Book review: In 'Birnam Wood,' Eleanor Catton writes an ecological thriller that's worth the wait
Eleanor Catton’s long-anticipated third novel, “Birnam Wood,” is an intellectual and ecological thriller that propels readers forward with a high-pitched plot while posing broad ideological questions about ambition, privacy, technology and the health of the planet. What makes the story so gripping and, ultimately, so affecting, is the small cast of expertly drawn characters whose motivations Catton mines with an almost intuitive precision.
Soon, though, Birnam Wood’s entanglement with a billionaire seems to offer both young women some version of what they want. A landslide around the Korowai Pass, a verdant area on New Zealand’s South Island, has cut off access to a swath of arable farmland. Mira makes the five-hour drive to check out the possibility of cultivating the area and meets on the property Robert Lemoine, an American billionaire who has made a fortune in drones.
Catton’s wordsmithing and broad appetite for story have earned her readers and acclaim from the start. Her first novel, “The Rehearsal” , steeped itself in the world of teenage girls and the dramatic aftermath of a sex scandal at their school. It won the Betty Trask Award, which is given to writers under the age of 35 for a first novel.
Ultimately, “Birnam Wood” asks big questions that everyone on the planet must answer for themselves. As an individual, what do you owe the world? What does the world owe you? And what do you feel entitled to take from the world to achieve what you believe you are due?
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