A review by angelica_jardinerica
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

2.75

I had high hopes of this book after hearing so many positive reviews, but I was quite disappointed. So much of it is bogged down in really long-winded political discourse, with exceptionally long sentences littered with sub-sub-clauses that made me feel like I was reading someone's degree thesis on political theory. All the characters are clichéd to the nth degree, and I groaned at the supposedly intelligent, rebellious - and incredibly irritating - female protagonists who just can't help being attracted to, and seduced by, the psychopathic bad guy, as well as being caught up in typical jealous rivalry. There's way too much telling instead of showing, and there are a few too many after-the-fact explanations as to why a particular character does or knows something. The rather unconvincing, somewhat convoluted plot does gather pace and the tension builds towards the end, but the end was just too simplified to be satisfying.