Guerrilla Gardeners

Author Eleanor Catton was thrust into the spotlight in 2013 when she won the Booker Prize for The Luminaries. At age 28 she was the youngest author to win, and only the second New Zealander after Keri Hulme won in 1985 (the year of Catton's birth) for The Bone People. In the decade since, Catton has been busy screenwriting, having a child, and crafting her latest novel, Birnam Wood (2023). 

Set in 2017 in New Zealand, Birnam Wood is a collective of gardeners who plant vegetables on unused tracts of land and sell the proceeds. The founder of the group is Mira Bunting, a 29-year-old horticulturist, who has strong feelings about capitalism and property. These eco-idealists are passionate about their work, aiming for radical social change. Her friend Shelley has been with Birnam Wood since it started, but is thinking about leaving to get an office job. Shelley's relationship with Mira is starting to fray as she feels like a follower of Mira's plans rather than driving her own life. Another founding member Tony has just returned to Christchurch after several years overseas. He and Mira were once close, but have not spoken since he left. Tony wants to be a journalist and an activist.

The story largely takes place in the fictional town of Thorndike, near the ruggedly beautiful Korowai National Park. A landslide has occurred isolating the town. Recently knighted Sir Owen and Lady Jill Darvish own a magnificent property in Thorndike which is large, and largely uninhabited, making it ideal for Birnam Wood to harvest. While in Thorndike Mira meets Robert Lemoine, an American tech billionaire, who plans to build a doomsday bunker in this remote part of the world. Lemoine claims to want to invest in Birnam Wood so they can scale up their enterprises. But why would a man who made his fortune in drone and surveilllance technology be interested in a bunch of gardeners?

Birnam Wood is an entertaining, intelligent and well-crafted thriller. Catton has a real gift for dialogue, infusing the characters with a realistic, candid and heart-breaking conversation. Whether they are spouting their manifesto, joking or arguing, their communication is authentic. The characters also have believable relationships with one another - whether it is Mira and Shelley's fractured friendship, or the Darvishes interdependency through their long marriage. 

Part social satire, part eco-thriller, Birnam Wood burns slowly at first, picking up pace once the action begins and racing to its page-turning conclusion. While the ending was rather abrupt, it is indicative of Catton's daring and playfulness, leaving the readers wanting more. Catton has crafted a brilliant novel and I look forward to hearing her speak about it this week at the Sydney Writers Festival.