The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

At the height of the New Zealand Gold Rush a Scottish traveller, Walter Moody, journeys across the globe to make his fortune on the gold fields of the West Coast. Upon landing in Hokitika, he stumbles across a clandestine meeting in a tavern, where 12 local men have gathered to discuss recent unsolved crimes in the area. Moody hears the individual tales of each man, which interlace to form a tangled lattice of three seemingly unconnected events: the discovery of a dead man and his fortune, the disappearance of a young entrepreneur, and the failed suicide of the town’s lady of the night.

At first glance, The Luminaries promises to be a good old fashioned mystery, but fans of this genre may be left wanting. Expansively written, evoking memories of classic literature, the book deals with the wider themes of betterment, love and secrets. With astrological concepts woven throughout (the term ‘celestials’ refers to the Chinese miners after ‘The Celestial Empire’, a Western euphemism for China at the time), the author paints a vivid picture of life on the goldfields and all its struggles.

The New Zealand scenery is evoked with exquisite realism and the fully rounded, often unpleasant, characters from far and wide are given rich back stories which gives the story credibility and draws the reader in further. As long and wending as this book is, the plot doesn’t reveal itself until the very end, making the 800-page tome a little unwieldy in parts.

Eleanor Catton won the 2013 Man Booker Prize with The Luminaries, only the second New Zealander ever to do so. Superlatives abound as the book is also the longest, and Catton the youngest, ever winner of the prestigious prize.

Described as “a dazzling work, luminous, vast” by the chair of judges, The Luminaries is a true tour-de-force of New Zealand literature which stays with you long after finishing, leaving you confused but content.

Catalogue link: The Luminaries

Posted by RJB