Character Study: Luke Violet from Blind Spot

In Character Study, we’ll take a deeper look at one character from a book or series. Get to know the character–what they like, what they do, and, more importantly, what they read. If you’re intrigued, you can spend a little more time getting to know them by reading the book!

Meet Luke Violet. Detached and disaffected, Luke returns to his hometown of Edmonton sans well-meaning but juvenile girlfriend Stephie, to attend his parents’ funeral after a horrific car accident. He takes up residence in their former living room, claiming to be settling their affairs and preparing the house for sale, but really attempting to come to terms with both his strained relationship with his parents, and their formerly private life, violently unfolded when Luke discovers a salacious photograph. Moreover, he strikes up a tumultuous, alcohol-fuelled relationship with a graduate student living nearby.All of this is possible through the fact of Luke’s person: he’s the prodigal son, especially in contrast with his stable, married, well-employed sister, Laura. A failed actor (whose most illustrious credit remains being beefcake in a series of male bodyspray commercials), Luke’s entire life is summed up desperately trying to impress those who want nothing to do with him – a young delinquent, a drug-dealing high school girlfriend, a group of wayward Montrealers – and consciously rejecting and disappointing the people who love him. Following Luke’s sometimes painful, sometimes infuriating existential angst and increasingly erratic choices in the wake of returning to Edmonton will explain former blithe romantic partners and at least 25% of the trolls on the internet. But it will also have you feeling sorry for someone whose expectations simply fell so, so short.Learn more about Luke Violet in Blind Spot, by Laurence Miall, published by NeWest Press.