Ihave had The Luminaries on my shelf for ages now – ever since it won the Man Booker prize in 2013. But I’ve always been too intimidated to start on it. There were so many shorter, easier books that caught my eye.
So, the book stayed on my shelf, gathering dust until I saw The Luminaries showing up on Netflix one day. I immediately started binge-watching it, and by the end of the first episode, I was hooked. And I knew this was the ideal opportunity to finally crack open that book and read it alongside the series.
What’s The Luminaries about?
It is 1866 among the goldfields of New Zealand, and there are a series of unexplained events: A man vanishes, a prostitute tries to end her life, and an enormous fortune is discovered in the home of a luckless drunk.
Read the book or watch the show?
This is the first question I’d like to answer before I get into the details. It’s one of the top search queries on my blog whenever I talk about books and their movie or shows.
The Book
- Wonderfully intricate
- Long, leisurely read. Time investment is big, but it is one of those old-fashioned yarns, which I typically enjoy.
- Less rushed than the series. It builds the story better.
The Show
- Gorgeous girls (Eva Green and Eve Hewson), good acting, nice costumes, and scenery – everything a period drama should be.
- Simpler and easier to follow than the book.
- Only six episodes, so less of a time investment.
Personally, I recommend both. The book requires a good bit of concentration, and I don’t think I would have been able to follow all the twists without seeing the series. In addition, the book and show (although technically the same story) are quite different. The show relates the events from the point of view of the character Anna Weatherell (one of the prime movers of the story). In contrast, the book relates it from the point of view of Walter Moody and various other observers who are trying to solve the crime.
The book is more of a mystery/puzzle, whereas the show is more romantic and fanciful. Either way, they both offer a wonderful experience. Also, the show is so beautifully shot (despite a few overly dark scenes) that I just fell in love with it.
Here are a few images from the show.
A key moment in the series where Anna discovers the gold in her dress 
Eva Green and Eve Hewson are luminous in their roles
Hokitika in 1866 
Eve Hewson, as Anna, does a fantastic job.
Last Thoughts
Reading the book and watching the show side-by-side was a great experience for me. The show explains the events of the book in a matter-of-fact, straightforward way (in a sense spoiling the book). However, because of the number of characters in the book and its density (almost 800 pages), it helped me to know beforehand from the show what was going on. I could then focus on the beauty of the writing and marvel at the author’s skill at weaving such an intricate story.
If you like good old-fashioned yarns (in the style of Robert Louis Stevenson or Herman Melville), you will love this book. Be prepared to be a little bit confused in between, but it’s okay; everything unravels itself neatly towards the end. If you are really confused, the show is always there to help 😀.
Whoa, I didn’t know there was a show of this! And with Eva Green! I will have to tell my podcast partner; she loved this book AND she loves Eva Green, so I think she will be very excited. I can’t believe the Netflix algorithm has let me down so egregiously that I didn’t know there was an adapted version!
She should definitely watch this then! This is a British show, so maybe it’s not on US Netflix yet? That’s weird though. Everything comes on Netflix India long after it’s played out everywhere else.