Book: The Luminaries
Author: Eleanor Catton
Country: New Zealand
Review: 3/5
Itās difficult to summarize my thoughts on a book as long and as complex as The Luminaries, but thatās something that I truly enjoyed as well: the characters were incredibly distinct (and I found the character list quite helpful at the beginning) with a clear setting to truly create this story in my imagination. I found Cattonās descriptions of locations were beautiful without taking away from the immense storylines.
In true mystery fashion, the novel was incredibly artistic and always kept me guessing each time I thought I had an element figured out. I found that Catton matched her writing style to fit snugly in her 1800s setting (in fact I was shocked to see that the book was published less than ten years ago because of Cattonās talented writing!), although it took some getting used to. The scene summaries at each new chapter were helpful as well. Based on reviews and interviews, it seems that Catton was thorough in her research process, āaged 14, Catton and her father went on a trip to New Zealandās West Coast. This inspired her interest in the 1860s West Coast Gold Rush, and she started thinking about a storyā¦The Luminaries makes use of numerous real-life settings in 1866 Hokitika. Reading and researching the book took two years, ‘I started reading, beginning with gold-rush history, which led me to the nature of wealth, which led me to confidence tricks and scams, which led me to fortune telling, which led me to the stars [in reference to the outline of her novel which is āstructurally ornate and actively plotted at the same timeā]’.”
Something that did leave me confused for quite a while were the star references, I couldnāt understand what they meant or why they were present in the book, and I think the length of this book canāt be ignored. While it is not necessarily a relaxing or easy-going read (with some complex language and could use more chapter/page breaks), I found it to be a rich read. I am looking forward to giving the television series a try as well, I am delighted to see it because I think it will give insight into this story as well as New Zealandās complex history to a wider audience because I must admit, this book will definitely not be everyoneās cup of tea.
This book deals with themes engrained in colonization and male-dominated spheres. As a Canadian with European ancestry, Iām continually learning and trying to question these themes. There is an interesting conversation to be had about a book written in 2013 that feels like it came straight out of the 19th century. Some of that is highlighted in an article from The Gaurdian, āa book that closely reflects the language and concerns of Victorian sensation novels, while including the Chinese and MÄori characters who would almost certainly have been overlooked by a contemporary authorā¦The Luminaries tells ofĀ a male-dominated world, too, and Catton admits she’s had “moments where I’ve felt like a bit of a traitor…the fact that I’ve written a story that has two female characters, and 18 male characters, which is not a very good percentageā¦ IĀ think that that will be on my mind, whatever I write next [and is more prevalent in her first novel].”
Stay tuned for other book recommendations for this country and other countries, and follow my journey on Instagram @beyondpageone and find more reviews on my GoodReads page: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/116494925-kaitlyn-nightingale Thank you and happy reading!
Feature image from Goodreads.