The Luminaries: A Novel - Eleanor Catton

Date Started: 1/14/14
Date Finished: 2/14/14

Let me start by saying: wow, what an amazing accomplishment for this author. Reading this book is like stepping back in time, both stylistically as well as in subject matter. The writing is so convincing that it's hard to believe this wasn't written in the time it takes place (1860s New Zealand gold rush).

That said, this is like Game of Thrones - there is no way I am going to attempt to summarize the grand arc of the story other than to say it is about a group of men (13) who come together to solve a mystery in which they have all played a part.

Read on for my thoughts (as usual, spoilers ahead):

 I briefly touched on what I liked, so here are few the elements I found problematic:

• When I read the ending my reaction was "wait, that's it?" - I couldn't believe it just ended like that. I actually kept swiping on my kindle hoping I had missed something somewhere. That wasn't a particularly fulfilling way to end a novel that's over 800 pages. 
• The connection between Emery and Anna - supernatural somehow? - was easy to pick up on once a few hints had been laid - so the "revelatory" chapter wasn't so revelatory, at least for me. 
• I am an avid and very fast reader and have no problem with long books (seriously, I loved War and Peace - who says that?!). But I was about 400 pages into this one and thinking to myself -- "when is something going to happen?". That's rough. I don't know if I would make my way thought this one if I didn't read as fast as I do. It might just seem like too much effort with an indeterminate pay out (see first point above). 

So those are my thoughts. The writing style alone would have made reading this book worth it for me, but in the end I thought it was an enjoyable story. That said, I don't think this is a book that will be universally loved. It's too complicated for that, which isn't a bad thing. But oh, that ending! For me that was the issue, and while I can appreciate the book as a whole, I just can't get behind the ending.

I'm linking to the Goodreads page here, as well. From a brief overview it seems people are split in their opinions, just like me, so there you go.