The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

My mom bought me this book for my birthday, which was a few months ago. I had had it on my wishlist (which is currently 4 pages long, typed in size 9 Calibri font) and I was really delighted to get it. So many people had spoken highly of The Luminaries, and it had won the Man Booker Prize in 2013 - so of course I wanted to read it too.

The Luminaries is set during the gold rush in New Zealand, between the years of 1865 and 1866. On the same day that a man is found dead in his cabin, a prostitute is found drugged in a presumed suicide attempt, and a man goes missing. Some men in town think that these events are related. This story is a discovery of what happened, while being a discovery (for naive people like me, at least) of a young New Zealand. While this book is not for the weak of wrist, nor the tired of eye (the print is small in comparison to most books these days), it is a nice, long meandering mystery which focuses a lot on character.

“For Gascoigne and Clinch were not so dissimilar in temperament, and even in their differences, showed a harmony of sorts - with Gascoigne as the upper octave, the clearer, brighter sound, and Clinch as the bass-note, thrumming.”

― Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries

There are so many things to enjoy with this tale. To start with, the structure is unique. I really enjoyed working out what the star charts were about and seeing how they were applied to the characters in the book. I am just going to leave that comment there, so you can have a bit of fun figuring it out (it isn't complicated). I enjoyed the connectedness between the characters and the main story. Each character added depth to the tale, by their own interesting perspectives and positions. I also really appreciated that the main characters in this book were not all representatives of 'white'. We meet two Chinese men, one an indentured 'labourer' and another as the owner of an opium den. We also meet a Maori. The interactions between other characters in the book, and their verbal slips let one realise ever so clearly the racism that was so prevalent in those days.

"'You allude to the natives—the Maori tribes?'
Nilssen spoke with a touch of eagerness; he cherished a romantic passion for what he called 'the tribal life.' When the Maori canoes came strong and flashing through the Buller Gorge—he had seen them from a distance—he was quelled in awe. The warriors seemed terrible to him, their women unknowable, their customs fearsome and primitive."

― Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries

But what really had me was the story. As each page was turned, what appeared to be a rather straight-forward plot grew and evolved into something that had me dying to know what had happened and unsure of how everything was going to work out. It would also not be fair for me to not mention the language in this book. It was beautiful. The imagery creates a beautiful scene, not only of New Zealand, but of the people too.

“His temperament was deeply nostalgic, not for for his own past, but for past ages; he was cynical of the present, fearful of the future and profoundly regretful of the world's decay.”

― Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries

Brilliant! I would recommend this to anyone who is neither afraid of a slower plot nor a thick book. I gave this 5 stars on Goodreads (whatever that means).