Among the many remarkable (as in "worthy of comment") achievements of Eleanor Catton's superb novel (some of which will be discussed below), one is particularly interesting: in a long and complex narrative involving the lives and a few deaths of a large cast of characters (only three of whom are women), by far the most sympathetic and engaging characters are also in some senses the most remote, alien, "different" others--two men from China and one a Maori of New Zealand. The rest of the characters are all Caucasian, of European background, mostly young. To varying degrees, they are speakers of English (or its dialects), and only one, Benjamin Lowenthal, is Jewish--indeed, an observant Jew--while the others are at least from Christian backgrounds.
The two Chinese men, Quee Long and Sook Yongshen, have, one might say, washed up in northwestern New Zealand, the first a goldsmith and prospector, the second, proprietor of an opium den that caters to the needs of men and women most of whom work in the gold fields of that part of New Zealand, hoping for a strike that would allow them to pay their way home, wherever that might be. Neither man speaks English well nor hears it with any great comprehension, though Sook (contemptuously called "Johnny Sook" by the European citizens of Hokitika, a town existing entirely to cater to the needs of the prospectors, "Johnny" being the term of convenience that white men use to address all the Chinese workers they encounter, not unlike the "Boy" used by white men with African slaves in the South) has a better sense of the language than Quee, and that is significant to the plot.
The Maori man, Te RauTauwhare addressed as Ted, is, of course, indigenous ("native") to the land these people inhabit, and their government has designated certain parts of the land as belonging to the Maori (in practical terms, only so long as it is convenient for the white men to leave it so), and the Maori are most definitely "different"--Tauwhare's extensive body and facial tattoos are a permanent and striking reminder to everyone who encounters him of the great differences between his cultural and religious background (very little understood by the whites) and their own. Tauwhare pursues, so far as possible, the ways and customs of his ancestral people, but is treated with more respect by the white men, perhaps because of his more or less protected status, perhaps because he is dignified and formidable, perhaps just because the need of the whites to condescend to or oppress those they choose to perceive as their inferiors (and to exploit through indenture rules little less owned than slaves) is satisfied by their treatment of the Chinese men among them.
These three men, I would suggest, are the most sympathetic and emotionally appealing characters (to somewhat different degrees) in this novel, and that strikes me as a major achievement by its author. Her descriptions of them, including passages in which they speak their native languages with little translation provided, and including detailed and vivid descriptions of their feelings and the distinctive ways they perceive the world around them--notably different from the ways the whites perceive that same world--offer the reader insights and expanded perceptions not available through the eyes or minds of the more familiar white European characters. Tauwhare, in particular, because of the religious traditions of the Maori people, with their ancient and profound sense of identification with the natural world that sustains them and that they protect and preserve, worshiping its sacred character, provides a window onto the world we might not otherwise have access to. (I make no judgment about the accuracy of Eleanor Catton's portrayal of the Maori or Chinese worldviews--I believe she has taken trouble to reconstruct them based on both information and sympathetic understanding, but accuracy is not relevant to the point I am making--that these characters are successfully "other" and provide a major part of the pleasure of reading this novel.)
None of this is meant to say that the white characters are all unpleasant or evil, nor that there are none whom we might like or even identify with. The first character we meet in detail--Walter Moody, is on the whole a very sympathetic character--a decent man who finds himself more or less invited to become part of an inquiry--or one might say a conspiracy--to uncover the answers to several interlocking mysteries that have roiled the town of Hokitika, including a mysterious death, the disappearance of a prominent citizen, the possible suicide attempt of a recently arrived prostitute, the calamitous outcome of a much-promoted "seance," all having occurred along with the wreck of a barque that had arrived in port the same day as many of these events occurred.
It will not do to offer any details about these complicated interactions--a disappeared trunk perhaps lost at sea, a frightening apparition on board a foundering ship, possible forged documents, and so forth. For that is another great achievement of this novel--the creation of a richly intertwined series of events, gradually revealed through the activities of a number of different characters, each of whom is introduced to the reader in detail, with careful analyses of his or her personality and outlook, moral and philosophical views, and when appropriate, revelations about past behavior that affect the reader's view of the person and his or her likely future behavior. There is the prosperous hotel owner and pimp, a second hotel manager, the proprietor of a pharmacy who deals in opium (not illegal), men involved in various aspects of shipping industry (very important to this mining town on the New Zealand coast), the editor/publisher of the local newspaper, a banker, a magistrate, a politician engaged in an election campaign, various gold prospectors, the Governor of the Hokitika Gaol (an institution that would incorporate the functions of almshouse and asylum), and the clergyman destined to be the Chaplain of that Gaol. among others.
Three women--Lydia Greenway/Wells/Carver (a woman of various identities), Anna Wetherell, a young prostitute and opium addict, and Margaret Shepard, wife of George Shepard, the Governor of the Hokitika Asylum and Jail, a woman perceived by most to be pathologically shy--perhaps agoraphobic, though the term is not used. Each of these women is (as we learn over many pages) admirable in various ways, whether for intelligence and determination, sensitivity and emotional commitment, loyalty, perhaps even love for others. Each is also complex and imperfect in important ways. And it is fair to say that though they are all white, European, they are also, in this environment, entirely "other" and so comparable in some ways to the Chinese and Maori men.
One aspect of the novel that requires acknowledgment is the pervasive role of astrology as a point of reference. As I am not familiar, except in the most superficial way, with the arcana of this traditional "science," I have to say that the many "charts" and references to the influences affecting the various characters are mostly closed to me. Of course, one knows about the Zodiac and its signs, and the general beliefs of this ancient worldview are familiar in many contexts, especially literary, but the
finer points of the differences of influence are not familiar to me. As it happens, each of the twelve major divisions of this novel is introduced with an astrological chart "locating" twelve of the major characters for the period during which the action takes place, and we know that several of the characters, most prominently Tauwhare, take seriously the influence of the stars, or at least are willing to exploit belief in those influences. The author's introductory "Note to the Reader" offers the suggestion that stubborn adherence to a known error is characteristic of "persons born during the Age of Pisces, an age of mirrors, tenacity, instinct, twinship, and hidden things." That description of the qualities of the Piscean age would also make a very nice summary of the qualities of this narrative, all of which make it so fascinating.
It is right to call The Luminaries a thriller, and I would suggest it is a thriller of a traditional kind. If it had been published in weekly chapters in a periodical, like the novels of Charles Dickens or Wilkie Collins or many others of the late 19th century, its way of proceeding and its regular approach to what we would call cliffhangers would perfectly suit it to that genre. While many might invoke the memory of Dickens as comparison for this novel, I think its intricacy and rapid movement make it more akin to Wilkie Collins's best work, The Moonstone, perhaps, or Woman in White, though it also has affinities with late Dickens, Mystery of Edwin Drood, especially. I also am inclined to speculate that we might anticipate a sequel. While certain parts of the plot are "solved" and the problems resolved, there are several characters and situations notably left hanging, with uncertain outcomes, and those would more than supply material for a following novel, if the author chooses.
Long works of prose fiction ("big books," or maxi-novels) such as this can provide many different kinds of pleasure. In this case, the fascinating characters, the exotic setting, the constant twists and turns of the plot, the uncertain identities and surprising revelations, all contribute to a narrative that pleases by confounding the reader, who is compelled, indeed propelled to keep on reading, even at the risk of missing pertinent details. I found myself checking back to earlier chapters, preceding bits of dialogue or description, time and again, to assure myself that I was not entirely lost or wrong about developments. This was not a fault or a failure of the narrative--it was one of its genuine rewards. While this novel has important things to say about human relationships, it is not profound; we do not keep reading in hopes of the depth of a Dostoevsky, the refinement of a Henry James, the historical sweep of a Tolstoy; we are rather entertained and moved, and we feel satisfied.
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Top reviews from other countries
Davidm
with mysteries multiplying like images in a hall of mirrors
Reviewed in Canada on February 5, 2017
Barbara Erskine
Incredible take, excellent writer
Reviewed in Italy on February 29, 2016