The luminaries

832 pages

English language

Published Nov. 14, 2013 by McClelland & Stewart.

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

View on OpenLibrary

5 stars (1 review)

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

Masterful

5 stars

The writing style captured me from the beginning, although it was sometimes (in the first few sections) a struggle to follow the rather complex plot with so many characters. I really appreciated all the authentic New Zealand (and especially Hokitika) references - wildlife, Maori language and culture, street names, etc. since I discovered and started reading this book in Hokitika itself. However, I think many clever astrological references were lost on me. Despite that I thoroughly enjoyed the book. This would be a great one to take apart in an English Lit. class.

Subjects

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

Places

  • New Zealand