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The Luminaries

Pages
848
Published
2013
Language
English

Synopsis

Newly arrived prospector Walter Moody stumbles into a secret meeting of twelve local men in the New Zealand gold-rush town of Hokitika, each connected to a recent, tangled set of events: a wealthy prospector has vanished, a notorious prostitute has nearly died of an opium overdose, and a hermit has been found dead with a fortune hidden in his cottage. As the twelve men recount their versions of events, Moody — and the reader — must piece together a mystery of fortune, deception, and buried connections.

Eleanor Catton structures the novel astrologically, with each of the twelve men corresponding to a zodiac sign and the book's own length and chapter structure waning like the moon as the narrative unfolds. Winner of the 2013 Booker Prize, and at 28 Catton became the prize's youngest-ever winner.

About the author

E
Eleanor Catton

Eleanor Catton (born 24 September 1985) is a New Zealand novelist and screenwriter. She was born in London, Ontario, Canada, and moved to New Zealand as a child, growing up in Christchurch. Her debut novel, The Rehearsal (2008), began as her master's thesis in creative writing. Her second novel, The Luminaries, won the 2013 Booker Prize, making Catton the youngest-ever winner of the prize. She has also worked as a screenwriter, adapting her own novels and Jane Austen's Emma for the screen, and n...

Characters

Walter MoodyProtagonist

A young prospector newly arrived in Hokitika who stumbles into a secret meeting investigating a set of linked crimes.

Anna WetherellSupporting

A local prostitute at the center of the tangled events being investigated.

All characters in The Luminaries