The luminaries

832 pages

English language

Published Nov. 10, 2013 by McClelland & Stewart.

ISBN:
978-0-7710-1910-4
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OCLC Number:
859402072

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4 stars (4 reviews)

A bold neo-Victorian murder mystery set in a remote gold-mining frontier town in 19th-century New Zealand. In 1866, a weary Englishman lands in a gold-mining frontier town on the coast of New Zealand to make his fortune and forever leave behind his family's shame. On arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of twelve local men who have met in secret to investigate what links three crimes that occurred on a single day, events in which each man finds himself implicated in some way.

6 editions

Review of 'The Luminaries' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Disclaimer: I received this book as part of the Goodreads "First Reads" program.

A short word before I get into my review. I understand that this book just isn't for me. It's longlisted for the Booker, Goodreads reviewers generally love it, the author is a real up-and-comer... but it just didn't do it for me.

I think it may have been unfortunate that I read this book so quickly after reading another that really blew me away (Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates), so I kept comparing them (even if I didn't want to or mean to) as I read this one. As a quick glance into my mindset, I'll post a comparison here and maybe you can understand why I just couldn't get into the book.

Both books included parts where people were looking into mirrors, as a way for the author to describe what drives these superficial, yet self-conscious, …

avatar for exidor

rated it

4 stars
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rated it

4 stars

Subjects

  • Immigrants
  • Fiction
  • Criminal investigation
  • History
  • Gold discoveries
  • Prostitutes
  • Trials (Murder)
  • Gold mines and mining

Places

  • New Zealand