{"id":2617,"date":"2023-02-25T11:56:34","date_gmt":"2023-02-25T11:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2617"},"modified":"2023-02-25T11:56:37","modified_gmt":"2023-02-25T11:56:37","slug":"book-recommendation-the-luminaries-by-eleanor-catton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2617","title":{"rendered":"Book Recommendation: The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hi Readers! I have unlocked a whole new level of accomplishment. I had this book The Luminaries on my bookshelf since eight years. It was the oldest book on my physical TBR. The wisest fellow to have endured so much of me picking any book but it. And then one glorious day, I saw a readalong hosted by Bernie Lombardi for the same book on Instagram. I saw this as a serendipitous glory and decided to go for it. I just needed the push, so I stuck with the reading schedule of the readalong to help me initially. And then, finally after 19 days, I completed the book!! And, what a journey it was! It is going to be a long review so I decided to skip the Goodreads blurb, but you can check it out here<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~THE WRITING~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Luminaries was published in 2013 but the story is set in 1866. Not even once did it feel like it was written just 10 years prior. The writing teleports you to that particular era in New Zealand. You can imagine the diggers coming to the shores and working their luck to find some gold. You can imagine the men in their suits and hats and women in their corseted dresses falling early prey to the patriarchy. Only because it\u2019s such ambitious yet engaging style of writing, you can stay with the story for the long 832 pages.\u00a0 As much as there is so much adventure, hearsay, swindles and glory in the story, the journey of reading it all is truly of insurmountable joy.<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another insight into the talent is how the book is written. In Part One, there are multiple point of views all told in a haphazard manner, which is confusing. So, it is kind of has a natural selection process and sieves out the non-committed readers. Part Two and Part Three is where it all happens in the Present. Part Four is again fantastic because it consists two parallels; one in the present in the form of a courtroom drama and the other is from 1865. Part Five onwards there are glimpses into 1865 catching up to where the story began, making it full circle.<\/p>\n\n\n

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~~THE CHARACTERS~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If there can be one reason why a reader might quit this book in the first 200 pages, it could be because of the immense number of characters in the book. But, having so many characters is deeply rooted into the astrological connection which is so pivotal to the universe of the book. I think as long as you are able to categorize them on your own level, into primary and secondary, you will not have much of a confusion.<\/strong><\/mark> The primary characters in my head were Anna Wetherell, Lydia Wells, Francis Carver, Aubert Gascoigne, Ah Sook and Walter Moody. The secondary characters were all the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~~THE ASTROLOGY~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I had an inkling of why there were twelve men gathered at the Crown. I naturally thought because it somehow aligns with the twelve astrological signs. And guess what? That\u2019s exactly correct! It turns out each person resonates one sign. And, when I watched the TV adaptation, I understood them on another level. So, here are our twelve main characters as per the signs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Te Rau Tauwhare \u2013 Aries – Blood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charlie Frost \u2013 Taurus – Money<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benjamin Loewenthal \u2013 Gemini – Knowledge<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edgar Clinch \u2013 Cancer \u2013 Where we come from<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Mannering \u2013 Leo \u2013 Where we go<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quee Long (Ah Quee) \u2013 Virgo – Work<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harald Nilssen \u2013 Libra – Marriage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joseph Pritchard \u2013 Scorpio – Death<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas Balfour \u2013 Sagittarius – Discovery<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aubert Gascoigne \u2013 Capricorn \u2013 Who we serve<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sook Yongsheng (Ah Sook) \u2013 Aquarius \u2013 Who we meet<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cowell Devlin \u2013 Pisces \u2013 What we sacrifice<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what\u2019s more is that all the other characters are supposed to be \u2018heavenly bodies\u2019 who move through the signs. And, each heavenly body rules a sign. Based on this logic, we have them as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walter Moody \u2013 Mercury \u2013 What we stand for (rules Virgo aka Ah Quee)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lydia \u2013 Venus \u2013 What we want (rules Libra, aka Nilssen)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carver \u2013 Mars \u2013 What we have done (rules Aries, aka Te Rau)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alistair Lauderback \u2013 Jupiter \u2013 What we stand for (rules Sagittarius aka Balfour)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George Shepard \u2013 Saturn \u2013 What we stand against (rules Capricorn aka Gascoigne)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then we have the astral twins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Wetherell & Emery Staines \u2013 Sun \u2013 how we see out & Moon \u2013 how we see inside (both of them are both the Sun and the Moon. Moon rules Cancer aka Edgar Clinch and Sun rules Leo aka Richard Mannering.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to this, every chapter is half of the previous chapter. So the length of Part 2 is half of Part 1 and so forth till Part 12. I understood all of this only after I finished the book and went down the rabbit hole. Having no knowledge about astrology, I had no idea to know about this as I read the book. But, how fascinating is this? Just because of this angle, the rating of the book increased by half a star for me!<\/p>\n\n\n

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~~ENDING EXPLAINED AND A FEW OTHER THINGS TOO (INCLUDES SPOILERS)~~<\/mark><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you pick a book over 800 pages, you hope it will be contemporary or literary or historical fiction. When I found out that it was mystery, it was a little off-putting. It did take some time to get used to it and then I finally started enjoying it. And, I had the same questions you might have if you have just read the book. Did Crosbie die on his own or did someone poison him? Who killed Francis Carver? How was Anna not shot in the chest when she pulled the trigger herself?<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, I wasn\u2019t very sure about Crosbie\u2019s death, but I suppose Lydia was behind it. As for Carver\u2019s death, it is very transparently Te Rau who killed him, because he was the only one of the twelve missing. The most fun parts were about Anna and Emery, the astral twins. There was the teensiest bit of magical realism to it in the sense that one would do something and the other would feel it.<\/strong><\/mark> For example, Anna smoked and drank but was never high, instead Emery got high. Anna ate but still looked like she was starving because the food actually went to Emery who was locked in a crate and needed it more. Likewise, the gun that Anna fired to her own chest didn\u2019t take, because it was Emery who got shot. Amazing, huh? At least I thought it was! So that\u2019s The Luminaries ending explained to you.<\/p>\n\n\n

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I would have liked it better if the book was a bit shorter, say 500 pages. But, I still enjoyed being with these flawed characters and being in this sensational story. I have rated The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton at 4.5\/5 stars!<\/strong><\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Until next time,<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Readers! I have unlocked a whole new level of accomplishment. I had this book The Luminaries on my bookshelf since eight years. It was the oldest book on my physical TBR. The wisest fellow to have endured so much of me picking any book but it. And then one glorious day, I saw a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,23,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","category-books","category-book-reviews","category-mindscape-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/PSX_20230222_112018-02.jpg?fit=2500%2C2500&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2624,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2624","url_meta":{"origin":2617,"position":0},"title":"Books Read in February 2023!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"February 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! Another month gone way too quickly. I read FIVE BOOKS across 1876 PAGES! I was quite happy with my reading this month. I read one big book, two mid-sized books and two shorter books. They were all wildly different from each other so I wasn\u2019t bored at all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SI_20230227_131503-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SI_20230227_131503-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SI_20230227_131503-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SI_20230227_131503-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mindscapeinwords.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/SI_20230227_131503-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2858,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=2858","url_meta":{"origin":2617,"position":1},"title":"2023 Mid-Year Reading Recap + Favourite Books!","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"July 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! Half a year has passed us by. As usual, it feels like time has moved slowly but passed quickly. I have had a hell of a year so far, with way too many ups and downs than are expected in a mere six months. 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How are you all doing? How was July so far? For me, there is nothing great going on. 9 days in & I have not read a single book, except for \u2018The Little Book of Happiness\u2019 by Ruskin Bond, which as the title suggests was little. I am\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book review"","block_context":{"text":"Book review","link":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Say8T7Yv3iU\/XwbZsoydTlI\/AAAAAAAAjVY\/OeudaOW6_s8N2qaWNn-L5k9JnfRzbvYfgCK4BGAsYHg\/w394-h640\/IMG_20200709_124849-01-01.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3178,"url":"https:\/\/mindscapeinwords.com\/?p=3178","url_meta":{"origin":2617,"position":3},"title":"Top 12 Posts of 2023 \u2013 Year in Review (Part 3)","author":"Aishwarya Shenolikar","date":"December 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Hi Readers! Year on year, you outdo yourselves! Mindscape in Words had 64000 VIEWS in 2023! This is a 40% increase than last year. I know there are two to four posts which receive a majority of traffic, but they are also the ones I love the most. 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