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natekka 's review for:
Birnam Wood
by Eleanor Catton
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is hard to rate. On one hand, I kind of disliked all of the characters to some degree, which made it hard to get into initially. However, the more I read from their perspectives the less I cared whether I liked or disliked them... whatever that means. Their flaws are the point of the book, really. It's about people in situations that test their morality. It's about deceit and self-preservation. So, of course the characters are going to be self-serving in various ways.
The writing was a bit all over the place in places. Generally, it was an easy read, but certain passages - particularly in the first part - were overly complex and wordy. At one point there was a sentence that was, genuinely, sixteen lines long! Tony's POV in particular was tedious to read.
The book is split into three parts, but there are no chapters within those parts. It does, however, sporadically change POVs. The way the plot unfolded from different perspectives was very interesting and well done, I felt. We found things out before the other characters did, which was unusual, but worked well. I don't think the plot was overly complex, but because of the way it was told through multiple perspectives, it worked.
That ending, though. Wow.
The writing was a bit all over the place in places. Generally, it was an easy read, but certain passages - particularly in the first part - were overly complex and wordy. At one point there was a sentence that was, genuinely, sixteen lines long! Tony's POV in particular was tedious to read.
The book is split into three parts, but there are no chapters within those parts. It does, however, sporadically change POVs. The way the plot unfolded from different perspectives was very interesting and well done, I felt. We found things out before the other characters did, which was unusual, but worked well. I don't think the plot was overly complex, but because of the way it was told through multiple perspectives, it worked.
That ending, though. Wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Vomit, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury