Birnam Wood

"This eco-thriller about radical environmentalists and a billionaire landowner fits Barack Obama's interest in complex social issues and the intersection of idealism and power."

"New Zealand is far away from my home, so I appreciated my jet lag-free trip there in the form of this thrilling novel about a group of young environmentalists. Mira Bunting is part of a “guerrilla gardening collective” – their activism revolves around farm projects, but there is nothing calm or pastoral about this suspenseful and tragic tale. None of the characters is spared from Eleanor Catton’s precise and devastating examinations of their motives, blind spots and manipulations. I found myself shouting warnings out loud to the characters, just like in a horror movie: Look behind you!"