Reviews

Birnamin metsä by Eleanor Catton

timtimtim's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

patrickdunlap's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

mikenyby's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

An unconventional mix of thriller and literary genres, but ultimately unsuccessful at blending the two disparate styles.  The thriller elements served to detract from the character-driven literary style and vice-versa. The ending was abrupt and out of character, not that it bothered me,

but the idea that one of the victims got away and managed to cross the mountain with a broken wrist and ankle while being chased by a professional bodyguard with a gun was not credible in the least

. 
While I enjoyed a lot of the trivial political dialogue between young protagonists (it really sounds the way young activists with liberal arts degrees talk!), I couldn't help but thinking the author was using the book to immortalize some of her shower thoughts.

So altogether, a mixed reading experience.

rigorousreader's review against another edition

funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

teepee258's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

thejadedhippy's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

pbmcinerney's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

twosuns's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

gracerider's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

jonapelson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

An eco-thriller set in New Zealand centering around a guerilla gardening collective, Birnam Wood, a billionaire, and a pest control director. A bit slow to start but once it picks up it does not stop. 

I enjoyed the setting and learning more about New Zealand and it's quirks (spelling differences, slang, phrases etc) and really enjoyed the authors writing although found some passages too long. Like many others I took a bit of umbridge with the ending but upon reflection am ok with it after all.