Birnam Wood

This literary eco-thriller was very slow at the beginning. Later, reading got a lot more interesting, and I started to like it.

Mira Bunting leads an activist eco-gardening group called Birnam Wood. They plant crops in unusual places where no one will notice - in neglected backyards or some other abandoned places. During a new opportunity research in Thorndike, Mira encounters American billionaire Robert Lemoine, who offers to financially assist the group. But is he truly interested in providing financial aid?

There are many interesting political debates and ideas in this novel. Although, for me, this part was a bit long and tiresome.

Eleanor Catton is an incredible storyteller, judging by this book. Her other novel, The Luminaries, is on my to-read list, as it won the Booker Prize in 2013. I admit its length is a bit intimidating. But after reading this, I’m sure it’s very good too.

Goodreads

 

Details:

• author: Eleanor Catton
• full title: Birnam Wood
  
• genre: literary fiction, thriller, politics
  
• format/type: bookfiction
• country: New Zealand
• topics: #ecology, #gardening, #politics, #capitalists
  
• publisher: Granta Publications
  
• publish date: 2 Mar 2023
• pages: 432
  

My Rating of the Book:

• content: 💙💙💙💙

About the Author: 

 

Eleanor Catton (born 1985) is a New Zealand author. Catton was born in Canada while her father, a New Zealand graduate, was completing a doctorate at the University of Western Ontario. She lived in Yorkshire until the age of 13, before her family settled in Canterbury, New Zealand. She studied English at the University of Canterbury, and completed a Master's in Creative Writing at The Institute of Modern Letters, Victoria University of Wellington. She wrote her first novel, The Rehearsal, as her master's thesis.Eleanor Catton holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she also held an adjunct professorship, and an MA in fiction from the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington. Currently she teaches creative writing at the Manukau Institute of Technology.