Eleanor Catton, a Canadian-born novelist who grew up in New Zealand, became the youngest-ever winner of the Man Booker Prize with her second novel, The Luminaries, earlier this week. At the age of only 28, Catton took home the prestigious literary prize, which is awarded to an English-language novel written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.
Her winning novel, The Luminaries, is an epic Victorian-era murder mystery, set in the 1860s New Zealand gold rush. “It’s a dazzling work. It’s a luminous work. It is vast without being sprawling,” said Robert Macfarlane, chair of the judges. At 832 pages, the novel is also the longest work to ever win the prize.
The Luminaries is also a finalist for Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award, to be announced next month.
Have you read The Luminaries or Catton’s first novel, The Rehearsal? Let us know what you thought of either novel in the comments!
Photo credit: Robert Catto