Eleanor Catton, Birnam Wood

 

- Birnam Wood is a deeply political novel for our times. It's intellectually challenging and confronting, but utterly absorbing. It has the most mature and robust dialogue between passionate characters that I've read in a long time, something that is very rare in literary fiction. Catton never condescends. 

- She offers us a penetrating scrutiny and assessment of each of her characters - their minds, hearts, talents, self-obsessions, grievances and more. It's a 'relentless interior critique' as she says at one point. 

- There’s been an earthquake in Korowai National Park near the town of Thorndike in New Zealand's South Island, and the whole area has been closed off. Mira Bunting is the founder of a group of young nature-loving activists who secretly descend on deserted parks and farmlands to plant vegetables and gardens. They've named themselves Birnam Wood from Shakespeare's Macbeth. 

- Mira drives to Thorndike to see the former sheep station that has been listed for sale. She is confronted by a man who's just landed on a field in a small plane. He is Robert Lemoine, an American billionaire, and founder of a large corporation that makes drones for surveillance purposes around the world. He tells her he's a 'doomsteader' and plans to build a bunker on the property to survive the 'coming apocalypse'. He's in the process of buying the farm. His real intention, however, is to secretly mine the extensive farmlands and surrounding hills for rare earth elements destined for top secret applications in defence against China. His radiometric drones have discovered them. He's seized on the opportunity to 'make trillions'. 

- There's a touch of Bond villain about Lemoine. He's a bit of a caricature. But another central character in the novel becomes a counter focus to this rather silly narrative and substantially rescues it. Tony Gallo was one of the founding members of the group in its early subversive days and is the epitome of the far left. He's intellectually formidable and an aspiring investigative journalist. His anti-capitalist rants against ‘the market’ at one of the group’s quarterly meetings is nothing short of brilliant. The novel's plot has evolved into a battle of political ideas. It's the extreme woke left versus the extreme ugly right. 

- At the same meeting Mira informs the collective that she's met Lemoine on the farm and that he's offered to generously fund their operations. Tony is horrified but he's outvoted. What none of them know is that Lemoine sees their work as a convenient cover for his secret mining operations. He has also compromised Mira’s phone and stolen her data. He’s quickly intruding into and taking over their lives. 

- Tony is suspicious and is determined to uncover the truth. He starts researching a long investigative article. He also drives to the farm, staying out of sight, but is spotted by the drones. His life is in danger.

- Catton embarks on a fairly detailed and complex denouement, as Tony and Mira wise up to what's really happening and Lemoine takes measures to protect himself and his covert operations. To avoid spoilers I can only say that death wins out in the end. Not life or hope or one party of the political divide. Just death. 

- Most reviewers have highly praised this third novel from Catton. I am a great fan of her first two The Rehearsal and The Luminaries. But although Birnam Wood is a vigorous and intellectually energising read, and on many levels highly satisfying, it's seriously flawed as well. 

Sebastian Barry, Old God’s Time.

 

- This new novel from celebrated Irish author Sebastian Barry is perhaps the best and most absorbing novel I’ve read in a long time. His two previous novels were set in America, but in this one he comes home.

- Much of contemporary Irish fiction has a certain flavour to it. Authors, like Claire Keegan, confronting the awful legacy of child abuse committed by priests and nuns, and the church authorities who denied the seriousness of it and hid it all away - 'nothing to see here'. They also pressured the police chiefs to cease further investigations. Everyone was a loyal Catholic.  

- There's a decidedly Irish lilt to Barry's prose, in its repetitive, circling, and mesmerising short sentences. His narrative often slides into another zone altogether, creeping up on you, shifting to a different time or a different place. There's a beautiful dreamlike texture to it. 

- Tom Kettle, aged 66, a retired police detective, is living a simple life on Dalkey Island across the strait from Dublin. He’s soft and quiet by nature and very introspective. Mental clarity, however, is something he doesn’t have. As the novel proceeds we learn why. Tragedy has been a constant burden. He’s visited by two former junior colleagues and his old boss who are seeking his help on an unresolved case from a decade ago. A priest was found in a ravine with injuries suggesting he was stabbed and pushed down a mountain. 

- We learn that Kettle's wife, an orphan, was constantly raped by this priest, and he himself, also an orphan, was constantly abused by a religious Brother. His police colleagues know this sad history. They ask him to submit to a DNA test. They know his anger at the priests and the senior police officers has always been fierce. 

- There are a number of other characters, including his two children, in this beautiful, haunting novel that flesh out the whole very satisfactorily. 

- One of Sebastian Barry's extraordinary gifts as a writer is his boundless capacity for empathy. (IRISH TIMES).

Mali Waugh, Judgement Day

- If you're looking for an Australian crime thriller that's not another standard outback noir iteration then this is it. It's Mali Waugh's first novel and it's riveting. 

- It's set in Melbourne's CBD and upmarket eastern suburbs. As the police drive around, a lot of streets and buildings are constantly named and cafes visited. And houses are brought to life as vividly as in a real estate brochure. 

- Kaye Bailey, a senior family law court judge has been murdered during a gathering of her colleagues to honour the current Chief Justice who is retiring. Ironically, she was named as his replacement. 

- There's a taste of the Death in Paradise TV show in the set up - a close community, a small group of characters who are all suspects, and the murder happening during a get-together. 

- What elevates this book well above the usual trope however is the way Waugh enriches the drama with her characters' personal stories. Detective Senior Sergeant Jillian Basset, who is leading the case, is a fascinating and complicated new mother, desperate to get back to work to escape the psychological trauma she has experienced since giving birth. Her colleague, McClintock, a young man who was acting Senior Sergeant while she was on maternity leave, is a blokey, sports-loving, fairly arrogant and sexist pain in the arse. In fact, as Jillian sees it, there are sexist men everywhere, particularly in the court. They are elitist, imposing and self-entitled. Her pungent thoughts on them as the investigation proceeds are conveyed to the reader in italics: 'There'll be a press conference later too' he added. Of course you wouldn't want to deprive the public of your precious mug.

- The narrative is full of rich details about the everyday jobs of the court justices, their assistants and the police. And the personal drama and complications of motherhood. Jillian is sharply observant. And Waugh's telling intimate and sensitive.

- Like all crime dramas there are suspects and surprises, tangents and dead ends, but this novel pulls them all together and comes to an extremely satisfying resolution. 

- The Epilogue is emotional and beautiful and had me in tears. 

Bret Easton Ellis, The Shards

 

- This is an utterly compelling and captivating story, one of Ellis's best since American Psycho. 

- The standard Author Photo inside the back cover was obviously taken in the early 80’s, though that's not mentioned. He’s now 57. I guess it's appropriate because Bret the narrator of this novel is 17 years old, in his final year of High School. It’s him talking to us, and how he looks is relevant. This is not, strictly speaking, a memoir or bio, yet it certainly smells like one, though, according to Ellis, 'it's entirely a work of fiction'.

- In 1981 Bret and his friends are in their final year at the prestigious private school Buckley College in Los Angeles. He's also working on his first novel Less Than Zero, though he's struggling with it.

- Pretty soon the novel becomes totally immersive. He brings his characters intensely alive. It's all sex, drugs and rock n roll. They are American teens from wealthy families and with fancy cars - BMWs, Mercedes, Cobras and Porsches. And Bret knows he’s gay but he's keeping it a secret. He also has a girlfriend. He's the actor going along with the pantomime...I was, in so many ways, an imposter. The sex scenes are frequent and intense, highly erotic, and described in every possible detail. He also indulges in sex with other gay students, and that is described in every possible detail. The music of the times is everywhere too. And cassettes and answering machines ('pick up Bret, pick up!')

- Bret fleshes out in minute detail the personal interactions of these beautiful and handsome 17 year old school friends. A decadence prevails, an aura of meaninglessness, an emptiness to their lives. It's 'a gilded bubble’. Bret himself is intensely self-referential. Occasionally he gets stuck in side alleys for far too long. He also suffers from frequent anxiety attacks. It seems he's hooked on Valium, and all his friends are constantly sniffing cocaine and downing Quaaludes they easily obtain from dealers. Their favourite pastime is having parties, getting stoned, and downing margaritas. 

- In many ways this novel is a love letter to Los Angeles - so many famous streets, boulevards and precincts are mentioned - Mulholland, Melrose, Santa Monica, San Fernando Valley, Century City, Westwood, Beverly Hills, Rancho Park, Culver City, Woodcliff, Valley Vista, Haskell Ave, and more.

- But then a darkness emerges in the form of a serial killer, named by the press as the Trawler. He mainly targets young women. But he also indulges in weird rituals including sexual assault and disfigurement. Bret has premonitions and he thinks he knows who the perpetrator is. No one believes him. Some of his school friends become victims. 

- There is a lot of excess verbiage in this novel that could have been edited out. It's often overpacked with details. Repetition after repetition is frequent, as if the reader lacks memory or is thick. The essence of the novel though is the conversations between the characters. They are very, very realistic and thrilling.  

- A rather complicated denouement brings all the threads of the novel together, but there are still unanswered questions that may frustrate many readers. 

- Nevertheless, the novel is quite extraordinary so many ways, and a total pleasure to read. It's 600 pages long but very hard to put down. Thoroughly recommended. 

Andrea Wulf, Magnificent Rebels

- Andrea Wulf takes us to The University of Jena in Germany in the 1790's. Jena was a small town then, but under the influence of a circle of brilliant young men and women its university became the seedbed of an intellectual revolution that quickly spread throughout the Western world.  

- Wulf has given us in great detail the extraordinary story of these philosophers, poets, scientists and art historians, who became lifelong friends and lovers, and influenced thinkers and writers throughout Europe, Britain, and the US over generations. They invented Romanticism. 

- I was thoroughly engrossed by this marvellous story told in very clear and readable prose, and can do no better than post the dust cover copy which describes the book so well:

 

Robbie Arnott, Limberlost

- Robbie Arnott's third novel is his best so far. It is a stunningly good achievement. His first novel, Flames, was a semi YA polyglot which in my view didn't work. His second, The Rain Heron, was coherent and very enjoyable, but Limberlost is just excellent in every way. It's a mature, realistic family saga, principally focussing on the youngest son Ned. 

- It's set in Northern Tasmania, on an apple orchid called Limberlost, not far from Launceston. We traverse the 20th century, starting with World War I. Ned is a young teenage boy and his two older brothers, Bill and Toby, are fighting in the war in Europe. He has an older sister, Maggie, as well. Their mother died a few years earlier. Their father is rather brusque but very supportive. 

- There are incidents and sub-plots dotted throughout that enrich the story immeasurably. Ned lacks self-confidence (When would the natural competence of other men come to him?) but he's a very mature, sensitive and kind man. 

- He marries Callie, the sister of an old friend, and they have three children. They develop their own farm, growing apples and vegetables and making a good living. Callie is a strong, independent woman whom Ned loves dearly, but for some reason Arnott refers to her as 'Ned's wife' or 'his wife' continually. It's not at all clear why. It was the common parlance of the time of course, but....

- Arnott's writing is strikingly beautiful, and he brings the rich natural environment of Tasmania vividly to life. He also addresses wider issues such as the history and rights of the original Indigenous inhabitants of the land. 

- The ending is very emotional indeed. It brings the life and times of this family to a very satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended. 

Claire Keegan, Foster

 

- First published in 2010 this brilliant little novel, only 88 pages, has been unavailable in bookshops for nearly a decade. Now at last it's been re-issued in a new paperback edition, no doubt due to last year's realise of the film The Quiet Girl which is based on it. (The film is also superb by the way).

- Foster is a must-read. In fact it's widely regarded as a classic by literary critics all over the world, and that's hardly a surprise given Irish author Claire Keegan's genius. I was enthralled by her latest novel, Small Things Like These, published last year, so was keen to read Foster.

- In exquisitely subtle and gentle prose, an unnamed young girl tells her story. There's lots of dialogue between the handful of characters and their familiar, engaging Irish lilt drives the simple but very powerful story. 

- The girl's mother is again pregnant - she already has three kids, and her husband is worse than useless as a father - so she asks her sister to care for the girl over summer. Her sister and her husband, the Kinsellas, are childless. Financially they are far better off than the girl's family.

- The girl is quiet and reticent at first but soon settles into a pattern on the dairy farm they own. The husband is also quiet at first but gradually he and the girl form a real bond. She also enjoys the electric appliances which are new to her - the refrigerator, freezer, vacuum cleaner, iron and other mod cons. The woman (the girl refers to her as ‘the woman’) bathes her, cleans her ears and brushes her hair. They eat healthy food. She helps the woman with the housework and cooking. They watch the 9pm news on TV. Visitors often come for card games. It's a warm, loving and respectful environment. 

- At one point a nosey neighbour tells the girl that the Kinsellas had a boy who drowned. She now knows why her bedroom wallpaper is illustrated with cars, trucks and tractors. 

- As the summer months proceed the husband, John, becomes more talkative and likeable. He forms a real bond with the girl. He takes her to the seashore, times her 100 metre or so runs to the postbox, which she really enjoys. She's also introduced to books.

- When it’s time for her to go home they drive her. They share an acute sense of sadness and loss. The last few pages of the novel are very emotional. Her father and her siblings are cold. As the Kinsellas drive away from her house she runs fast up the long driveway to embrace them. She realises she has discovered love and a real home. She hugs John, her ‘daddy’. 

- Your tears will flood the final page.