Booker Longlist 2024: Enlightenment by Sarah Perry

by jenp27 on September 10, 2024

Our second to last book is Enlightenment by Sarah Perry. Only two of our judges managed to finish this one. One abandoned it and another judge is about halfway through so the rating for this may change slightly when she finishes it.

Cover blurb: Thomas Hart and Grace Macaulay have lived all their lives in the small Essex town of Aldleigh. Though separated in age by three decades, the pair are kindred spirits—torn between their commitment to religion and their desire to explore the world beyond their small Baptist community.

It is two romantic relationships that will rend their friendship, and in the wake of this rupture, Thomas develops an obsession with a vanished nineteenth-century astronomer said to haunt a nearby manor, and Grace flees Aldleigh entirely for London. Over the course of twenty years, by coincidence and design, Thomas and Grace will find their lives brought back into orbit as the mystery of the vanished astronomer unfolds into a devastating tale of love and scientific pursuit. Thomas and Grace will ask themselves what it means to love and be loved, what is fixed and what is mutable, how much of our fate is predestined and written in the stars, and whether they can find their way back to each other.

A thrillingly ambitious novel of friendship, faith, and unrequited love, rich in symmetry and symbolism, Enlightenment is a shimmering wonder of a book and Sarah Perry’s finest work to date.

You can purchase a copy of the book h ere.

Keep reading to find out how our panellists rated this book.

Jen’s Thoughts: I started off hating this book. The excruciating detail and flowery writing style was not my favorite and I disliked the Victorian style feel in a book that was set primarily in 1997 – 2017 (although one can argue that the style was appropriate in fitting the themes and core points of the novel). I typically don’t love this author’s writing so I was dreading reading it and left it to the bottom 1/3 of my list. This novel, like many of her works, is a metaphysical exploration of faith vs. science, fate vs free will, love and destiny. It has ghosts and cosmic elements. The first half of the book bored me to tears (a common experience for me with this longlist) but I got into a reading groove in the second half and felt more engaged in the story as it progressed. Ultimately, I finished the book finding it just okay. I didn’t really agree with many of the philosophical points, or how they were treated. At times I found some parts very cliche, particularly the portrayal of certain character types (e.g., the prudish, self-righteous friend and her treatment of Thomas). If you like Sarah Perry’s writing, you will probably enjoy this book but for me it wasn’t anything special.

Writing quality: 3/5. If you like more descriptive sorts of prose, you will love this book. This was a personal preference rating for me.
Originality: 3/5
Character development: 2/4
Plot development: 3/4
Overall enjoyment: 1/2
Did it deserve a spot on the longlist? No
Total: 12/20

Tracy’s Thoughts: I loved The Essex Serpent, but since then Sarah Perry’s books have been a struggle. This one was a struggle, too. I have seen that she was trying to mirror astronomical phenomena, like binary stars and comet paths. Maybe if I had known that going into the book, I’d have liked it better. Unfortunately, the characters, the writing, settings, were too…old fashioned and flowery for such a modern topic.

Writing quality:3/5
Originality:4/5
Character development: 2/4
Plot development: 3/4
Overall enjoyment: 1/2
Did it deserve a spot on the longlist? Probably. This is a Bookery book. Definitely a shoutout in its way to AS Byatt, who passed away in late 2023.
Total: 13/20

Nicole’s Thoughts: This was another book I abandoned, but I made it 50%. I lamented, and could have finished but I really felt like I got the gist of the book and I just didn’t care. It just kept going in circles with nothing really happening. Except Hale Bopp. Hale Bopp was happening.

Have you read this one? Let us know what you thought. If you loved it, drop the link to your review in the comments so our readers can get another perspective.

Our panel’s final rankings