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canaanmerchant's review against another edition
5.0
Genius use of structure and commitment to the end even as chapters became shorter and shorter sold me. The plot is vast but very well connected and the idiosyncrasies of each character are well defined and perfectly match up against each character. To have all that and a coherent plot is a feat indeed. Well deserving of the booker prize.
stjehanne's review against another edition
3.0
I have never felt more conflicted about a book.
On the surface, The Luminaries is a piece of art: Governed by a simple sense of beauty and a dense narrative, united countless tales and plot strings. A mystery that kept me hooked and rich world-building that truly captured the spirit of its historical setting.
And while I could praise Catton's prose for hours, it just wasn't enough to really make me fall in love with her novel. It simply lacked a poetic quality. I don't want to be too harsh, since I still found some joy in reading this, but I felt like language was simply a tool to convey meaning. And while I understand that this might be the very essence of language, the language always felt too dry, too clinical to me. I do prefer books that make me rediscover the joy in using words and images time and time again.
While I felt compelled to finish it, out of sheer curiosity, it never touched my heart or my spirit in any way. There was no sense of wonder for me, something I would usually feel when reading long, complex stories like this.
Characters felt flat and lifeless, at times interchangeable, never really meaningful. Empty shells of some archetype or two. The book alludes to some kind of celestial theme, assigning stars and planets to each player, yet never puts the astronomical references to good use. While the reader is told that the movement of the heavens influences the very matter of the novel, no such thing actually becomes apparent. I spent a lot of my time reading waiting for a great epiphany that never came.
This is a recurring theme - excellent, unique ideas that, in the end, go nowhere.
But as I mentioned at the beginning, there were parts where Catton's writing briefly gained an etherealness, parts that made me melt, made me calm and passionate about what I was reading. I'm truly excited about reading more of her books, although ultimately, this one just wasn't for me.
On the surface, The Luminaries is a piece of art: Governed by a simple sense of beauty and a dense narrative, united countless tales and plot strings. A mystery that kept me hooked and rich world-building that truly captured the spirit of its historical setting.
And while I could praise Catton's prose for hours, it just wasn't enough to really make me fall in love with her novel. It simply lacked a poetic quality. I don't want to be too harsh, since I still found some joy in reading this, but I felt like language was simply a tool to convey meaning. And while I understand that this might be the very essence of language, the language always felt too dry, too clinical to me. I do prefer books that make me rediscover the joy in using words and images time and time again.
While I felt compelled to finish it, out of sheer curiosity, it never touched my heart or my spirit in any way. There was no sense of wonder for me, something I would usually feel when reading long, complex stories like this.
Characters felt flat and lifeless, at times interchangeable, never really meaningful. Empty shells of some archetype or two. The book alludes to some kind of celestial theme, assigning stars and planets to each player, yet never puts the astronomical references to good use. While the reader is told that the movement of the heavens influences the very matter of the novel, no such thing actually becomes apparent. I spent a lot of my time reading waiting for a great epiphany that never came.
This is a recurring theme - excellent, unique ideas that, in the end, go nowhere.
But as I mentioned at the beginning, there were parts where Catton's writing briefly gained an etherealness, parts that made me melt, made me calm and passionate about what I was reading. I'm truly excited about reading more of her books, although ultimately, this one just wasn't for me.
kalkwiese's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
4.5
syvanahlouise's review against another edition
I couldn’t get into this. So bored from the beginning. Maybe I’ll try this again later.
daniellemgreen17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
awwcripes's review against another edition
Hmm. I did not dislike this book. But after 3 weeks I'm only 39% through this massive thing and my interest is gone. DNF for now.
I agree with antonomasia's review. Maybe I'll come back to it. There's an eff-ton of symbolism that went over my head.
I agree with antonomasia's review. Maybe I'll come back to it. There's an eff-ton of symbolism that went over my head.
martinclarke's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
fai_aka's review against another edition
4.0
It’s been a long time since I read a novel targeting the adults, so I’m finding it quite difficult at first to get used to the more advanced vocabularies and her writing style—I kept having to search meaning of certain words in order to understand the story, something that I haven’t done in a while because I have been reading mostly YA books.
~Page 81:
It’s getting interesting. I’m getting through the story faster than I expected I would.
~Page 521:
The pacing got slower and the story got confusing for a while but then it was recapped by one of the characters, which really helped me understand the story.
Now it’s getting more and more interesting to me.Such a convoluted plot.
I didn’t think that the story would wrapped up nicely like this(there are some mysteries unexplained but I’m fine with drawing my own conclusions). Eleanor Catton is a genius!
~Page 81:
It’s getting interesting. I’m getting through the story faster than I expected I would.
~Page 521:
The pacing got slower and the story got confusing for a while but then it was recapped by one of the characters, which really helped me understand the story.
Now it’s getting more and more interesting to me.Such a convoluted plot.
I didn’t think that the story would wrapped up nicely like this(there are some mysteries unexplained but I’m fine with drawing my own conclusions). Eleanor Catton is a genius!