Sunday 23 March 2014

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton


In 1866, Walter Moody arrives in New Zealand, hoping to find his fortune in the gold rush gripping the country.  Taking lodging at a hotel in Hokitika, he enters the bar only to have all conversations around him stop.  He has stumbled onto a meeting of twelve local men, who are discussing the strange events that have been happening recently.  A hermit has been found dead in his house, a prostitute has apparently tried to kill herself, a great fortune has been discovered and a prospector has gone missing.  As Walter listens to the stories, he finds himself drawn into the mystery.  What really happened, and how are the lives and fortunes of all the men intertwined?

I finished The Luminaries late last night and my honest first reaction was to be in complete awe of Catton's skill.  I don't think I've ever read a book as intricately plotted, with so many relationships between different characters.  There are at least sixteen main characters and much of the plot and mystery depends on how they relate to each other, and the things they tell each other, that the other characters aren't necessarily aware of. Not only does Catton manage to keep all of this straight in the mind of the reader, but she also manages to slowly reveal clues and subtly alter our perception of these relationships, to move the mystery on throughout the novel.  I can't even begin to imagine how you would go about planning a book as complex as this one, but I am suitably impressed.

I was also very impressed with the writing.  The Luminaries is a long book and it's not got the fastest of paces.  The writing is Victorian in style, and I found reading it to be a similar experience to reading a good Dickens novel, or like picking up Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.  The writing lets you really sink into the book and the world of nineteenth century New Zealand.  Which is a great place to be; I loved the frontier-like town of Hokitika with all of it's prostitutes, prospectors, illegitimate sons, plotting and gunfights.

So on an intellectual level, I was blown away by The Luminaries and can see why it was awarded the Booker Prize last year.  But books are about more than the skill involved in creating them, and thankfully The Luminaries had a good plot as well, with a story that kept me engaged.  Although I guessed some of the elements of the mystery, I enjoyed watching the whole thing unravel and just sped through the last two hundred pages, in order to find out what really happened.

If The Luminaries has a flaw, it is in characterisation.  I loved the more sinister characters in the novel, Lydia and Frank Carver, as well as the ambiguous character of Anna Wetherell, but some of the thirteen men felt a little flat.  I could relate to the Chinese characters because of the way their lives were written about in the book, but with some of the other men, Catton didn't give me any reason to feel attached to them or root for them, meaning that I sometimes felt a bit detached when reading the novel.  This stops me from giving The Luminaries 5 out of 5, but it's still one of the best, most impressive novels I've read in a long time.  I'll be extremely surprised if this one doesn't make the short-list for the Baileys Prize.

Source: Library
First Published: 2013
Baileys Longlist: Book 3/20
Score: 4.5 out of 5

14 comments:

  1. I've found samplers of this a couple of times and tried reading the opening chapters. TBH I found it really dull. Presumably it picks up pace after that but on the 'give up after 50 pages' rule, I've given up.

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  2. I'm so glad you enjoyed this so much, I can't wait to read it but have read quite a few very lukewarm reviews recently from people who couldn't finish it. You have me convinced that I'll really like it though!

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  3. I wasn't able to finish this one, but I'm always happy to find so many great reviews from those who did...it makes me think I might give it another try at some point. I just wonder if its worth getting through the slow beginning to get to the reward at the end.

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  4. I've been meaning to read it but truth be told, this book scares me... I downloaded a sample on Kindle, and it wasn't encouraging. Seeing how you like it though I'm thinking I should just get on to it and read like at least 100 pages before forming deeper opinions.

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  5. I thought this one sounded so interesting when I heard it won the Booker Prize and purchased a copy, but must admit I've been feeling completely intimidated by it. I do want to get to it though and your enjoyment of it is very encouraging. I want to read more award-winners and nominees and I'm so afraid to choose the wrong one and turn myself off from them again! But hopefully if I pick this one up when I have the time and concentration to commit to it, I'll like it as much as you did :)

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  6. Well this is an encouraging review. I've heard lots of mixed reviews on this one - mostly that the book is about 400 pages too long and that the authors uses a lot of big words. lol! However, I was thrilled when it came out and when it arrived in the mail and am convinced I'm going to enjoy it. It's not about the quantity of pages but the the intriguing storyline. Right? Thanks for the push review! ;)

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  7. Yeah, I think some of the characters could have been better developed. It's okay since, as you say, the plot is so tight, but it would have given me a bigger stake in the story if I'd been a little more engaged with all the characters.

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  8. You finished! Thanks for the review. I actually like long books because of the character development. It sounds like some of the characters didn't get developed enough. But, the writing style sounds amazing. Right up my alley. I'll take a closer look now.

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  9. I'm so glad to have your thoughts on this one. I've been waffling about reading it, but I think this gives me the confidence to go ahead and add it to the TBR.

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  10. I'm completely torn about this novel, as the raves and the whatevers have been coming in at a pretty equal pace on this. Maybe I'll see if I can score an audio book of it and let that be the deciding factor.

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  11. I just finished The Goldfinch, and The Signature of All Things before that, so I'm taking a little breather from these door-stoppers. I really want to get to it soon just because it's made the Baileys list. However, I couldn't get into Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and I hate Dickens, so here's to hoping I do enjoy it. I think I can definitely see enjoying just by what you've shared on her craft!

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  12. I could read this because I am looking for a book set in New Zealand. But I'm also not very sure the writing style would agree with me. Glad that you strongly recommend it though. Your reaction is probably enough to make me consider this one.

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  13. I like to read novels during the summer months that I can really sink into and this one sounds like it might do the job. Appreciate your review!

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  14. I thoroughly recommend "Luminaries" as an engaging and well-written book with a humorous and compassionate look at humankind.
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