A review by jthunderrr
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

5.0

I count Catton’s The Luminaries as one of my favorite books of all time, so I was so excited to read her latest novel. I was not disappointed.

This is a slow burn, character driven novel that starts slow and builds into a thrilling page turner in the last quarter of the book.

Catton knows her characters well which makes for a delightful and compelling read.

I’m sure Shakespeare aficionados will find some more sophisticated call backs to Macbeth than I picked up on. Catton has crafted a wry 21st century tragedy that explores our absorption with our inner worlds in the landscape of late stage capitalism.