60 pages • 2 hours read
Eleanor CattonBirnam Wood
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Book Club Questions
General Impressions
Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.
1. Psychological thrillers, like Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, rely on the characters’ interiorities escalating action so that their lives or their lives of others fall under threat. How does Birnam Wood rank as a psychological thriller? Do you think this genre label is apt or would you characterize the novel differently?
2. Catton’s previous novel, The Luminaries, similarly featured a large cast of characters whose impact on each other is often revealed after the fact. What similarities does this novel share with its predecessor? How might this give you a clearer sense of Catton’s authorial style?
3. Who was your favorite character in Birnam Wood? Were you pleased by the resolution of their narrative, or did you wish their story concluded on a different note?
Personal Reflection and Connection
Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.
1. What are your thoughts on the tension between private and public property? Do you think certain places should remain public? How does it make you feel when people or corporations try to claim public spaces as their own property?
2. Is it bad to be ambitious? Debate the merits of ambition versus the issues that ambition may lead to, as evidenced by the events in this novel.
3. Would you compromise your values to achieve a larger objective? What are your personal boundaries on serving a greater cause?
4. What is the best way to navigate toxic personal relationships in a workplace setting? How would you navigate working with people like Mira, Shelley, and Tony if you found it impossible to avoid working with them?
Societal and Cultural Context
Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.
1. Tony considers writing an article commenting on the privatization of New Zealand. Discuss how this reflects the tensions of private-public partnerships in capitalist societies. How do private businessmen use their capital to wield power?
2. Surveillance is a prominent motif in the novel. How does this reflect the larger implications of technology’s omnipresence? What might this suggest about the relationship between technological progress and personal freedom?
3. Discuss the novel’s position on environmentalism, especially in the context of Birnam Wood’s organizational structure and purposes. Where do you see this depiction having real-world applicability?
Literary Analysis
Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.
1. The novel’s title is an allusion to Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Identify other narrative or thematic elements that this novel might have derived from Shakespeare’s text. How do these elements serve Catton’s intentions for the novel?
2. Who is the true antagonist of the novel? Does Robert Lemoine actively oppose the lead characters’ intentions, or does he drive them to act? Could Mira or Shelley be considered antagonists because of how their personal relationships sabotage their organization as a whole? Or could the enemy be someone else, like Tony or Sir Owen Darvish?
3. Discuss how Catton frames nature in the narrative. Does nature have agency or, at least, the semblance of sentience? How do acts of nature affect the characters in ways that might be interpreted as reactive?
4. Discuss Catton’s use of point of view. How does the novel’s ability to switch from one interiority to another deepen the complexity of the issues surrounding Thorndike and Korowai National Park?
Creative Engagement
Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.
1. Look through the various adaptations and performances of Macbeth in film, television, and stage history. Use the casts from these productions to cast an adaptation of Birnam Wood. How might the roles these actors played in Macbeth resonate with their roles in Birnam Wood?
2. Work together to envision or create a newsletter-themed zine for the fictional organization of Birnam Wood. What sections would you include in this zine? What kind of information would be relevant for the organization members to know?
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