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amyvcaroline's review against another edition
Writing good. Plot slow. Do not have time to wait 20 hours for it to get good. May try again in retirement
bia_w's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
pchopd's review against another edition
5.0
Holy moly I feel like I am going to be digesting this book forever. I don't know much about astrology, and while I slowly followed along and figured out a lot of it, I definitely needed some guidance from fellow readers. The beginning was slow, but the beautifully intricate writing kept me going, and I am so glad it did. This is such a unique novel built on a number of intricacies (the 12 Crown men as the 12 zodiac signs, the planetary bodies interacting with them over time, a new take on what felt like a classic genre), and it was really quite fun slowing unwinding its complexities.
emeraldgarnet's review against another edition
3.0
Part one was a slog but after that the pace picked up and the book improved.
"For the planets have changed places against the wheeling canvas of the stars. The Sun has advanced one-twelfth along the tilted wheel of her ecliptic path, and with that motion comes a new world order, a new perspective on the whole. With the Sun in Capricorn we were reserved, exacting, and lofty in our distance. When we looked upon Man, we sought to fix him: we mourned his failures and measured his gifts. We could not imagine what he might have been, had he been tempted to betray his very nature - or had he betrayed himself without temptation, better still. But there is no truth except truth in relation, and heavenly relation is compose of wheels in motion, tilting axes, turning dials; it is a clockwork orchestration that alters every minute, never repeating, never still. We are no longer sheltered in a cloistered reminiscence of the past. We now look outward, through the phantasm of our own convictions: we see the world as we wish to perfect it, and we imagine dwelling there." (p. 364)
"There was a snatch of something in her head, a maxim. A woman fallen has no future; a man risen has no past. Had she heard it spoken somewhere? Or had she composed it of her own accord?" (p. 826)
"For the planets have changed places against the wheeling canvas of the stars. The Sun has advanced one-twelfth along the tilted wheel of her ecliptic path, and with that motion comes a new world order, a new perspective on the whole. With the Sun in Capricorn we were reserved, exacting, and lofty in our distance. When we looked upon Man, we sought to fix him: we mourned his failures and measured his gifts. We could not imagine what he might have been, had he been tempted to betray his very nature - or had he betrayed himself without temptation, better still. But there is no truth except truth in relation, and heavenly relation is compose of wheels in motion, tilting axes, turning dials; it is a clockwork orchestration that alters every minute, never repeating, never still. We are no longer sheltered in a cloistered reminiscence of the past. We now look outward, through the phantasm of our own convictions: we see the world as we wish to perfect it, and we imagine dwelling there." (p. 364)
"There was a snatch of something in her head, a maxim. A woman fallen has no future; a man risen has no past. Had she heard it spoken somewhere? Or had she composed it of her own accord?" (p. 826)
latisha's review against another edition
This is an amazing book, beautifully written. Only stopping because I’m having an awful time keeping everyone straight & it’s a LONG one. Gotta be gentle to yourself when you have brain fog & memory issues💗
laurenmichellebrock's review against another edition
5.0
I prepared myself going into this book—it is an 800+ page tome—and therefore deemed it my bedside book, which means I only read it in the moments preceding sleep, which means it took me months and months to chisel my way through. But, for me, it was the perfect book to read before bed, because I knew what I was getting into and I didn’t hold any expectations against it. I savored each page, allowing myself the pleasure of reading at my own pace.
The Luminaries is character heavy. There is a lot of exposition given to character description and forays into their intricately detailed backgrounds. The prose is that of an adult storybook—unwound and indulgent, but considered and reverent. The chapters begin long and painstaking, then wink out at the end, like a star in the night.
The story is set during the Gold Rush of 19th century New Zealand. A man is missing, a man is dead, and a prostitute is found unconscious in the middle of the road by a hopeful politician. She tries to pay her way out of gaol with gold found stitched in her dress, but is taken pity on by a Frenchman who pays her bail and embarks on the trails of a perplexing mystery.
This is the nugget that gains purchase to the heart of the novel, though these characters are hardly all we have to contend with. Catton casts them out like a net, gathering bits and pieces of detail from each person in an effort for stark, unmistakable clarity.
The Luminaries is character heavy. There is a lot of exposition given to character description and forays into their intricately detailed backgrounds. The prose is that of an adult storybook—unwound and indulgent, but considered and reverent. The chapters begin long and painstaking, then wink out at the end, like a star in the night.
The story is set during the Gold Rush of 19th century New Zealand. A man is missing, a man is dead, and a prostitute is found unconscious in the middle of the road by a hopeful politician. She tries to pay her way out of gaol with gold found stitched in her dress, but is taken pity on by a Frenchman who pays her bail and embarks on the trails of a perplexing mystery.
This is the nugget that gains purchase to the heart of the novel, though these characters are hardly all we have to contend with. Catton casts them out like a net, gathering bits and pieces of detail from each person in an effort for stark, unmistakable clarity.
tjmouse's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
3.0
First of all, 850 pages!
There should be a special place in heavens for those who read large books like this one (especially now that I’m one of them).
We do notice and admire the use of first person plural ‘we’ to take notice of various observations. We also admire author’s choosing the old school of telling story, where she draws a character picture for every character up front. We also admit that whether or not one likes the book, one has to admire the hard work and research put into it. We also notice that the author is a keen observer of human character, as well as has a powerful hold over words.
Structure :
The beauty of the book is in powerfully organised structure.
"… according to astrological principles, so that characters are not only associated with signs of the zodiac, or the sun and moon (the "luminaries" of the title), but interact with each other according to the predetermined movement of the heavens, while each of the novel's 12 parts decreases in length over the course of the book to mimic the moon waning through its lunar cycle"
- The Guardian
The twelve characters who get together are each from different zodiac sign. The size of twelve parts decreases almost exponentially (Part 1: 360 pages, Part 2: 160 pages, Part 3: 104 pages, Part 4: 96 pages, Part 5: 40 pages, Part 6: 26 pages, Part 7: 13 pages, Part 8: 10 pages, Part 9: 6 pages, Part 10: 6 pages, Part 11: 4 pages, Part 12: 1 page.)
The characters too are build according to conventional characteristics of their Zodiac sign.
The story
This is very much a love story at its essence, if it seems like a mystery than it is because the first half is the perspectives of the thirteen characters that only get indirectly involved in the story and that too only in middle of timeline, and thus don’t know enough. I don't think it did such a good turn to take story from twelve different angles.
Now on subject of length ….
Every story, like jokes, has an optimum length depending on – Firstly the nature of story itself; secondly its themes and how well it explores them and, thirdly, the value in Literature. The Luminaries, does deserve a large fit – mainly because of third factor; but it overgrows even that.
Now it is supposed to be carrying a correlation with stars and horoscopes which I didn't understand much (most of us won’t) and thus I respect. That is why I gave it one star more than I would had loved to.
Then there are parts with their declining sizes.
The trick being that first parts are large because they contain character sketches and background histories and the speculations and there are some parts that seemed redundant. Even the gestures undertaken during conversations (lightening a cigar) are detailed.
While later parts are focused on mere dialogues and events and that too cut short and at times omitted. The highlights at beginning of each chapter which in first few parts which looked like a small innocent warning about what is in the chapter grow dangerously large, by the end larger than the chapter itself – mentioning events omitted in the chapter itself. In fact, last parts were too short. It was essential to maintain the structure of the book, but if asked to choose, I would rather go for story rather than structure.
To conclude the book uses a great many powerful techniques (many of which, let us face it, we don’t understand); but the investment of time it requires to read may not be paid back if you are not interested in the techniques themselves.
To me personally, the book is like that well behaved nerd in your class whom everyone respects but very few befriend.
There should be a special place in heavens for those who read large books like this one (especially now that I’m one of them).
We do notice and admire the use of first person plural ‘we’ to take notice of various observations. We also admire author’s choosing the old school of telling story, where she draws a character picture for every character up front. We also admit that whether or not one likes the book, one has to admire the hard work and research put into it. We also notice that the author is a keen observer of human character, as well as has a powerful hold over words.
Structure :
The beauty of the book is in powerfully organised structure.
"… according to astrological principles, so that characters are not only associated with signs of the zodiac, or the sun and moon (the "luminaries" of the title), but interact with each other according to the predetermined movement of the heavens, while each of the novel's 12 parts decreases in length over the course of the book to mimic the moon waning through its lunar cycle"
- The Guardian
The twelve characters who get together are each from different zodiac sign. The size of twelve parts decreases almost exponentially (Part 1: 360 pages, Part 2: 160 pages, Part 3: 104 pages, Part 4: 96 pages, Part 5: 40 pages, Part 6: 26 pages, Part 7: 13 pages, Part 8: 10 pages, Part 9: 6 pages, Part 10: 6 pages, Part 11: 4 pages, Part 12: 1 page.)
The characters too are build according to conventional characteristics of their Zodiac sign.
The story
This is very much a love story at its essence, if it seems like a mystery than it is because the first half is the perspectives of the thirteen characters that only get indirectly involved in the story and that too only in middle of timeline, and thus don’t know enough. I don't think it did such a good turn to take story from twelve different angles.
Now on subject of length ….
Every story, like jokes, has an optimum length depending on – Firstly the nature of story itself; secondly its themes and how well it explores them and, thirdly, the value in Literature. The Luminaries, does deserve a large fit – mainly because of third factor; but it overgrows even that.
Now it is supposed to be carrying a correlation with stars and horoscopes which I didn't understand much (most of us won’t) and thus I respect. That is why I gave it one star more than I would had loved to.
Then there are parts with their declining sizes.
The trick being that first parts are large because they contain character sketches and background histories and the speculations and there are some parts that seemed redundant. Even the gestures undertaken during conversations (lightening a cigar) are detailed.
While later parts are focused on mere dialogues and events and that too cut short and at times omitted. The highlights at beginning of each chapter which in first few parts which looked like a small innocent warning about what is in the chapter grow dangerously large, by the end larger than the chapter itself – mentioning events omitted in the chapter itself. In fact, last parts were too short. It was essential to maintain the structure of the book, but if asked to choose, I would rather go for story rather than structure.
To conclude the book uses a great many powerful techniques (many of which, let us face it, we don’t understand); but the investment of time it requires to read may not be paid back if you are not interested in the techniques themselves.
To me personally, the book is like that well behaved nerd in your class whom everyone respects but very few befriend.
hannahwillmehr's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
annikanewland's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0