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emilyseebold's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual content, and Vomit
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cultural appropriation
Minor: Cancer, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
emelye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
katariinak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, and Toxic friendship
fkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
My only wish was that it had been broken down into more chapters. Because there were only three chapters, it was hard for me to break up my reading in between daily activities.
This is a book I’d like to see taught in AP English and college classes across the US. Is a very well written allegory for the state of today’s world. Starts out slow, but comes to a screeching halt at the end because it speeds up so fast by then that it’s the only way out can end.
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
annabunce's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Vomit
grubrednuf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Rosie = Rosencrantz
Lady Jill = Lady Macbeth
Etc etc etc
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual content, Murder, and Colonisation
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What do you get when you cross the founder of a guerilla gardening group with a billionaire who has ambitious plans and secrets to conceal, and a left-wing journalist desperate to make a name for himself? Birnam Wood, a propulsive literary thriller, one with a surprisingly high body count. The book begins in a leisurely literary way. Some may a find it a little slow to get going - I did not and was invested from the get-go - but by the end, the tension is high, the action fast paced, and the thrillerish vibe very much in evidence. Catton knows how to structure and craft a story and this one has lots to recommend it. The characters are well-drawn and fully fleshed out, most a believable mixture of good and bad - except for the billionaire, who is as amoral, self-serving, egotistical and downright evil. They are also recognisable archetypes and as such allow for some subtle and not-so-subtle satirical skewering which is good fun. Living in the city part of the book is set in, and near to the inspiration for the fictional settings, I can attest to these being well-depicted. Its a special treat for me to read a book and know the setting so well. The plot has many layers, with lots of interesting smaller stories and conflicts incorporated into the main storyline. The themes touch on so many pertinent issues - technology and surveillance, food security, exploitation and degradation of the natural environment, infrastructure resilience, the inordinate power of large amounts of money and the ways that can be abused, the sale of land to foreign owners, capitalism, the divide between rich and poor, old and young, left and right and so much more. And the writing? Simply superb. There are some gorgeous lengthy complex sentences more familiar in nineteenth century novels. There are the Shakespearian allusions and connection, subtle rather than dominant. And then there’s Catton’s experience with screenplays shining through and giving many sections a cinematic feel.
This novel absorbed me from beginning to end and left me with plenty to think about. I very much enjoyed the time I spent with it.
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Murder
jodar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The eco characters articulate altruistic motivations to their inner circle and into the public sphere, but in reality they have fragile motivations and commit all-too-human deceits and self-deceits. Catton portrays the discourse of their leftist debates astutely: highly intellectualised, intense and judgemental, they are aimed at challenging political ‘orthodoxy’ but ironically the debates can never establish ‘true belief’; there is always some political grievance somewhere not yet properly addressed, some newly fashionable socio-political theory not yet brought to bear. In contrast, the billionaire is not conflicted: he has unwavering, sociopathic aims. Although presenting himself as a philanthropist to the world, through technological and psychological means he cunningly exploits personal and institutional weaknesses for his own ends. As for the more minor characters of middle-aged ‘middle’ New Zealand, they are moderate in their worldviews, even though they are not without their own deceits and weaknesses. Their impact, though, is largely ineffectual in the face of the major political forces at play.
When the conservationist group and the billionaire become uneasy bedfellows, the pressure of conflict gradually builds and builds. The novel’s explosive ending shocks even as it seems inevitable.
A couple of minor criticisms on word choice:
- p. 281 ‘enormity of her love for him’ from context does not mean her love was extremely atrocious, despite the misuse of ‘enormity’.
- ‘on either side’ is used in several places when the sense of ‘on each side’ or ‘on both sides’ is probably intended rather than the literal meaning of ‘on one side or the other’.
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use