Scan barcode
krunsig's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jemimajane's review against another edition
5.0
Truly impressive. A multilayered story of great scope, pieced together with patience and detail. The tale unfolds gradually, unravelling a mystery which involves the overlapping trajectories of many different characters, and draws us inexorably towards a resolution that is satisfying for its clarity and logic. I marvelled at the way the author incorporated astrological concepts into the book to help us understand the complexity of the narrative - we are shown how stories are like constellations: they encompass numerous players and perspectives such that you only ever perceive truth through looking at the connected whole. (This is hinted at by way of a very clever speech by the character Walter Moody in the chapter, ‘True Node in Virgo’.) It’s definitely a hefty book, and inspires a lot of thinking, but it’s worth every page.
jkersten's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
satashan's review against another edition
5.0
This knocked me down. Every chapter with Te Rau Tauwhare made me cry and feel homesick. I also didn't realise I was so into mystery-ish fiction until I read this and will definitely be reading a lot more of this genre. The pacing right at the end made me flip through this way faster than I expected. Probably top 3 books of 2022 for me.
jmawds's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
2.0
Rating: 2 stars
This books is too big brain for me.
This books is too big brain for me.
vegantrav's review against another edition
5.0
The Luminaries won this year's (2013's) Man Booker Prize, which brought this novel to my attention and prompted me to read it. Eleanor Catton, the author, is well deserving of this award.
The Luminaries is set in the New Zealand gold rush in the 1860s. The plot is exceedingly convoluted, but convoluted in a good way: at first, we readers are thrown into more and more confusion as the serpentine tale grows in complexity, but this serves to bring more and more pleasure as Catton deftly weaves the diverse strands of her story together into a wonderful, pleasing whole.
The central character in the tale is Anna Wethering, who has left Australia to find her fortune in New Zealand. The mystery of the novel revolves around one evening when Anna falls into an opium-induced stupor, which is thought by local officials to be a failed suicide attempt on Anna's part, to find that her lover, Emery Staines, has gone missing and that another local man, Crosbie Wells, has died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. A small fortune in gold is found hidden in Wells's house, though he had been, to all appearances, just a poor settler.
A few weeks after this momentous night, some of the local merchants and businessmen as well as a native Maori man and two Chinese immigrants (twelve men altogether) accidentally stumble upon a series of coincidences involving themselves and Wells--coincidences that could make it seem that these men, if viewed in a particular light, have been participating in fraudulent schemes. These twelve men (the titular luminaries) decide to hold a clandestine meeting to try to sort out what is really going on; their meeting is interrupted by a newly arrived stranger, Walter Moody, who completely by accident wanders into the smoking room of the hotel where the twelve are holding their meeting. As they attempt to try to get rid of Moody so they can move on with their meeting, they learn that he has information that could be relevant to their situation, and Moody is a sharp, intelligent outsider who seems as though he may be able to help them begin to unravel the mysteries that are perplexing them, so they allow Moody to stay. They tell Moody what they know to see if he can make some sense out of their circumstances. And so it is, during this meeting, that we learn the key details that happened on the fateful night of Anna's opium overdose, Emery Staines's disappearance, and Crosbie Wells's death. This first section takes up more than a third of the novel (the first 360 pages of the 834-page novel), and at the end of this first section, Catton is juggling a dozen odd stories that are very loosely connected, though exactly how, we cannot yet see. In the remaining sections, Catton begins to draw everything together as the pace of the novel moves more and more quickly.
Earlier, I said that Anna Wethering was the central character, but one could also make an argument that Emery Staines or maybe even Crosbie Wells is the central character or that all three are equally important to the plot. Besides these three characters' own individual stories, we also have many other side stories that contribute to the plot in their own peculiar way: I particularly liked the tale of the Chinese immigrant, Ah Sook, and his quest for vengeance, and the story of the politician Lauderback, is also quite fascinating. There are just a ton of great stories in this grand novel, all of which come together in an ingenious fashion to solve the mystery of what had happened on the pivotal night.
This book was an absolute delight, and I was simply amazed at the finesse with which Catton told this exceedingly complicated, marvelous story.
The Luminaries is set in the New Zealand gold rush in the 1860s. The plot is exceedingly convoluted, but convoluted in a good way: at first, we readers are thrown into more and more confusion as the serpentine tale grows in complexity, but this serves to bring more and more pleasure as Catton deftly weaves the diverse strands of her story together into a wonderful, pleasing whole.
The central character in the tale is Anna Wethering, who has left Australia to find her fortune in New Zealand. The mystery of the novel revolves around one evening when Anna falls into an opium-induced stupor, which is thought by local officials to be a failed suicide attempt on Anna's part, to find that her lover, Emery Staines, has gone missing and that another local man, Crosbie Wells, has died under somewhat mysterious circumstances. A small fortune in gold is found hidden in Wells's house, though he had been, to all appearances, just a poor settler.
A few weeks after this momentous night, some of the local merchants and businessmen as well as a native Maori man and two Chinese immigrants (twelve men altogether) accidentally stumble upon a series of coincidences involving themselves and Wells--coincidences that could make it seem that these men, if viewed in a particular light, have been participating in fraudulent schemes. These twelve men (the titular luminaries) decide to hold a clandestine meeting to try to sort out what is really going on; their meeting is interrupted by a newly arrived stranger, Walter Moody, who completely by accident wanders into the smoking room of the hotel where the twelve are holding their meeting. As they attempt to try to get rid of Moody so they can move on with their meeting, they learn that he has information that could be relevant to their situation, and Moody is a sharp, intelligent outsider who seems as though he may be able to help them begin to unravel the mysteries that are perplexing them, so they allow Moody to stay. They tell Moody what they know to see if he can make some sense out of their circumstances. And so it is, during this meeting, that we learn the key details that happened on the fateful night of Anna's opium overdose, Emery Staines's disappearance, and Crosbie Wells's death. This first section takes up more than a third of the novel (the first 360 pages of the 834-page novel), and at the end of this first section, Catton is juggling a dozen odd stories that are very loosely connected, though exactly how, we cannot yet see. In the remaining sections, Catton begins to draw everything together as the pace of the novel moves more and more quickly.
Earlier, I said that Anna Wethering was the central character, but one could also make an argument that Emery Staines or maybe even Crosbie Wells is the central character or that all three are equally important to the plot. Besides these three characters' own individual stories, we also have many other side stories that contribute to the plot in their own peculiar way: I particularly liked the tale of the Chinese immigrant, Ah Sook, and his quest for vengeance, and the story of the politician Lauderback, is also quite fascinating. There are just a ton of great stories in this grand novel, all of which come together in an ingenious fashion to solve the mystery of what had happened on the pivotal night.
This book was an absolute delight, and I was simply amazed at the finesse with which Catton told this exceedingly complicated, marvelous story.
hbcbray's review against another edition
3.0
Really not sure what to say about this book. I think everyone agrees it is hard to get into. For me, that meant ultimately borrowing it as an ebook and on CD to listen to while commuting.
The center of The Luminaries is a mystery, of sorts: Where is Emery Staines? What is happening to Anna Wetherall? And where did the gold come from and go to? And the storytelling process is cleverly wrought, but, unfortunately, I think the story suffered in the telling. With a mystery, the reader wants to know, above all, what happened! and in this case, unfortunately, the clever method of storytelling undermines the discovery and the narrative.
At the end of a significant investment of times, I was only irritated by the story and the storyteller. Almost wish I'd never picked it up, but I do acknowledge that in the middle I couldn't put it down.
The center of The Luminaries is a mystery, of sorts: Where is Emery Staines? What is happening to Anna Wetherall? And where did the gold come from and go to? And the storytelling process is cleverly wrought, but, unfortunately, I think the story suffered in the telling. With a mystery, the reader wants to know, above all, what happened! and in this case, unfortunately, the clever method of storytelling undermines the discovery and the narrative.
At the end of a significant investment of times, I was only irritated by the story and the storyteller. Almost wish I'd never picked it up, but I do acknowledge that in the middle I couldn't put it down.
rileycas's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. I’m struggling with the review(and rating)! This book is SO complex-simply the intertwining mystery of 20 characters is enough and then take into account the added fold of each character representing an zodiac sign or planet like !!!! And then of course the narrative transverses through different planetary placements….it’s a lot to follow (and a commendable narrative to construct!)
I was left with a lot of questions concerning the astrological aspect of the book. These could have been (and were) answered with some research. One would argue that this makes the book even richer. However I’m sorta feeling like I wish these questions were answered in the book itself. But is that just me being lazy?
Regardless, this was a beautiful tale of love, loss, treason, morality, etc….much like an expansive Victorian novel. It certainly captured me!
I was left with a lot of questions concerning the astrological aspect of the book. These could have been (and were) answered with some research. One would argue that this makes the book even richer. However I’m sorta feeling like I wish these questions were answered in the book itself. But is that just me being lazy?
Regardless, this was a beautiful tale of love, loss, treason, morality, etc….much like an expansive Victorian novel. It certainly captured me!
atgerstner's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It’s a hard book to pitch, but it is excellent.