A review by lakmus
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

3.0

I like the concept, and I like the writing. I see the giant pile of research the author did to write this, and I appreciate that too. But man. I take it that it was meant to be like a music box with a bunch of mechanical figurines, moving about as the stars command, and you are just there to see the heavenly dance unravel and watch how the inevitable and improbable happens because the stars have aligned. But man do I not ultimately care a fig for anyone, except maybe Crosbie Wells because that guy has the worst luck in the world (in counterbalance to Emery I suppose).

At the very least, it'd make for some interesting discussion, so that's already not a waste.