The Lighting is totally different, with its ingenious construction, it is both a puzzle, an infinite nesting Russian dolls and a maze. It is a novel set in the late 19th century in Hokitika, in a small town in the south of New Zealand, during the gold rush. Early in the novel twelve men gathered in great secrecy in the living room of a hotel in town. They are all involved in some way in the disappearance of a fabulous fortune in gold and perhaps a murder. All are worried and declare themselves ready to share everything they know about this case. Apparently, this is what they do and share story after story. Thus, the outline of the case begin to appear, but only to appear. The truth will be revealed very slowly, hands after twists and turns according to the position of the planets. In fact, each part of the story is set depending on the position of the planets at the time the events occur.
This novel is not what I would call a masterpiece, but it's certainly a story impeccably conducted over eight hundred pages in a language of perfect 19th. The trouble never came over me, which is already good for such a long book. This is probably due to the peculiar construction and also the complexity of some of the characters. A good, long time reading.
