Book review : The Luminaries - Eleanor Catton
05:40
Dear everyone,
I don't know where this review is going.
I don't think I have a genuine opinion of this novel. There, I said it.
I'm not saying it's badly written or anything like that - Eleanor Catton is, undoubtedly, a master at what she does. The quality of the writing and the beauty of the language used by the New Zealand author is undeniable.
The problem is, it didn't do anything for me.
You know how, sometimes, you read a book and when you are done, you aren't sure if you have understood it or not? There is that feeling. I have just put it down and I am so, so unsure of what I have read. I think I have understood the general plot, but I could barely even say anything about it. There is a man called Walter Moody who arrives in the town of Hokitika, New Zealand, and stumbles upon a council of twelve men in the smoking room of the hotel where he is staying. The town has been shaken by the death of ermit Crosbie Wells, the suicide attempt of prostitute Anna Wetherell and the disappearance of wealthy young boy Emery Staines, whom is feared dead by everyone. There is a link, somewhere, between those three events, and there are so many other details related to every single one of the twelve men that relate to it. And despite understanding the general idea of The Luminaries, I couldn't tell you what was the point of the council and what these men were attempting to prove or find out.
It took me an entire month to read this novel, and I think it says something else about it - I couldn't properly get into it. Last week, I forced myself to read chunks of about fifty pages every day, but if you have to force yourself to read a book, it's not positive in any way. When it comes to books, I am no quitter. If I have started it, I will finish it, and that's the bottom line, never mind if I have to coerce myself into doing so. But God, I hate when that happens.
All in all, I'd say The Luminaries is, objectively, a brilliant book deserving of the Man Booker Prize it received. The main plot is interesting and the writing is of high quality.
It just isn't a book for me.
"We all want to be loved - and need to be loved, I think. Without love, we cannot be ourselves."
"If home can't be where you come from, then home is what you make of where you go."
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