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A review by underthejunipertree
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
One of the best books I have read this year. I didn't really know what I was getting into apart from the blurb: a guerilla gardening collective named Birnam Wood, led by idealistic Mira Bunting along with her jaded best friend, Shelley Noakes, takes on a shady, financial opportunity offered by billionaire Robert Lemoine to expand their organization's scope and plant a garden along a certain property... Meanwhile, ex-Birnam Wood member Tony Gallo stumbles across the secret behind Lemoine's motives and rushes to reveal the truth to the world.
While the beginning may pace slow, the sharp dialogue and prose are certainly not tedious; the characters' concerns and clashes in ideologies are inciting and topical, and Catton has such a knack for dialogue, whether internal or external (e.g. heated conversations with personal stakes, the ruminations of characters' inner voices). That said, for those seeking more extrinsic suspense and action, the second half of the book truly delivers in white-knuckled fashion.
And if you know, you know-- Eleanor Catton is brave!
While the beginning may pace slow, the sharp dialogue and prose are certainly not tedious; the characters' concerns and clashes in ideologies are inciting and topical, and Catton has such a knack for dialogue, whether internal or external (e.g. heated conversations with personal stakes, the ruminations of characters' inner voices). That said, for those seeking more extrinsic suspense and action, the second half of the book truly delivers in white-knuckled fashion.
And if you know, you know-- Eleanor Catton is brave!