What a stunning surprise to open a recently written book whose style is reminiscent of of a great 19th century novel by Dickens or Wilkie Collins!  With an intricate plot of grave misunderstandings, murder, a missing person, a great love, great treasure and cold blooded treachery all set in New Zealand during the gold rush of 1866, this is one of the most fascinating books I have read.

Our story opens as Walter Moody, a young lawyer from England, disembarks from The Godspeed in Hokitika, New Zealand after a disastrous and extremely upsetting voyage. Wanting nothing more than to get dry and out of the cold rain that never seems to stop, Moody seeks shelter at the Crown Hotel and once settled into his room makes his way to the drawing room to warm himself by the fire and have a stiff drink. But the drawing room is already occupied by 12 men who have gathered there out of a mutual concern over recent events in the town. The men are resentful by the sudden appearance of an outsider into their private meeting, but eventually, after learning that Moody was trained in the law, they begin to confide in him about the recent death of an old gold miner outside of town, the mysterious disappearance of another younger miner, and the sad attempted suicide of a well liked whore. Although seemingly unconnected, the men are suspicious that there are deeper connections between these events but are finding it difficult to parse through the details and are hopeful that maybe an outsider may be able to see the connections that they cannot see.

Moody initially finds their interest in telling him their problems onerous, since he still has not been able to process his own strange and horrific voyage, but begins to be intrigued by the stories that they are telling him and finds as “[i]t often happens that when a soul under duress is required to attend to a separate difficulty, one that does not concern him in the least, then this second problem works upon the first as a kind of salve.”  And soon Moody is in the middle of a vast web of murder, intrigue, and treachery and must find a way to unearth the truth before more damage is done.

Catton is both fearless and artful in her writing.  Although the style is from Dickens or Collins, there is also a hint of laughter behind the words and style, as though she is poking fun at the juxtaposition of the formal and stiff way people interact with their overwrought sensibilities. For example when Mr. Balfour, as representative of the 12 men begins telling the story of recent events to Moody, Catton prefaces the narrative with the following note to the reader: “t]he interruptions were too tiresome, and Balfour’s approach too digressive to deserve a full and faithful record in the men’s own words. We will here excise their imperfections and impose a regimental order upon the impatient chronicle of [his] roving mind; we shall apply our own mortar to the cracks and chinks of earthly recollection and resurrect as new edifice that, in solitary memory, exists only as a ruin.”

Her characters are rich and fully developed-even the dead gold miner is given careful attention. Her observations are both refreshing and knife-sharp in their insight. For example she describes the Governor of Prisons who has taken the whore, Anne Wetherell, into custody, like this: “He had always been irreproachable in his conduct and as a consequence, his capacity for empathy was small….when he looked at her he saw only a catalogue of indiscretions, a volatile intelligence and a severe want of promise.”

It is completely understandable why this book won the Man Booker Prize for 2013.  Even though it is quite long (p. 849,) it is a delight to read, quickly catches your interest and immerses you into the mind set of an earlier time. Although their culture and rules of conduct are much more rigid, these characters are so very familiar in their very humanness, and that is what sustains your interest, because you truly care for them.

Brenda’s Rating: *****(5 stars out of 5)

Recommend this book to: Marian, Lauren, Keith and Sharon

Book Study Worthy; YES!

Read in ebook format.