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The title of Rose Tremain's new novel refers to the glint of gold. Set during the 1860s gold rush in New Zealand, every character in the book is somehow touched by the crazed hunt for gold that eclipses all other possible occupations as the land is overrun by desperate miners and those who cater to them. It's a harsh world, driven by greed and deprivation, and utterly alien to the British newcomers, whose slender dreams are not strong enough to support their lack of knowledge and preparation.
Joseph Blackstone tries to outrun a horrible, tragic secret by marrying and moving his new wife, Harriet, and his mother, Lilian, to New Zealand and starting a farm. These three traveling companions are not particularly well-matched: Lilian finds the adjustment from refined Englishwoman to farm work in a foreign country to be very difficult; Harriet is forced to realize that she does not love her new husband enough to make a success of their hard new life; and Joseph just isn't resourceful enough to adapt to the strange demands of his new situation. Mining for gold and making a quick fortune seem like an easy solution to their insurmountable problems. Other settlers have done so, and facing up to failure in the midst of others' successes adds a particularly bitter tone to Joseph's experiences.
Joseph abandons his struggling farm and makes his way to the mining fields. This decision informs the fate of all three, and leads to surprising new developments. Joseph plummets to new levels of misery and disappointment in the mines, as success continues to elude him and his dark side reasserts itself. Harriet discovers unsuspected strengths; her bravery and compassion lead to bold choices and adventures. Lilian finds an unlikely, brief peace, but her death requires Harriet to search for Joseph in the mines, just in time for a catastrophic flood that annihilates the entire operation and changes the Blackstones' fortunes again.
The symbolism isn't difficult to understand. Gold represents success and the newcomers' ambition to improve their grim, practically hopeless lots. But ambition can be a complex compulsion and Rose Tremain deftly explores what makes these people happy, what they really want, and what they will do to fulfill their dreams. It's interesting that it's never the gold per se that fuels them, but what even a little money will allow them to do. Prosperity, security, a new start, or amends for an old crime --- these things are more precious and require sacrifices.
--- Reviewed by Colleen Quinn
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