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leighgoodmark's review against another edition
1.0
About 20% of the way in, I gave up. I just couldn't get into this story at all. The Man Booker committee and I will have to disagree about this one.
winnimartha's review against another edition
4.0
The Luminaries started off slow. To be frank, I was somewhat skeptical for the first couple hundred pages. Slowly but surely, however, as the story got increasingly more complicated and more threads emerged, I was drawn in.
I'm still not overwhelmed, but The Luminaries is a masterful novel, intricately constructed and incredibly well written. I would probably need to read it a second time to really appreciate what Catton has accomplished - I'll confess the astrological aspects went over my head. Somehow it only slowly dawned on me that The Luminaries was winning me over, so if I read it again someday I'll probably be able to appreciate it from the start.
I'm still not overwhelmed, but The Luminaries is a masterful novel, intricately constructed and incredibly well written. I would probably need to read it a second time to really appreciate what Catton has accomplished - I'll confess the astrological aspects went over my head. Somehow it only slowly dawned on me that The Luminaries was winning me over, so if I read it again someday I'll probably be able to appreciate it from the start.
andreacpowers's review against another edition
4.0
I needed GoodReads to help me figure out what was going on.
ainsleymckee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a puzzle of a novel. So much to unpack structurally, and lots of twisting secrets and mysteries. Keeps you on your toes; I'm not sure I followed it 100%; likely deserving of a re-read. Beautiful writing but with compulsive plot (once you reach the second half). In awe of how much complexity Catton wove in to the structure.
sminismoni's review against another edition
5.0
What can I say? This is a complex marvel of a book that combines layer upon layer of thickly woven plot with a lightly ironic style of writing. It is not easy to understand, and much like the signs of the zodiac, the characters represent archetypes and common human motives rather than being detailed individuals. But this is necessary to drive a mystery where everyone's fate is intertwined. It kept me guessing even after the last page was turned; there is nothing obvious about this book, and that's what kept me reading all 800+ pages until the end.
bakefield's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
How beautiful
p_t_b's review against another edition
4.0
A zero to 5 rating system is not quite subtle enough to reflect how I feel about this one. I would give it a deep five stars for worldmaking, imagination, weirdness. And then like a three for occasionally being shaggy or outright boring. It's a novel about the inconstancy of humans, fortunes (both money and mystic). There's a mostly decorative zodiac/astrology theme shaping the plot. This is basically Deadwood but in 1865 New Zealand. There is a fortune, that started with this one guy, then it gets stolen and smuggled but lost, then found by a hooker, then stolen by a Chinese digger while the hooker is passed out from drugs, then stolen from the Chinese dude in a weird sort of illegible moment, then buried, then there is this idea to give half of it to the hooker for reasons unrelated to any of the preceding, then it sort of belongs to the very first guy again but he dies mysteriously, and another guy gets it, but then there is a trial and they give it back to the guy who stole it from the chinese guy (said guy being mostly a sweetheart but also not a real character but just an aspect of this fallen woman/rising man dongle that the whole book revolves around. but all of the foregoing is related in reverse order, and disputed a bunch along the way from like sooo many directions.
At times this is breathtaking; it's never less than really impressive from a technical standpoint. At other times, it is annoying as hell and definitely could have been at least 300 page shorter. The tail end is a bit tacked on. This book frustrated and bored and entertained and satisfied me? It's too long though.
At times this is breathtaking; it's never less than really impressive from a technical standpoint. At other times, it is annoying as hell and definitely could have been at least 300 page shorter. The tail end is a bit tacked on. This book frustrated and bored and entertained and satisfied me? It's too long though.
minimumhead's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a whole lot of fun. Part murder mystery, part other forms of mystery, part historical(ish) fiction, part character study. Would be 5 stars except for the rushed format of the ending. The flashback scenes could have easily been interspersed with the rest of the ending without taking away from the suspense. Wells' death (not a spoiler, I swear) was never really clarified. Would have liked a short epilogue.
jpyper's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5