The Luminaries

   Since really getting back into reading a few years ago my general reading style has stayed the same.  I can read pretty fast and I actively enjoy the process of doing so.  That's not to say that I skim, but I'm not the type of person to linger over a page or a sentence that really strikes me.  I just take a note of it and move on.  The Luminaries is the first book that I've read not only this year but this decade that has made me change that.  I read this book a lot slower than I normally do because each page and sentence is worth savoring.  For a book that's over 800 pages, that is a serious feat.    I'm not quite sure how to describe The Luminaries so this paragraph may be a bit unstructured.  It definitely has mysteries but it can't really be classified as a mystery novel.  It takes place in the past but it's not really historical fiction.  It has thrilling sections but I can't in good conscious call it a thriller.  It's just... a damn good novel.  The basic gist of it is that 12 people convene in a smoking room in a hotel during the New Zealand gold rush due to a few odd events that have happened over the past few weeks.  Over the course of the novel we learn a lot about each of these 12 as well as many others in this small mining town.  Catton explores her characters in such lush detail that I feel like I know all of them personally at this point.  As we learn more about the characters we also learn just what happened in order to set off the events of the novel.  It feels like Catton is really challenging her readers with the way she writes at points.  While many of the loose threads are explicitly tied up at various points throughout the novel, many others are finished in a more subtle way, rewarding those attentive enough to notice the tiniest of details in her writing.  One of my favorite things about reading is the feeling you get when you realize someone is truly amazing at the act of writing, and I felt that many times while reading The Luminaries.  She really makes writing seem like a beautiful art form with the way she crafts this book and the sentences within it.  I can't help but... be in awe of her talent.  If there is one criticism I have it's that I feel like the book starts out stronger than it finishes, but that is the tiniest of nits that I am picking.  I think the first 500 or so pages are a 10 out of 10 and the remaining 300 are a 9 out of 10.  Well done Eleanor Catton, your book is super fucking good.  

I had to wait about 12 hours before writing this review. It's the kind of book that calls for contemplation and reflection once completed. The premise is so intriguing: A hermit is dead; a whore is found drugged and wandering the streets, and the town's richest man has disappeared. Twelve relative strangers from different cultures and walks of life meet in secret to discuss the events surrounding the mystery. And Walter Moody stumbles in on it ...

Catton delivers a masterfully written frontier mystery as intricate and magical as the stars governing the characters' lives. I can't pretend to understand the connection to the charts and stellar bodies she includes, but it was a lot of fun just going with it anyway.

This is an incredibly dense and complex novel, with a vast and rich cast of characters. It will not be for everyone, and it is not an easy read. It is however, a literary feat and completely deserving of the Man Booker prize.