Description
The winner of the Man Booker Prize, this "expertly written, perfectly constructed" bestseller (The Guardian) is now a Starz miniseries.
It is 1866, and Walter Moody has come to stake his claim in New Zealand's booming gold rush. On the stormy night of his arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of 12 local men who have met in secret to discuss a series of unexplained events: a wealthy man has vanished, a prostitute has tried to end her life, and an enormous cache of gold has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely ornate as the night sky.
Richly evoking a mid-nineteenth-century world of shipping, banking, and gold rush boom and bust, The Luminaries is at once a fiendishly clever ghost story, a gripping page-turner, and a thrilling novelistic achievement. It richly confirms that Eleanor Catton is one of the brightest stars in the international literary firmament.
It is 1866, and Walter Moody has come to stake his claim in New Zealand's booming gold rush. On the stormy night of his arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of 12 local men who have met in secret to discuss a series of unexplained events: a wealthy man has vanished, a prostitute has tried to end her life, and an enormous cache of gold has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely ornate as the night sky.
Richly evoking a mid-nineteenth-century world of shipping, banking, and gold rush boom and bust, The Luminaries is at once a fiendishly clever ghost story, a gripping page-turner, and a thrilling novelistic achievement. It richly confirms that Eleanor Catton is one of the brightest stars in the international literary firmament.
Book Details
Format
Hardcover
Pages
864
Language
English
Published
Jan 1, 2019
Publisher
Turtleback
Editions
50 editions
ISBN-10
1690382929
ISBN-13
9781690382928
Genres
Mystery
Science Fiction
History
Horror
Humor
Business & Economics
Reviews
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3.5 rounded down.I think a lot of this book was lost on me, and I'm not sure if it's my ability to understand it or if the intricacies don't translate well over audio book. I was painfully underwhelmed at the end of the book, came here to read what other people were saying, and learned a lot about it that never occured to me as I was listening. Clearly, I grossly misunderstood what was happening.It's possible I'll decide to read the thing in print later, so this rating might change in the future.
May 31st 2018