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 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