The Luminaries: worth its 832 pages
One thing you can be sure of, once you start reading Eleanor Catton’s Man Booker Prize winning novel, is that it will not disappoint you. The book takes you through a series of mysteries and a brilliantly constructed narrative.
By Shibani Bedi | Hindustan Times
UPDATED ON DEC 31, 2013 06:20 PM IST
One thing you can be sure of, once you start reading Eleanor Catton’s Man Booker Prize winning novel, is that it will not disappoint you. The mammoth 832 pages of the 28-year-old writer’s second work of fiction, The Luminaries, will have you hooked before you know it.
It will take you through a series of mysteries and a brilliantly constructed narrative set in 19th century New Zealand’s gold rush town of Hokitika, unravelling the fate of all the intricate characters who take turns playing protagonists.
The story opens with the arrival of Scotsman Walter Moody, on a dark and stormy night, at the Crown Hotel, where he chances upon a meeting between 12 men in progress, each one of them connected to some unstated crime, and each one hiding a secret. With intriguing twists, excellent dialogue, and great attention to detail, the reader is taken to the climax, which ties all the loose ends before the truth is finally reached.
TITLE:
The Luminaries
AUTHOR: Eleanor Catton
PUBLISHER: Granta Publications
PRICE: Rs 799
Durjoy Datta: Criticism used to bother me but now I don’t have energy for anger
By Mallika Bhagat, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON MAR 06, 2021 02:22 PM IST
The author popular for exploring romance genre talks about not taking criticism to heart, his ever evolving concept of love, and even shares some words of wisdom for the young writers.
Women's Day: Reese Witherspoon shares this ‘illuminating’ book as her March pick
By Zarafshan Shiraz
UPDATED ON MAR 06, 2021 01:03 PM IST
- Ahead of Women’s Day 2021, Hollywood actor Reese Witherspoon shares an ‘exceptionally powerful and illuminating’ book as her March pick after launching a free app for her book club which celebrates ‘diverse voices that put women at the center of their stories’
Women's History Month: Priyanka Chopra shares favourite books by female authors
By Nishtha Grover, Delhi
PUBLISHED ON MAR 06, 2021 11:09 AM IST
- Priyanka Chopra recently took to her Instagram stories and shared a few of her favourite books written by female authors in celebration of Women's History Month. Check out the list here:
Essay: A tribute to Vishnunarayanan Namboothiri
By CP Surendran
UPDATED ON MAR 06, 2021 04:30 PM IST
The work of the Malayalam poet, who died on February 25, invoked an inclusive democracy of kindness and of the coexistence of humans, animals and things
HT Picks: New Reads
By HT Team
PUBLISHED ON MAR 05, 2021 11:30 PM IST
Recipes, nostalgia, the art of picking up new skills, and an exploration of Britain’s strange collective amnesia about its colonial past feature on this week’s reading list
Interview: Olivia Sudjic, author, Asylum Road
By Simar Bhasin
PUBLISHED ON MAR 05, 2021 11:09 PM IST
The author talks about exploring self-destructive impulses and the myths of exceptionalism in her post-Brexit novel
Review: Covid-19: Separating Fact from Fiction by Anirban Mahapatra
By Sukumar Ranganathan
PUBLISHED ON MAR 05, 2021 10:36 PM IST
Anirban Mahapatra’s book places the coronavirus disease pandemic in the context of the science of viruses and viral pandemics
Book on Smriti Irani's victory in Amethi to release in English
PTI, New Delhi
PUBLISHED ON MAR 05, 2021 04:57 PM IST
The English translation of journalist-author Anant Vijay's book "Amethi Sangram: Aitihasik Jeet Ankahi Dastan" will be released on March 15, announced publishing house Westland on Friday.
Cecelia Ahern's book 'Roar' to be aired as female-driven dark-comic Apple series
By Zarafshan Shiraz
UPDATED ON MAR 05, 2021 01:02 PM IST
- Irish author Cecelia Ahern's book 'Roar', which was a female-driven anthology of 30 short stories, to be screened on Apple TV+ as an 8-episode series starring Emmy and Golden Globe award winners Nicole Kidman, Alison Brie, Cynthia Erivo and Merritt Wever
Billie Jean King memoir 'All In' to be published in August
AP, New York
PUBLISHED ON MAR 05, 2021 10:52 AM IST
Billie Jean King has a memoir coming this summer, and she calls it a journey to her “authentic self.”
Worried about climate change? There's a book for that.
Reuters
PUBLISHED ON MAR 04, 2021 07:24 PM IST
Books titled “Trees in Trouble” and “How We’re F—ing Up Our Planet” scream out from the shelves of Barnes and Noble’s nature and wildlife section between reassuring tomes on hummingbirds and wildflowers.
Ira Mukhoty: I want to talk about strong women of Nawabi era
By Deep Saxena
UPDATED ON MAR 04, 2021 02:43 PM IST
Author Ira Mukhoty is researching her first book on Awadh. Having penned ‘Heroines: Powerful Indian Women of Myth and History’, ‘Daughters of the Sun: Empresses, Queens and Begums of the Mughal Empire’ and ‘Akbar: The Great Mughal’, the Delhite spent about a week in Lucknow hunting down facts for her book.
Essay: The importance of Lawrence Ferlinghetti
By Chintan Girish Modi
PUBLISHED ON MAR 02, 2021 05:38 PM IST
The courtroom drama around Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s publication of Alan Ginsberg’s Howl (1956), that focussed on the defence of free expression, provides a case study for contemporary writers, filmmakers, and stand-up comedians in other parts of the world facing censorship
New book uncovers Indian mystery probed by Sherlock Holmes author
PTI, London
PUBLISHED ON FEB 28, 2021 10:27 AM IST
Arthur Conan Doyle was drawn to investigate just one real-life crime during his lifetime and it involved a British Indian man wrongly accused of a series of mysterious crimes in an English village in the early 20th century.
HT Picks; New Reads
By HT Team
PUBLISHED ON FEB 26, 2021 10:46 PM IST
This week’s list of interesting reads includes a satire on the Indian publishing scene, insights from the career trajectory of an atypical bureaucrat, and a critique of the illiberal forces that dominate our lives