Eleanor Catton's Luminaries Review

So what book are we talking about today? The book is called Luminaries. It was Man Booker winner for the year 2013, the second novel written by Eleanor Catton. And in our home, this book is referred to as the Mount Everest,  because these days I look at the page-count before reading a book and by that logic this 800 page mound of a book becomes an unscale-able endeavour. But Powervati 1 and family 0, this book is a real undownputtable.

So what's this book about? The year is 1866 and the setting is New Zealand. The book opens with Walter Moody, a Scotsman raised in England, landing in Hokitikaand finding himself at the parlour of Crown Hotel.  He meets a party of 12 men and a Canterbury Tales style exchange of personal stories begins and eventually a name is mentioned more times than others, Anna Wetherell. Anna and her orange dress. That explains my dress today.

But the real genius of the book lies in bringing under one roof so many people with their own outlook to life and their attitudes, and how they interact and influence the people around them. And what is the motivation for these people to come together? It is circumstances of course, but also a large amount of gold that is lost. Some people have also gone missing, but those are only peripheral problems, a hindrance in finding the gold. 

It is about the dynamics between people, their selfishness, kindness, deep-rooted issues that come to surface as their livelihood or egos or loves have been threatened. So in Luminaries, guiding and motivating its many many characters are the skies above. That's right, the zodiac. So if you are interested in astrology you have a special advantage in reading the characters.

The Booker winning  novels all seem to have this quality. They are not only set in a politically detailed landscape but they are also brilliant in terms of writing as a craft. I will quote some beautiful and insightful lines from the novel later. But as of now let's talk about the structure, because it is the structure that holds the narrative in place.

So what is the structure in Luminaries? The book begins with the part called Sphere within a Sphere. What does that mean? It represents the physical plane, the geological sphere that is our world embedded in the metaphysical sphere that is the skies, where stars move and foretell our luck, or so they say.

There are of course, the 12 characters in the novel that are 12 different zodiac signs. Now you might either think that it is very restrictive because the characters will be bound by the attributes of the zodiac sign or you might think it is an easy way out. But there are many other characters without any zodiac sign mentioned that push their own agendas and keep things interesting. So if you know astrology you will be like, "Oh Pritchard, the misunderstood Scorpion!" or "Oh Ah Sook, this stupid, naive Aquarian." 

It doesn't mean that if you don't know astrology you won't enjoy the book, there are many plot elements with enough twists and turns to keep things interesting.  But if you do understand it, you will know that if a chapter is titled "Mercury in Saggitarius" like the 1st chapter of the book is, you will know that Mercury, the planet of communications is in Sagittarius, the constellation of spiritual awakenings and revelations. So it just means that you have a kind of hint in a book that is a page-turner anyway. 

The strength of the book, amongst many other positives, is that this novel about the 19th century is written in the 19th century English classic novel style. The description of the world, the mannerism of the characters and the language is perfect for this old world thriller. The portrayal takes you back in time, when people wore suits and hats and travelled by ship. And when Moody reaches New Zealand, you will feel the cold, foggy air, and when the incessant rains start, you feel the chill in those wet clothes. And you are there with Walter Moody, feeling the awkwardness of having disturbed a private meeting at the Crown Hotel parlour where the drama unfolds. 

I want to conclude that if you have complained that literary fiction is boring or otherwise that thrillers have no literary merit, this book is a happy confluence of that. The only negative thing you might say about this book is the weight lifting you have to do holding this Hulk of book. Go ahead and read it! :)