The Luminaries by Catton Eleanor

To set a book in 1866 and then to carry it on, is not an easy feat. However, Eleanor Catton does it to the hilt in her latest book, “The Luminaries”. It has all elements to it – literary fiction, a murder, historical and psychological as well.

Walter Moody is at the centre of this magnificent book. He has come to New Zealand to make a fortune, as he stumbles upon twelve men, a mystery and life is not what it seems like anymore.

The writing is terse and could get a little boring, given the length of the novel. At the same time, once you are into the book, there is no stopping till you have finished it. A book that will take all your time and attention, only to reward you throughout

The 2013 Man Booker Prize winner, The Luminaries, revolves around Walter Moody, a man who finds himself in the middle of multiple unsolved mysteries in New Zealand. This novel is gripping, brilliantly constructed, and a beautiful work of fiction.

Summary Of The Book

The Luminaries is set in 1866, and has astrology running through the entire storyline.

In The Luminaries, young Walter Moody arrives in Hokitika, New Zealand from England. Goldfields are located in this region, and the protagonist hopes to make his fortune in the gold rush. Moody reaches the township on a stormy night, and finds himself amongst a dozen local men who have secretly gathered at an innkeeper's table. These men are here to discuss some unexplainable events that have taken place in Hokitika.The Englishman learns about Anna Wetherell, an opium addicted sex worker, who has had an affair with Crosbie Wells. Wells is married to Lydia, and is said to actually be Francis Carver. Ah Sook, a Chinese who is a member of the Boxer Rebellion, has come to seek revenge on Carver.

The protagonists of The Luminaries soon figures out that the twelve men are trying to find out how a rich man has suddenly disappeared, why Anna Wetherell may have committed suicide, and what is to be done with the huge amount of fortune that has been unearthed after the death of a poor hermit. Moody finds himself right in the centre of these complex mysteries, which need to be solved as all twelve men have a desperate stake in them. The author reveals that Moody himself may have some critical information that may complete the incomplete puzzle. Readers will come across runic charts with astrological signs throughout The Luminaries.

This novel is beautifully written, and has elements of astrology, mystery, history, and even murder. The Luminaries is the author’s second book, and it is longest book ever to win the Man Booker Prize.

About Eleanor Catton

Eleanor Catton, born in 1985, is a New Zealander author.

Her debut novel is The Rehearsal.

Catton was born in Canada, but raised in New Zealand. She studied English at the University of Canterbury, and then did her Master's in Fiction Writing from The Institute of Modern Letters, Victoria University of Wellington. The author won an Iowa Writers' Workshop fellowship in 2008.

She was also an adjunct professor at the institutfion. In 2009, she was awarded the New Zealand Society of Authors Hubert Church (Montana) Best First Book Award for Fiction for The Rehearsal. Two years later, she became the Ursula Bethell Writer in Residence at the University of Canterbury. In 2013, at the age of 28, Catton became the youngest author ever to win the Booker. Later that year, she won the Canadian Governor General's Literary Award, and was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. The author resides in Auckland.