The Luminaries

Wow, wow, wow! Beyond words. That was my first impression upon reading The Luminaries. It's a mindful novel, vast in scope, steeped in thought. At least for this reader, the time taken to read it slowly, with diversions to explore astrology sites to plumb the many allusions and the story's framework, all proved rewarding, not that I claim any great degree of mastery after a single passage through its pages. But, it is understandable why it took a highly qualified Booker jury no more than two hours to sort through a most competitive field of nominated tomes to arrive at the consensus (no vote was needed) that the most deserving of the lot is The Luminaries. Each of the jury members read it thrice and was rewarded handsomely each time through. This puzzle of a book is well worth a reread. As might be expected, professional reviewers split in their judgments. The majority, as best I can determine, deemed The Luminaries a wonder; with a minority not nearly so positive. Janet Maslin of the NYTimes even went so far as to trash it: "There are readers who will be fascinated by the structure and ambiguities of 'The Luminaries.' But by and large, it's a critic's nightmare." I agree that this is no book to be read under deadline pressure, with the goal of arriving at some simplistic judgment on its worthiness. In addition to a slow hand, it might be more illuminating (ha,ha) to approach Eleanor Catton's book in a way that accommodates the thought and art Eleanor Catton infuses in its pages. It is a book, I think, that most rewards readers who surrender their projections before opening the cover. Catton employs several structural devices, the most important being the Golden Spiral, a geometric configuration frequently seen in galaxies. The spiral, a cousin to the gyre, expands by a factor of roughly 50% from the preceding spiral as it moves away from its source. Graphically, it's a tunnel effect. Catton says her original application of the Golden Spiral would have resulted in 300,000 words. So, like many others who start out to employ the Golden Spiral, she modified the formula and came up with a 200,000 word tome. The effect on the reader is a leisurely spiraling story for the first 360 pages, the essence of which is that a group of 12 residents of the gold town - the luminaries - are gathered in a hotel to shed light on a murder, a disappearance, and the provenance of a fortune in gold discovered in the murdered recluse's hut. As the story spirals, the sections are reduced by half, and the pace quickens as the story enters the 12th and final section. The second structure is a circle, which obviously manifests in the inner and outer circles of the astrology charts at the outset of each chapter, but also the ourouboros or snake/dragon figure from antiquity symbolizing a cycle of regeneration. In one of many fascinating and poetic passages, Cotton examines not only how the houses of the Zodiac each contain qualities that relate them to neighboring houses on either side, but that the whole Zodiac is a story unto itself, which incidentally manifests in the novel's characters as they move through the various characters: "What was glimpsed in Aquarius - what was envisioned, believed in, prophesied, predicted, doubted, and forewarned - is made, in Pisces, manifest. Those solitary visions that, but a month ago, belonged only to the dreamer, will now acquire the form and substance of the real. We were to our own making, and we shall be our own end." The passage goes through the houses examining their influences on one another in describing the story of the Zodiac governing the story of The Luminaries, concluding with this: "But the doubled fish of Pisces, that mirrored womb of self and self-awareness, is an ourobouros of the mind - both the will of fate, and the fated will - and the house of self-undoing is a prison built by prisoners, airless, doorless, and mortared from within." The reader who takes the time to reflect on this passage gains the key to the story. The end of The Luminaries is all about beginnings springing from the union of the male and female luminaries, in the convergence and divergence of the sun's direct light and the moon's reflected luminosity: "Different beginnings? I think we must." "Will there be more of them?" "A great many more..." This is a story set in circular space/time, an eternity without beginning or end. There is no inherent distinction between the three times, past, present, and future. Enough about the structure that is causing such a buzz, and I think discomfort to those reading The Luminaries under deadline pressure and readers more comfortable with a more linear story. The more traditional linear action of the book is easily described. It answers these questions: Who killed the recluse? Where did the prodigal son get to? What is the provenance of the gold treasure that so many lay claim to? The answers are sifted like gold by a cast of approximately 20 characters in the spiraling course of the story with no beginning and no end. (Interesting to note that the movement of panning for gold is at once circular, but also requires tilting of the pan so that the circular motion resembles a spiral to tease out the gold.) The characters - including the 12 luminaries each aligned with a house in the Zodiac - are deeply drawn psychologically in the first 360 pages. The astuteness of the psychology, based on the story of the Zodiac, itself is otherworldly. The defining qualities of each character as well as the recessive counter qualities all come into play under various conditions (including convergence with others manifesting complementary or opposing qualities). The discerning reader will come to see that the qualities manifest in these characters mirror people and relations we face in our lives. The play between these qualities and their manifest characters explain how the most hardened and mercenary character can show compassion to someone he has victimized such as when the capitalist Mannering in one instance is threatening the Chinaman digger Ah Quee with a pistol, and soon thereafter shows the same man compassion in saving him from a beating being administered by thugs who have been set in motion by the primary law authority in town. The characters are drawn with great humanity and compassion, which allows them not to appear as ideas with arms and legs as they might if sketched by a lesser talent than Catton. The cast itself creates a community with all of its functioning parts that itself evolves as a character, with many balances not the least of which is the convergence of goldfield law, and the more established codes of civilization's law. I've gone on at too great a length. For that I apologize. But like the many professional critics who have taken a run at this wonderful book, I have yet to scratch its surface. About the author: In addition to doing some research on astrology and the Zodiac, I culled interviews - written and audio - of Eleanor Catton. Normally, I pretty much leave the author out of any book's consideration (how do you factor into Billy Faulkner's works his diddling 17 year old girls...don't answer, please). But in this exceptional case, it's well worth the time to pore through the interviews. As one might expect, The Luminaries springs from the finest kind of creative mind, and she is guileless enough to field every question asked of her and answer intelligently. As a former newspaper reporter, I have never seen anyone so accomplished in an interview, and she's doing it without talking points. Her sure-footed answers are offered graciously and without hesitation. As she matures, you might not be offered such an unobstructed glimpse into that fine mind.

This epic Booker Prize-winning novel is a compelling page-turner but I think it falls short of greatness in at least one important respect. "The Luminaries" weaves a spellbinding and convoluted plot around dozens of characters whose lives intersect in the gold-mining region of New Zealand in the 1860's. It has been described as an homage and, alternately, a parody of the kind of complicated tales written by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins in the nineteenth century. It involves multiple mysteries and many characters at cross-purposes. It jumps back and forth in time, only slowly revealing parts of its puzzle. Individuals and actions are pegged to changes in the astrological chart of the Southern Hemisphere, a stylistic conceit whose significance I (and apparently many readers) did not entirely grasp. The book's strength is the cleverness and intricacy of its plot. The story (many stories really) keeps you engaged and turning pages madly to find out what happens next or what led to the current state of affairs. I felt immediately drawn in and, except for a bit of fatigue between about pages 400-500, was hooked until the end. Greed, revenge, exploitation, loyalty, virtue, family dysfunction, the opium trade, innocence, the law, and racism are among the many themes explored. The hustle and hardships of a colonial gold-mining town are dramatically conveyed. Author Eleanor Catton has an incredible facility with the language; many of her descriptions are beautifully written and evocative. Yet most of her characters are one-dimensional. There are several obvious villains, a few noble-minded characters, and innocent naïfs who get caught up in other people's nefarious schemes. There is a noble Maori native, an evildoer with a scarred face, and two major women characters who run the gamut from evil procuress to reluctant whore with a heart of gold. (If this is parody, OK; if not, it's pretty tired stuff.) Although I was eager to find out how the plot strands were resolved, I never grew invested or really cared much about any of the characters. They all seemed to be "types" or symbols used as pieces in the book's machinery. In the end, there was no Pip or Dorothea Brooke whose complex story arc became embedded in my memory. As entertaining as it is and although I still recommend it, I think "The Luminaries" is a triumph of style over substance. I hope another reading at a later date or a good discussion with others who have read it will bring out more of its value. I certainly plan to follow the promising career of young Eleanor Catton. Despite the flaws in this epic novel, her imagination and ambition shine through.

The characters and their stories inter-twine like moving cogs in a vast clock. Their interactions are carefully timed, and their actions and narrations create a patchwork of interwoven tales which are finally corroborate each other to weave a deliciously interesting and spell binding book. It is complicated, and there is plenty to remember as you move through the novel. I read and re-read parts to remind myself of who was who and what they were up to. Towards the middle of the novel the author returns to summarise each character as if to remind you again, and then moves on to the next story. I will return to read it again as it is one of those novels, like a good movie, where I think you will see things you missed the first time around. Really a wonderful book - loved it!

占星術ということで興味を持って買ってしまった．私にとっては結局，積読だったが，やっと読んだ．途中で放り出さなかったのは，やはりこの著者のストーリー・テリングの手腕のすばらしさだと思う． BBC2で6回のシリーズにTVドラマ化もされいている(2016年8月26日発表)．脚本も著者が書いているようである．作品との大きな違いはTVは時の流れと同じように進まなければならないといっている．そして記憶を思い出すようにすすめるようである． もっとも若い受賞者でもっとも長い小説のMan Booker賞の発表はネットで流していたが，ニュージーランドのネットがダウンしたらしい．この本についてのWikiの解説もあるし，インタビューもYouTubeで見られる．カナダ生まれでニュージーランド育ちというので，発音がRPとはちょっと違うところがちょっといい．著者のおばあさんは彼女の第1作(The Rehearsal, 2008，2016年に映画化)がとても嫌いだったという．著者のお父さんがアマチュア天文家で，星が好きったようで，天体に目を向けたみたいである．そこでSky and Telescopeのサイトで星の位置を見たり，Stellariumを見ながら書いていたそうだ．しかし，あとがきに，www.skyandtelescope.comと書くべきところをwww.starandtelescope.comと誤記してある(Granta版でも)．彼女はStellariumはMacでしか動かないと思っているみたいだが，もちろんWindows版もLinuxもある．以上は，本の内容以外に気づいた点である． The Luminariesは，1866年1月27日最初のシーンで12人がいわゆるノミネートされて集まっている人々をさすのかと思ったが，著者はLuminariesは占星術で太陽と月の関係を示しているといっている．つまりEmeryとAnnaの関係，gift and loveともいえる．そしてAnnaは月のように関係する星座を移る．Annaとのかかわりで本質的なのはEmeryだけであとの登場人物とは異なっていると解説している．女性の登場人物は少なくAnnaとLydia以外はbuck-toothed Margaret Shepardくらいでである．それは明らかに女性の天体は金星と月だからでもあり，このころのホキティカの人口の男女比が10対1だったからだという．著者は19世紀の小説を読んで，自立的女性が最後に死にいたる，ときに自殺するような状況は避けたかったといっている．最後の章は1月14日だが，タイトルはthe Luminariesでこれは事件の日で，2人のモノローグのような対話で終わる．当然のように雨で終わるが，このニュージーランド西岸は年間200日は雨だと著者は言っている． つないでいるものはわれわれが気づかないものだという． そういう人間関係の不思議(ミステリー)は星座の動きに起因していないのかもしれない． あるいはJungのarchetypesからshadow dancingとして現れるものかもしれない． と，著者はコメントしている． もちろんいろいろな読み方ができる．AnnaはshadowでEmeryはlightであるということもできる．それぞれの登場人物にshadowとlightがある．ただ，「落ちた女性に将来はなく，登りつめた男性に過去はない」というmaximを著者は書いているが，これを乗り越えていく大きな力のようなものもある． テクニカルには，主要登場人物が星座と惑星に割り振られている．これは章のはじめに描かれたホロスコープと人物紹介のフロント・マターですぐにわかる．それぞれの過去に長い過去がある．この集会の日(1866年1月27日)は水星（Walter Moody）・火星(Francis Carver)・木星(Alistair Lauderback)がいて座(Thomas Balfour)に，金星(Lydia (Wells) Carver)と太陽も同じやぎ座(Aubert Gascoigne)にいるというかなり特異な日である．解決の日4月27日で，この長いストーリーが3ヶ月間のなかに，過去も含めて日時が錯綜する． その一年前の1865年4月27日もおひつじ座(Tauwhare)に太陽・月・金星．水星が集まるとされている．最後の12部1月14日(章の名前はThe Luminaries)も木星と金星がぶつかって太陽と同じ宮にいる．この1866年の2月には満月がないというまれな年でもあったことなど偶然のようでイマジネーションが湧いたと語っている．さらに1866年にはホキティカにjailができた年だという歴史的事実もある．徒歩でかかる時間もGoogle Mapで計ったという．Booker賞受賞後，マウイの町にいったらTauwhareの子孫で先祖を誇りに思うという少年がでてきたそうである．もちろん空想の人物だというが，この小説でホキティカのGDPが倍になったというくらいでphenomenonだったのである． 読んでいる途中で感じたことと，読み終わってからいろんな情報が入ってきて，思い返すと愛着が湧いてくるような小説だった．だから，ネットの情報をいろいろ調べてから読むというのもいいかもしれないし，BBCのドラマを見てから原作が読みたくならうかもしれない．そういうことに耐えるだけの重層的な構造をもっている作品である．

If it wins the Man Booker Prize, it doesn't need any endorsement from me. The book is essentially a mystery set in the New Zealand gold fields of the 19th century. The plot weaves though many well defined characters, with mysteries multiplying like images in a hall of mirrors. The writing is superb, the characters are totally three dimensional and the plot sucks you right in. You can read this book on several levels, all of which are extremely satisfying.

Eleanor Catton’s extraordinary second novel is a thing of wonder. Nominally part of the neo-Victorian tradition exemplified by the sexual revisionism of Sarah Waters and Michel Faber, Catton’s huge novel is rather the finest modern application of precisely the effects achieved by the greatest novels of the nineteenth century. With its omniscient narrator, finely delineated cast of characters and brilliant and true turning of aphorisms, the Luminaries is a Booker novel that can be happily recommended to followers of good tales, as well as fine writing. Set during the New Zealand Gold Rush of the 1860s, Catton’s novel finds its closest recent antecedent not in the novel, but in David Milch’s unfinished masterpiece Deadwood. Where the latter was characterised by some of the finest dialogue in modern television, riotous and profane, The Luminaries is a work of genius construction, the careful revelation of detail and one of the most touching love stories in contemporary fiction. It is impossible to enumerate the many rewards of The Luminaries in a short space – like the best long novels in the realist tradition, from Eliot, Dickens and Dostoevsky to Vasily Grossman – and indeed the box set television shows which the author recently cited as an influence – Catton’s work encompasses a variety of character and scene that demand to be read for oneself. Making use of several of the classic scenes and plot drivers of classic fiction – from a séance to a courtroom trial, a misdirected Will to a missing man – The Luminaries is not a post-modern recapitulation of such themes, but rather a novel that can and should stand with those nineteenth-century classics. From the banker whose ‘air of cryptic strategy […] was not manufactured [but] came rather out of a fundamental blindness to all experience but his own’, to the politician who ‘encouraged agreement on the most trivial of points; [angling] for consensus when a consensus was not due – and before one knew it, one was on his side, and campaigning’, Catton has the sharpest of eyes for character, and a fearlessness – atypical in the contemporary novel – of insight. Not for The Luminaries the relativism of the first person or the free indirect style, this is a novel which is unafraid to pick a fight with a consensus that too-often rejects forthrightness in fiction. The construction of the novel, which builds towards a climax in a series of diminishing chapters, in an arrangement apparently based around astrological charts, may be an irritant to some. But as the chapters reduce in size the emotional depth of the novel increases disproportionately. No plot-threads are left hanging, there is no arch ambiguity in resolution, the final, tiny, chapter is a triumph precisely because it is founded upon the riches of the previous 830 pages – it is the final pinch of gold dust on the bonanza. The Luminaries is the finest long work of fiction you will read this year, or most other years. Looking at your chart I see that the heavens are so aligned that you should begin reading it right now.

Wonderful, wonderful book! Such interesting and depthful characters, a well plotted mystery, a lot of insights into everyday life in New Zealand in the time of the gold rush in the 19th century. But the main asset of the novel is the way the story is told - from the many different perspectives intercepting one another. I was very impressed with the rich and some times old fashioned language that Ms. Catton uses. I wish there were more authors like her! The astrological charts in the book are essential, meaning they show us how different characters interact with one another in the story and they are also useful in order to understand the temper and nature of the different characters. It is really a very ambitious work of fiction! Deserves the Booker prize!