From the author of the critically acclaimed Troll, the new novel from Johanna Sinisalo is full of her trademark style, surreal invention, and savage humor Set in Australasia, this is the story of a young Finnish couple who have embarked on the hiking trip of a lifetime, with Heart of Darkness as their only reading matter. Conrad's dark odyssey turns out to be a prescient choice as their trip turns into a tortuous thriller, with belongings disappearing, and they soon find themselves at the mercy of untamed nature, seemingly directed by the local kakapo a highly intellegent parrot threatened with extinction. This is a skillful portrait of the unquenchable desire of Westerners for the pure and the primitive, revealing the dark side of the explorer's desire the insatiable need to control, to invade, and leave one's mark on the landscape. But what happens when nature starts to fight back?
Birdbrain
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A sense of lurking horror that will leave you troubled for weeks --The Guardian Books of the Year 2010, Sam Jordison
The lavish descriptions of panoramas and the experience of pushing beyond all endurance make for a lyrical and occasionally sinister odyssey second only to making one's own foray into the wilderness. --Publishers Weekly
Birdbrain is a graphic examination of two very different people and a harrowing allegory of humankind's problematic relationship with the planet. --Eric Brown, The Guardian
Birdbrain is a graphic examination of two very different people and a harrowing allegory of humankind's problematic relationship with the planet. --Eric Brown, The Guardian
As an ethical narrative, it's committed without being strident. It's a book about rubbish, the stuff we throw away or would rather throw away; it's book that has made me think. I will read it again --Sue Thomason, Foundation
The lavish descriptions of panoramas and the experience of pushing beyond all endurance make for a lyrical and occasionally sinister odyssey second only to making one's own foray into the wilderness. --Publishers Weekly
Birdbrain is a graphic examination of two very different people and a harrowing allegory of humankind's problematic relationship with the planet. --Eric Brown, The Guardian
Birdbrain is a graphic examination of two very different people and a harrowing allegory of humankind's problematic relationship with the planet. --Eric Brown, The Guardian
As an ethical narrative, it's committed without being strident. It's a book about rubbish, the stuff we throw away or would rather throw away; it's book that has made me think. I will read it again --Sue Thomason, Foundation
About the Author
Johanna Sinisalo is a Finnish science fiction and fantasy writer who won the James Tiptree Jr. Award, as well as the most acclaimed Finnish literary prize, the Finlandia, for her novel Troll. She also edited The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy and she was nominated for a Nebula Award for her short story "Baby Doll"
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Maikku
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having hiked in the same areas as the protagonists of this book I was keen to learn how the issues of survival in untamed nature, and the conflict of having sophisticated hiking gear versus "being one with nature" were handled. The obsessions of some hikers to be the first to do something are cruelly shattered time and again. And nature in many of its manifestations always has the last laugh. The book flows excellently and the ending is truly brilliant. A thought-provoking read about nature and human nature.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This novel is set mostly in Tasmania where the lead characters are hiking some of the famous trails. Jyrki and Heidi have travelled from Finland. Jyrki had planned this trip for years but Heidi had only joined him on impulse at the last minute. The narrative is told alternatively by each of them so we gain insights into how each one is coping with the arduous hike - and how their ideas so often diverge. There are very few facilities along the South Coast Track and the Overland Track and they have to carry all their food, cooking gear, clothing and camping equipment. They are even supposed to take away their own garbage. Jyrki is a keen environmentalist and wants to stick closely to all the rules of the National Parks. Heidi tends to waver now and then.... Jyrki is scathing about tourists just wanting a day trip along part of the trail. He rejects easy comforts as he feels these are not within the spirit of the walk - often with comic results.
"I felt almost claustrophobic at the thought of a long afternoon slouching around doing nothing in a bungalow hotel where, after having a shower, there'd be nothing else to do except hang around in the bar and wait for dinner.
We each munched a handful of mixed nuts and set off." Needless to say, Heidi had been very keen to stay the night!
This is a hard novel to categorise. There is a lurking horror and danger but it is not a thriller. Jyrki and Heidi make love, quarrel, make up, bicker and sometimes seethe with resentment but it could not be called a romance. Nature is perhaps the other main character of Birdbrain. How should we react to Nature? Work with it, challenge it, submit to it, fear it? And will Nature in the end always win out? The book was littered with thought provoking questions.
Birdbrain is interspersed with quotes from Conrad's Heart of Darkness (which Heidi read during the hike) and these are all very appropriate. I was less sure about the confessional snippets of Heidi's delinquent brother. Were they a contrast to Jyrki's righteous aims or a parallel to the actions of the Kea bird?
A very engrossing and satisfying read.
"I felt almost claustrophobic at the thought of a long afternoon slouching around doing nothing in a bungalow hotel where, after having a shower, there'd be nothing else to do except hang around in the bar and wait for dinner.
We each munched a handful of mixed nuts and set off." Needless to say, Heidi had been very keen to stay the night!
This is a hard novel to categorise. There is a lurking horror and danger but it is not a thriller. Jyrki and Heidi make love, quarrel, make up, bicker and sometimes seethe with resentment but it could not be called a romance. Nature is perhaps the other main character of Birdbrain. How should we react to Nature? Work with it, challenge it, submit to it, fear it? And will Nature in the end always win out? The book was littered with thought provoking questions.
Birdbrain is interspersed with quotes from Conrad's Heart of Darkness (which Heidi read during the hike) and these are all very appropriate. I was less sure about the confessional snippets of Heidi's delinquent brother. Were they a contrast to Jyrki's righteous aims or a parallel to the actions of the Kea bird?
A very engrossing and satisfying read.
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Another great book to come from Finland. It tackles parenthood's burdens quietly but is in no way a 'woman's' book.
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