Books › The Luminaries
Booker Prize 2013
The Luminaries
1773 pages
A sprawling, mud-splattered Victorian mystery where every character is bound by the invisible gravity of fate and gold.
What it feels like
Reading this novel feels like stepping out of the rain into a dimly lit, smoke-filled parlor where a dozen strangers are unraveling a massive, tangled secret. It is a deeply atmospheric, labyrinthine experience that demands your full surrender to its deliberate, unhurried rhythm. The prose is a masterful homage to nineteenth-century sensation fiction, complete with an arch, omniscient narrator and sprawling, ornate sentences that perfectly capture the mud, greed, and gold-fever of colonial New Zealand. As the intricate, astrologically-bound puzzle pieces slowly lock into place, the initial bewilderment gives way to a profound sense of awe at the sheer architectural genius of the narrative. It will utterly delight readers who crave immersive, doorstopper historical mysteries where every tiny detail is a deliberate clue.
- Mood
- atmospheric
- shadowy
- mud-splattered
- labyrinthine
- Tone
- omniscient
- arch
- meticulous
- theatrical
- Pace
- leisurely
- Themes
- fate and celestial mechanics · the corrupting nature of greed · hidden connections · colonial ambition and exploitation
- The writing
- An immaculate, deliberate pastiche of nineteenth-century Victorian literature, rich with omniscient asides and ornate vocabulary.
- The arc
- Begins in a state of overwhelming, tangled confusion and slowly resolves into a breathtakingly precise, fated clarity.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love sinking into massive, intricately plotted historical doorstoppers that demand patience and reward close attention.
Content notes
- murder
- opium addiction
- sex work
- colonial racism
- suicide
About the book
Wonderful novel taking place in New-Zealand during the golden rush. Une intrigue complexe et fine à la fois, vrai roman d'aventure historique mais pas seulement. L'auteur s'amuse avec nous et nous mène de révélations en révélations tout en nous laissant à la fin du livre avec une grande envie de continuer dans le monde qu'elle a créé pour nous.
Description from Open Library.
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