. The following facts also persuaded me that this was a worthy read:

Longlisted for the Women's Prize For Fiction

Winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize

Shortlisted for the British Book Awards Fiction Debut of the Year

One of Barack Obama’s Favourite Books of the Year

Enjoyed by Zadie Smith

You can take a sneak preview of it on the Amazon link and that may persuade you to get your own copy.

Thank you so much for reading.