Recent Reads: The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

What does one do when they are laid up from a recent knee surgery other than find a very thick book and be appreciative of the opportunity to read for hours without excuse.  I did just the thing after my ACL reconstructive surgery and savored every moment of The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton.

The Luminaries is the recipient of the2013 Man Booker Prize, and an excellent story that follows the lives and the interconnectedness of several characters in the 1860’s New Zealand Gold Rush.  Scandal and theft run the line of the plot, as one might expect with the prospect of gold, but there is also love, or the convenience of, and the untidy mess that love between two people might bring. Only the moon knows how these people and their relationships might be connected through the turn of events, and, eventually, the reader does, too.

Catton captures the timeframe and place of the story remarkably, as well as the tone of each individual character’s expression through action and language.