Book Lair discussion

Hi, Yash and I are planning to read this sometime by the beginning of July, we'll fix a more definite date when we get closer to it. Feel free to join us!

Naturally, I'm in.

Count me in!

Going to give this one a shot!

Hi, when would you like to start reading this book?

For my part, I would like to finish the book I am currently reading. I think I'll be done by this week-end.

Would a start date of Saturday be fine with you? Or would you prefer before/after?

I'm okay with whenever.

So, are we doing Saturday?

Yes, Saturday! I've added the book to the shelves for this group, you should see it in the Upcoming Reads on the group home page.

I'll change the title of this discussion too in a moment.

Great! Saturday it is.

I finally started on The Luminaries, although I haven't had time to read as much as I would have liked this week-end.

I've barely started, but it's already thick with mystery.

I'm 25 pages in and I have no idea what's going on.

You should get an inkling of where it book is going by the end of the chapter (p43, where I'm at), although there's clearly a lot going on that we don't know.

@Melas: I'm not too worried. The prose and the world is enough to hold my attention and I'm sure I'll know more as I move forward. But as of now, I don't have much to contribute.

Since I had so much time on my hands at the airport and in the plane, I advance a little in my reader.

The more the story advance, the more we discover things, and yet the more complex the situation seem to be. It's getting harder and harder to try to guess what is happening.

I quite like a good complex mystery ^^

It's interesting how the character list is presented at the beginning of the book, how each part starts with a star chart and how each chapter starts with a reference to astrology. Even the book title, the "Luminaries", makes a reference to astrology. Unfortunately, I have absolutely zero notions of this field. I wonder if it really brings something to the story or if it's just for the style and the atmosphere? Is anyone reading this book here has a little more knowledge of this field?

Anyway, even without any understanding of astrology, this book is a fine mystery. It took me a while to get into it, but now, I have a hard time putting it down.

The only negative point I can see for now is that it's so d-m heavy! My shoulder is so sore from carrying it around (as well as my computer, my notebooks, etc.). That's when I regret not having the ebook version.

I'll begin by saying that I have read about a hundred pages so far, meaning I am way behind you. The astronomy and astrology are definitely significant. I also know nothing about this field (before starting to read this anyway). However, I have been looking up things by and by to see how it fits into the plot. The Luminaries as a title is definitely enough reason for me to get a little bit more into the context.

I don't want to say too much, (view spoiler)[ but certain characters act in a manner that may reflect the celestial entity they are representing. Bear with me since I am also glancing at the technical aspects of astrology and astronomy on the fly, but here's what I can contribute so far:

The sky is divided at any point of time into constellations and they can be marked out in the sky. Each constellation of the zodiac can be said to have its own 'house' in the sky. So for any given date, the sun and various celestial bodies have 'influences' on people born under those specific astrological signs. So, each zodiac sign has its particular characteristics. The positioning of the sun and the planets are noted for a date on the calendar and that is supposed to affect the 'fate' of the people born under those zodiac signs.

The way the diagrams and the signs are arrayed in the book, it isn't particularly easy to interpret the overarching astronomical backdrop. However, if someone were so inclined, they could definitely understand those diagrams and so far (even with my limited understanding), it has definitely added a new layer, or I might even say a new dimension to the novel.

I have way too many thoughts on the symbolism but I am not sure they are fully formed yet. A few are quite easy to spot, but others might take some time.

(hide spoiler)]

And as you said Melas, without the astronomy too, it is shaping up to be a wonderful and intriguing story. I really like the writing style and am able to get a visualisation of the time and the place. The characters are each quite three dimensional and it seems like it is only going to get better from here.

And yeah, it is really bloody heavy. Still, no regrets from my side regarding my purchase. This is the sort of book I prefer to read on paper. It is too big to take anywhere, so I read it at home and not too much at a time. Occasionally, I will consult Wikipedia (and sometimes get carried away doing so) for astronomical symbols and such things.

Keeping in mind the astronomy and astrology, the complex plot, the various characters, the many subplot threads, the fact that I am not taking the book anywhere with me and that I am reading way too many things alongside this, this is turning out to be a slow read. Having said that, it has been a very rich and vivid hundred pages.

Melaslithos wrote: "It's interesting how the character list is presented at the beginning of the book, how each part starts with a star chart and how each chapter starts with a reference to astrology. Even the book ti..."

Hey, did you write d-m like that on purpose? Because in the book too, that's how it is written. Like it is in older books.

Yes, I did it on purpose ^^.

I definitely need to go and check a few things about astronomy too. But unfortunately, I have been on the go quite a lot, and abroad, so I couldn't always check internet. Lately, travelling is the only free time I have for reading...

Melaslithos wrote: "Yes, I did it on purpose ^^.

I definitely need to go and check a few things about astronomy too. But unfortunately, I have been on the go quite a lot, and abroad, so I couldn't always check intern..."

I missed that at first.

Is the book suitable for travel reading? I'm speaking in terms of content, not size.

Look up the astronomy though, I want to discuss some of my crazy theories. On second thought...I may not catch up to you pretty much ever, so it's not a hurry or anything.

It's heavy, but it's entertaining. When reading it, I don't see the time pass. So it's great when your plane has lots of delay.

Go on, fire your theories. I'll check up on astronomy as you go.

Part Three - The Children of Antares

Careful, HUGE spoiler below.

(view spoiler)[I was so sure Emery Staines was dead, but no! It looks like he has quite a "magical" link with Anna. I think he was sustained by Anna's eating. He was the one who got the pistol shot from when Anna tried to kill herself. Anna went to sleep and smell of laudanum when it was Emery you had it. Anna couldn't feel the effects of opium anymore because Emery was not having any anymore. That's why Anna could read and sign as Emery. It looks like what happens to one actually happens to the other, although I wouldn't be able to explain why. (hide spoiler)]

Okay, no way I am clicking that. Been a bit busy of late, still have yet to finish part one. But if I get some time, I will be posting a couple of thoughts.

I finished the book. It was quite interesting and a huge feat to write it.

But I am a bit frustrated by the end. I feel that a lot there are a lot of loose ends. The structure of the book (where each part is half the size of the second one) gives it an interesting sense of urgency and accomplishment as we advance through the book, but on the other hands, it also means that the latest parts, in which Catton explains a lot of the previous events, are very short and not quite detailed.

(view spoiler)[For example, I still don't know what happened on that famous night, how Crosbie died exactly, what happened between Anna and Emery.

Or why does Moody's father reappears by the end of the story? He's not really useful to the story at all. Carver mentionned the father at one point, but what was the relationship between the two? (hide spoiler)]

Anyway, now, it's time for me to browse through it again, with paying more attention to the astrology theme, and make my research on the subject.

I also found it quite impressive how it is a modern work, but feels much more ancient. While I was reading it, this book, by its style, made me think of The Moonstone or even Sherlock Holmes stories.

Okay, a couple of things: (Spoilers follow):

(view spoiler)[

First of all, all the characters either pertain to a celestial body or constellation. And each of the parts and chapters have headings such as Mercury in Sagittarius, Jupiter in Sagittarius shows the main interaction that is going on in that chapter.

Also, each constellation and planet have their own characteristics which are in line with what is ascribed to them in astrology. So, the characters act according to that as well.

The diagrams have symbols that correspond to the planets and where they are in each chapter. There are 12 chapters and 12 zodiac signs. The sky is divided into 12 areas and each planet is under some zodiac sign depending upon what time of the year it is. There are the 12 zodiac characters and there are the planets as well, which are second part of the character list.

@Melas, let me know if you have similar thoughts upon browsing through again.

(hide spoiler)]

Yes, I agree that each character belongs to a planet/constellation/celestial body.

I just don't know much about the meanings of these constellation. I think they must be linked to character traits/events/etc. But I really never had any interest in astrology, always skipped the astrology part in newspapers, etc.

I will need to dig more into the meanings behind all this for more.

I mainly looked at the wikipedia page. I would say my knowledge is as limited as yours. But it gets pretty interesting. I guess you find as much meaning as you look for.

Is this a book about astrology!?

Not at all. It's a mysstery book. It made me think a bit of The Moonstone. But the titles are astrological references, which add to the puzzle.

well, now I'm not sure if I want to read it or not... I liked the astrological references though... hmmm...