A review of The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. Published by Allen & Unwin.

The Luminaries won the Man Booker Prize, probably the most prestigious literary award, and I have been anxious to read it. Thank goodness for summer holidays! This book is a massive 832 pages in hardback, and does take some reading. However, the journey is definitely worth it.

It is set in the gold rush in New Zealand in the 1860s. The gold rush era moved from California (1840s) to New South Wales (Bathurst) and Victoria (Ballarat) in the 1850s, then then Otago (east coast of south island of New Zealand), then Hokitika (west coast of the south island). Hokitika is the location of this novel.

It begins with a complex mystery: a hermit has died, a prostitute was found unconscious on a street, another man has gone missing, a ship sails hurriedly, and a mysterious fortune is found.

Twelve men connected with these events have gathered to tell their stories and look for links. They include a pimp, a Chinese digger and hatter/opium dealer, a chemist, a builder, a journalist, a Maori guide, a bankr, a shipping agent, a court clerk and a chaplain. For half the book they tell their version of events to an innocent stranger, Walter Moody, who has stumbled into their meeting.

And then, at the end, we are taken back in time to examine events and conversations until finally every detail is explained.

There are elements of a detective novel, an historical romance and a morality tale: the latter more unusual in this era of relativity. Throughout, there are little jewels like: “For although a man is judged by his actions, what he has said and done, a man judges himself by what he is willing to do, by what he might have said, or might have done”.

What we have in the end is a satisfying meal, with plenty of variety, the finest ingredients of character and plot, some exquisite combination of flavours, lots of complexity, and something to ruminate on for a while after.

Catton is courageous in taking on a story vast in scope and intense in detail. She describes the religious issues of the day through the character of the Free Methodist chaplain Cowell Devlin; she delves into Maori lore through Te Rau Tauwhare; she gives great detail about the curse of opium addiction, gold panning and historical printing techniques.

A large part of the charm of the novel is its old-fashioned style. It reminded me of a Dickens novel in its characterisation, commentary on injustice in society, its focus on conversation rather than description as a mean of telling the story, and even its chapter headings that outline the plot content.

It is difficult to find fault with this novel, aside from its discouraging length (but perhaps we have forgotten the simple pleasure of clearing time to curl up with a novel over several days), and also its use of astronomical/astrological symbolism, which was a little lost on me. There is also reference to occult themes in the novel, but this is not played out. My final criticism is that, while the pastor is portrayed as a man of integrity, compassion, conviction and discernment, there is little exploration of the depth of his spiritual life, biblical awareness or passion for the Gospel.

However, there is a distinction made between the chaplain Cowell and George Shepard, the gaoler, who prays as “expressions of duty rather than hope”, because he believed that some people, like whores, were beyond salvation.

In this novel, we see the complexity of human nature, the corruption of sin, the fragility of “civilization”, and the lure of greed, jealousy and revenge. As Walter Moody concludes, “One should never take another man’s truth for one’s own”. That is, our ways of seeing are always conditioned by our lack of perspective and sin. Only in God do we find the one and the whole truth, and in Jesus the true measure of our thoughts, words and actions.

KARA MARTIN is the Associate Dean of the Marketplace Institute, Ridley Melbourne, has been a lecturer with Wesley Institute and is an avid reader and book group attendee. Kara does book reviews for Hope 103.2’s Open House and Eternity Magazine.

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