Birnam Wood is the third novel by New Zealand writer Eleanor Catton. Published in February 2023, the novel follows members of guerilla gardening collective Birnam Wood as, with the help of a charismatic tech billionaire, they undertake a new project on abandoned farmland.
 First hardcover edition | |
| Author | Eleanor Catton |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Jon Gray (aka gray318) |
| Language | English |
| Published | 2023 Te Herenga Waka University Press (New Zealand), Granta Books (UK), Farrar, Straus and Giroux (North America) |
| Publication place | New Zealand |
| Media type |
|
| Pages | 432 pp. |
| ISBN | 978-1-77692-063-1 |
| OCLC | 1376194338 |
Like her previous novel The Luminaries, the book is set in a fictionalised New Zealand, primarily in and around a national park in the South Canterbury region. The title is taken from a line in Macbeth.[1]
Plot
editMira Bunting and Shelley Noakes are members of Birnam Wood, a gardening collective who plant and tend illegal gardens around Christchurch. While reading about a landslide blocking the Korowai Pass Road, Mira sees an opportunity for the group in a seemingly abandoned farm in the nearby rural town of Thorndike. The farm's owner is Owen Darvish, an entrepreneur and conservationist. Mira takes a trip to the farm to scope out the land, but is discovered by Robert Lemoine, a tech billionaire to whom Darvish has sold the land. Unknown to Darvish, Lemoine is illegally mining rare earth minerals in the Korowai National park, causing widespread environmental damage. Lemoine agrees to allow Birnam Wood to set up a garden on the property, and to provide financial support, promising not to inform Darvish of their activity.
Mira outlines her idea to the Birnam Wood group, who agree to undertake the project. This raises the ire of former member Tony Gallo, who believes working with the billionaire is a betrayal of the group's left-wing values. Suspicious of Lemoine, he makes a trip to Thorndike where he finds a highly guarded 'research area' in the national park, which Darvish is not aware of. Later, Tony notices Lemoine is tracking him through the park using drones.
At Darvish's farm, Lemoine gives the Birnam Wood members LSD, while he and Mira remain sober. Darvish unexpectedly returns home, and is killed by Shelley who accidentally runs him over while tripping. Lemoine sends Mira and Shelley to a safehouse and arranges for Darvish's death to appear accidental.
Meanwhile, Tony enters the research area and discovers Lemoine's mining operation. He is pursued by Lemoine's hired paramilitary and injures himself while escaping. He eventually makes it back to the farm and relays what he has learnt to Mira. They are both discovered by Lemoine.
Suspicious of the circumstances of her husband's death, Jill Darvish travels to Thorndike. She nervously explores the property armed with a hunting rifle when she discovers the members of Birnam Wood are dead, having been poisoned with 1080 by Lemoine, who intends to frame Tony. She shoots and kills Lemoine, and is then herself killed by his security guard.
Tony, now mortally wounded, escapes and drags himself up to Lemoine's mining operation, which he sets alight.[2]
Reception
editWriting in The New York Times, Dwight Garner praised Catton's dialogue, saying of her characters "They talk the way real people talk, but they’re freer, ruder, funnier."[1] Alex Preston in The Observer said the conclusion caused him to reevaluate the events in rest of the novel, saying it "propels it from a merely very good book into a truly great one."[3]
Writing for NPR, John Powers contrasts the novel with Catton's previous, The Luminaries, describing it as "shapelier and more conventional." While not explicitly Victorian in style as The Luminaries is, Powers finds similarities with the writing of Jane Austen and George Eliot in Birnam Wood.[4]
Birnam Wood was the best selling book published in New Zealand in 2023.[5]
Awards and honours
editBirnam Wood featured in The Guardian's "The best fiction of 2023" and The Atlantic's "The 10 Best Books of 2023" list.[6][7] It was also included on Barack Obama's 2023 Summer reading list.[8]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Giller Prize | — | Shortlisted | [9] |
| Goodreads Choice Award | Fiction | Nominated | [10] | |
| Kirkus Prize | Fiction | Finalist | [11] | |
| Libby Award | Best Adult Fiction | Shortlisted | [citation needed] | |
| Orwell Prize | Political Fiction | Finalist | [12] | |
| 2024 | Audie Award | Fiction | Finalist | [13] |
| Carol Shields Prize for Fiction | — | Shortlisted | [14][15] | |
| Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize | Fiction | Shortlisted | [citation needed] |
References
edit- ^ a b Garner, Dwight (13 March 2023). "Guerrilla Gardeners Meet Billionaire Doomsayer. Hurly-Burly Ensues.". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Catton, Eleanor (2023). Birnam Wood. Te Herenga Waka University Press.
- ^ Preston, Alex (26 February 2023). "Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton review – the root of all evil". The Observer. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Powers, John (14 March 2023). "Eco-idealism and staggering wealth meet in 'Birnam Wood' ". NPR. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Braunias, Steve (22 December 2023). "The bestselling books of 2023". Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ Jordan, Justine (9 December 2023). "The best fiction of 2023". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Beckerman, Gal; Hulbert, Ann; Kim, Jane Yong (9 December 2023). "The 10 Best Books of 2023". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Nguyen, Sophia (20 July 2023). "All the books Barack Obama is reading". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Sarah Bernstein, Eleanor Catton shortlisted for Scotiabank Giller Prize". The Globe and Mail. 11 October 2023. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Birnam Wood". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 2 January 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "Awards: Kirkus Finalists". Shelf Awareness . 31 August 2023. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "Awards: RSL Ondaatje Winner, Orwell Shortlists". Shelf Awareness . 12 May 2023. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "2024 Audie Award Winners". Audio Publishers Association. Archived from the original on 8 March 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "2024 Carol Shields Prize Shortlist". Locus Online. 9 April 2024. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ "Awards: Carol Shields Fiction Shortlist; Plutarch Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.