This year’s most
challenging read would have to be Booker winner, The Luminaries by Eleanor
Catton. Not a group to easily shy away from a challenge, everyone made a
concerted effort to tackle this 800+ page door stop!
From a discussion
perspective, this novel delivered an abundance of material. We found the
author’s use of astrological charts to define her characters intriguing. Their
circular synergy was captivating, releasing piece by piece everything needed to
form a full picture of this literary jigsaw puzzle.
Although clearly a mystery
set within the Victorian backwater of New Zealand’s south island, the multitude
of layers formed by the different character viewpoints made this more than just
a whodunit novel (Dickens came to mind for most of us). Keeping track of the
various cast members was not easy, but for those of us who persevered, the
awards were great. The plot, setting and description were all brilliantly
combined and none of us could say we were not literally picked up and placed on
the muddy streets of a colonial goldfield!
Alas, it was a little too
much for some of us, who simply found the volume of pages a stumbling block too
big to get over. But if you love a large chunk of well researched and
brilliantly constructed literature, then The Luminaries must be your next big
read!
