Birnam Wood - Eleanor Catton

Published by Te Herenga Waka University Press: Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023.

Eleanor Catton has the privilege of writing one of the few Booker books I can actually say I enjoyed! She is also a Kiwi author, which works well for the current reading challenge I am a part of.

Birnam Wood is Catton's third book, and follows a group of 'eco-activists' who plant gardens in 'wasted spaces' throughout various cities, using reserves, the sides of motorways, unsuspecting people's backyards etc. The group calls themselves 'Birnam Wood' after the wood from Macbeth, which "moved"... Birnam Wood the group consider themselves to be planting 'moving' gardens.

Through a series of circumstances, the founder of the group, Mira, meets Robert Lemoine, a shady American billionaire, who offers the group the chance to scale their operations way up (by planting the property of the recently knighted Sir Owen and Lady Jill Darvish), and possibly even become a legitimate not-for-profit organisation in the process. Her good friend and co-founder Shelley is less enthralled with Lemoine (and is wanting to move on from Birnam Wood as a whole) but comes along in support. Mira's ex-lover Tony is even less enthralled and wants nothing to do with the venture.

While all of this might sound pretty ho-hum in terms of plot, there is a lot more going on in Birnam Wood than just gardening. Lemoine, particularly, is definitely up to no good, and as Tony begins to investigate (he is a wanna-be reporter) things slowly begin to escalate, until at the book's climax a massive amount of violence erupts. Be under no illusions; the reference to Macbeth is a hint that all will not be well at the end of this book. 

Catton's writing also remains a highlight. Most of the book is just getting to know the characters through the conversations they have, and Catton manages to give each of them full personalities (they are all terrible people in their own ways) whilst also commenting on various modern topics from more than one perspective. It is mildly cynical, but very well written. Unfortunately, Catton's characters swear a lot more in this modern book than they did in The Luminaries, and this is something I don't really enjoy reading. However, aside from the language and a few brief intimate moments, Birnam Wood is a book I enjoyed for a once-off read. 

Catton is a great author. I just won't be revisiting this book in a hurry.

Completed 12 December 2023.

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