Luster

Analyze Edie’s development throughout the course of the novel. What, if any, significant moments of growth does she experience and why?

Multiple foils are present in Luster. Choose a foil pair. Discuss the ways in which each character highlights a characteristic or quality of the other. What is the significance of this relationship to the novel as a whole?

How is motherhood defined in this novel? What makes someone a mother and why? Choose one example to analyze.

Analyze how Leilani uses the past in this novel. What function does the past serve? How does Leilani incorporate the past? What effect does this choice have on the novel?

Edie references two paintings in the novel: Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes and Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World. Choose one of these paintings to analyze. Discuss why Leilani chose this painting and what function it serves in the novel.

Hair features prominently throughout the novel. What purpose do these references serve? How do these scenes with characters discussing or taking care of hair relate to the greater themes of the novel?

Analyze how Leilani incorporates a commentary on the Black experience in Luster. How, if at all, does she define the Black experience? What criticisms does she have of society’s treatment of Black Americans?

Many have compared Luster to Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. Research Invisible Man. What connections can you see between the two works in terms of style and theme?