Lustig survived the Holocaust as a teenager, an experience that strongly influenced his writing. In many of his novels, the main characters are fighting to retain human dignity in Holocaust horrors. His best-known works include: "A Prayer for Katerina Horowitzova", ''Diamonds of the Night", ''The Unloved: From the Diary of Perla S.", ''Darkness Cast No Shadow", ''Lovely Green Eyes" and "Dita Saxova."

After the Soviet-led invasion to Czechoslovakia in 1968 Lustig fled his homeland and after short stays in Israel and Yugoslavia settled in the United States. He became a literature professor at the American University in Washington, DC, in 1973.

Lustig’s book "A Prayer for Katerina Horowitzova" was nominated for National Book Award in 1974 and his novel ''Lovely Green Eyes" was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 2003.