Reviews

Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

deprofundis's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

lalalarn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

slinging_books's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective

4.0

I was hooked from the first page, and for the first 2/3 of the book, I couldn’t understand why it didn’t catch more award noms. But there’s a turning point where the exploration of character gives way to pure plot, and while my interest never flagged, it left me feeling like the back half of the book was missing something. Still, I’m so impressed by the way Catton was able to exactly capture the ideals, the energy, and the (flawed, human) characters that would populate a group like Birnam Wood, and of a certain moment in time when the idealism of your early twenties starts to tarnish.

Overall, a great summer read, the perfect blend of think-y and pace-y.

“The real choices that you make in life, the really difficult defining choices, are never between what’s right and what’s easy. They’re between what’s wrong and what’s hard.”

blairmahoney's review against another edition

3.0

Catton is very psychologically astute and there is some great dialogue and interactions between characters. I found the plot rather silly, though, and it bored me towards the end (when everything actually happens very rapidly). Not nearly as interesting as The Luminaries.

mchmilburn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

eviej's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

jerushae's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 stars. Took a bit for the story to pick up, and it took some turns a definitely wasn’t expecting. The ending was way darker than I was hoping for. I enjoyed the character development through the internal voices of the characters, so that even the sociopathic American was at least a little relatable. Would read something else by Catton.

undersea's review

adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

maddyjmll's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

3.25

bunnytim2's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0