Whilst wondering last month when I was ever going to read ‘The Luminaries’, a thought suddenly occurred to me: what better time to start reading an 800+ page book than the beginning of up to five days of London Underground strikes? I have an eBook copy of Eleanor Catton’s Man Booker Prize-winning epic novel and I tend to use my Kindle when bad weather, industrial action or some other disruption is likely to severely delay my commute to work. An e-reader is easier to hold on a crowded train than a large hardback book and if I get stranded somewhere for a long time and I finish a novel, I have several more to choose from right there and then. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Eleanor Catton
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
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The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist 2014
The longlist for this year’s Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction was announced today. The twenty titles are:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Americanah Margaret Atwood – MaddAddam Suzanne Berne – The Dogs of Littlefield Fatima Bhutto – The Shadow of the Crescent Moon Claire Cameron – The Bear Lea Carpenter – Eleven Days M.J. Carter – The Strangler Vine Eleanor Catton – The Luminaries Deborah Kay Davies – Reasons She Goes to the Woods Elizabeth Gilbert – The Signature of All Things Hannah Kent – Burial Rites Rachel Kushner – The Flamethrowers Jhumpa Lahiri – The Lowland Audrey Magee – The Undertaking Eimear McBride – A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing Charlotte Mendelson – Almost English Anna Quindlen – Still Life with Bread Crumbs Elizabeth Strout – The Burgess Boys Donna Tartt – The Goldfinch Evie Wyld – All The Birds, SingingFiled under Books
The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
I thought I would try Eleanor Catton’s first novel ‘The Rehearsal’ before tackling her Man Booker Prize-winning epic ‘The Luminaries’ at a later date. Although difficult to summarise the plot as such, ‘The Rehearsal’ is essentially about the aftermath of an affair between a music teacher and one of his seventeen year old students, Victoria. The story behind the scandal is later turned into a play by a local drama school known as the Institute and one of its stars, Stanley, has unknowingly become involved with Victoria’s younger sister, Isolde. Continue reading
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Eleanor Catton wins the Man Booker Prize
It has just been announced that Eleanor Catton has won this year’s Man Booker Prize for her novel ‘The Luminaries’. Not only is she the youngest ever winner of the prestigious prize at the age of just 28, the book is also the longest ever to win at 832 pages. Her productivity levels are simply incredible – I feel exhausted just thinking about it. Continue reading
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The Man Booker Prize Shortlist Readings
Last night, I went to the Southbank Centre to listen to the shortlisted authors for this year’s Man Booker Prize give readings from their nominated novels. I really enjoyed a similar event for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in June so I bought a ticket for this one as soon as possible.
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