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4 1/2 stars - to be so long, densely populated, and elaborately plotted, and yet so readable, it's magic trick level writing skills! The story and characters were immersive, but what really put it over the top for me was the sense that it operated like an intricate timepiece with a multitude of wheels and cogs working with absolute precision - and yet it had a complex chronology that moved forward, backward and sideways. It took me a while to realize this though - for much of the book I was lost
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I (finally) read this book while on vacation in New Zealand.
Walter Moody stumbles upon a group of men having a secret meeting, and they tell him a tale of mystery which they have met to try and unravel. Moody himself discovers he has something to relate to the story.
This is a very intricate story with multiple layers and plot twists. It is masterfully told as the layers of the onion are unravelled. There are many criticisms that the books was needlessly detailed, but I did not find that, I fou ...more
Walter Moody stumbles upon a group of men having a secret meeting, and they tell him a tale of mystery which they have met to try and unravel. Moody himself discovers he has something to relate to the story.
This is a very intricate story with multiple layers and plot twists. It is masterfully told as the layers of the onion are unravelled. There are many criticisms that the books was needlessly detailed, but I did not find that, I fou ...more
Man I wanted to love this book so much! Aaaand it just didn't happen. I thought it was like a very capably written Dickens novel, even tighter. I just didn't care about what happened. I liked the chapter synopses, and I thought it was kind of cool how they changed towards the end. Oh and was all the astrological stuff supposed to mean something? Like did they correspond to things? If so, way over my head! ETA: Thank you Goodreads for explaining it to me. I feel like I would have gotten it if I c
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A historical mystery set in 1866 in the New Zealand goldfields. Walter Moody, newly arrived in the town, finds himself drawn into a story of mysterious crimes, including the disappearance of a wealthy young man and the discovery of a large amount of gold.
This is a complex and carefully constructed novel. The wide range of characters are skilfully drawn and their interlocking relationships gradually revealed in a way that keeps the reader's attention. As the novel progresses, some characters bec ...more
This is a complex and carefully constructed novel. The wide range of characters are skilfully drawn and their interlocking relationships gradually revealed in a way that keeps the reader's attention. As the novel progresses, some characters bec ...more
Count me among the apparent few that did not fall in love with this book. I heard it in audio and I suspect that it did play a part in my overall disconnect to this book: too many characters, too many convoluted stories… I do give to Catton that she manages to tie them together at the end – quite an accomplishment really when about 20 characters all have some form of connection to the main plot.
As other readers already mentioned, Catton does manage to create a very strong sense of place and tim ...more
As other readers already mentioned, Catton does manage to create a very strong sense of place and tim ...more
I really enjoyed this book. It's a murder mystery set during the gold rush in New Zealand. What's unique about the book is that Catton layers the zodiac over the story, assigning astrological signs to multiple characters who take on the personality characteristics of the specific sign to which Catton has assigned them. I appreciated the complexity and uniqueness of the structure of the book, and the story is pretty darn interesting, too. My only complaint is that it was too long. There could hav
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This is an intricate tale of deceit, vengeance and greed set in New Zealand during the gold rush of the mid nineteenth century. The writing is superb, the plot riveting and the characters complex. Despite its length, it never dragged.
A worthy story heavily impeded by its structure. Such strict adherence to the astrological chart conceit resulted in too many characters and too many paired-off conversations circling repeated information. Since it didn't factor into the plotline itself, the astrology angle came off as a frustrating gimmick that placed too many constraints on the narrative.
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Jul 24, 2013
Susan
marked it as to-read
Aug 19, 2013
El
marked it as to-read
Oct 19, 2013
Erika
marked it as to-read
Oct 30, 2013
Jama
marked it as to-read
Dec 02, 2013
S.L. Berry
marked it as to-read
Dec 18, 2013
Viv JM
marked it as to-read
Aug 04, 2014
Gill
marked it as unfinished
Sep 11, 2014
Petra
marked it as to-read
Jan 06, 2015
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
Oct 07, 2015
Lise Petrauskas
marked it as to-read
Mar 25, 2018
Henk
marked it as to-read
Jan 08, 2020
Lori
marked it as tbr-later-fiction
Apr 12, 2021
Nidhi Kumari
marked it as to-read
