Birnam Wood

Birnam Wood (2023) is the third novel from the New Zealand author and screenplay writer Eleanor Catton. Her second book, The Luminaries, won the Man Booker Prize in 2013, making her, at 28, the youngest recipient for the longest work of 832 pages.

Birnam Wood is set near a fictional national park on the South Island of New Zealand where a group of young activists named after the forest in Macbeth make a deal with an American tech mogul who appears to have purchased the land on which they mean to guerrilla garden. His stated goal is to create a bunker to survive coming natural disasters and he surprises them by offering funding. The book rotates through different points of view, revealing that each character has an ulterior, nefarious motive. Betrayals and revelations about the reality of the situation build toward an apocalyptic, fiery ending.

This guide refers to the 2023 First American Edition published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Content Warning: This book contains scenes of graphic violence.

Plot Summary

Mira Bunting, the 29-year-old founder of a guerrilla gardening group called Birnam Wood, finds a piece of property in Thorndike near the Korowai National Park that will be perfect for their next project. The town has been cut off due to a landslide that killed five people and the owner of the property, Owen Darvish, is away with his wife, Jill, being knighted for services to conservation.

Shelley Noakes, Mira’s roommate, best friend, and partner in Birnam Wood, is tired of being outshone by Mira. She knows that the organization may fail because she does all the practical work. Tony Gallo, Mira’s former love interest and group member, comes looking for Mira. Shelley decides that she will sleep with Tony to sever all ties with Mira. Tony’s been trying to see Mira for weeks. He’s finds Shelley warm and fun. Shelley hurts Tony’s pride by declaring that Mira was really drunk during a one-night stand with Tony.

Mira goes alone to check out a potential site in Thorndike. While surveilling the property, she’s surprised to find a landing strip and plane. She concludes that no one’s there and the site is perfect. A man with an American accent steps out from behind the plane and demands to know who she is. When he says her real name, she panics, tells him everything, and runs away. Through the Darvishes, she finds an American drone company called Autonomo and a photo of the CEO. It’s him, Robert Lemoine, a venture capitalist and a billionaire. Lemoine finds her and apologizes for scaring her. He gives her the gate code to the property, saying he won’t tell the Darvishes.

Lemoine hacks into Mira’s phone. He accesses her search history and trails her with a drone. He likes that they’re both doing something illegal. She’s breaking into private property, and he’s secretly mining rare-earth minerals in the national park. His activities caused the landslide and deaths, which doesn’t bother him. He plans to mine the Darvishes’ land and bought a portion, saying that he wants a doomsday bunker. He decides to fund Mira’s activities.

Three weeks later, Shelley organizes a Birnam Wood meeting. She’s had no success with Tony and hasn’t told Mira that he is back. When Mira returns, she’s startled to see Tony but shares news that Lemoine has offered them $100,000. Tony and Mira argue about the group’s principles. Shelley supports Mira and they vote to take Lemoine’s money and Tony leaves, humiliated. Shelley and Mira prepare to leave on the day that Owen Darvish is being knighted.

The new Sir Owen and Lady Jill have dinner with old friends. Jill reveals that they’ve sold their land and signed a nondisclosure agreement. Owen Darvish checks his email and finds a message from Anthony Gallo asking for an interview about their land sale to Lemoine. He panics, wondering who Gallo is and how he knows.

Meanwhile, Tony decides to write an article about rich people buying New Zealand. He considers going to Thorndike to pretend to help with the guerrilla gardening but resolves not to trick former friends to their faces. He quarrels with his sister about publicly kissing a girl named Rosie the evening before but makes up enough to borrow her car. He drives to Thorndike for surveillance. In the national park he finds a blocked research area and a cell trailer with a security guard. He thinks he sees a gun, panics, and returns to the sheep farm where he sees Lemoine and Mira talking. He’s confused by the lack of sale information and wonders about the true nature of Lemoine’s presence. He emails the Darvishes requesting an interview and is surprised when Darvish calls. Darvish is also surprised that work is being done behind his farm. Tony hangs up and leaves a message for Rosie, letting her know he’ll be out of service.

Mira feels guilty that she hasn’t told the rest of Birnam Wood that the land isn’t Lemoine’s yet even though they’re already working. She’s attracted to Lemoine despite thinking he may be a “psychopath.” She thinks that she sees Tony walking into the trees.

Lady Darvish thinks that Tony is nothing to worry about, but Sir Darvish is unsettled. He books a flight to check things out.

Lemoine remembers that when he was about to lose the deal with Darvish, Lady Darvish went behind her husband’s back and told Lemoine to leave it to her to settle in his favor. Lemoine notes that he’d have killed her if she was his own wife—his wife was killed in helicopter accident. His workers at the illegal extraction site call to say that there’s been a breach of security. Lemoine can’t access Tony’s phone but calls Rosie, pretending to be someone at Tony’s work. When Rosie gets suspicious, he hangs up.

Tony sees a drone scanning the forest for him. He remembers protests against mining in the national parks and wonders if the government is doing it anyway.

Shelley thinks that she does all the work and is frustrated that Mira is infatuated with Lemoine. He wants to meet the group and has brought dinner and drugs.

Mira and Lemoine argue and he uses the death of his wife to emotionally talk her down. Dinner turns awkward when Shelley flirts with Lemoine and calls Mira out for not wanting to participate with the drugs. Lemoine says that he’ll sit out too, and Shelley becomes even more aggressive, asking him in front of the group if he wants to sleep with Mira. The drugs begin to kick in and Mira and Lemoine leave, going to the Darvishes’ house. Mira notices a car at the gate. They hear the van go by and crash. Shelley’s tripping on acid and has killed Owen Darvish.

Lady Darvish worries when Lemoine calls to say that Owen hasn’t come to a meeting on the farm concerning Birnam Wood. Jill tracks Owen’s phone and Lemoine says he’ll go check the spot, then calls back to say Owen is dead.

Lemoine knows how to change the situation. He emotionally blackmails Mira into helping and tells Shelley that it’s not real. He fixes Darvish’s phone, deleting the fact that he came to the farm and sends emails arranging the meeting about Birnam Wood from days before. Later, Shelley tells Lemoine that they now want $1 million.

Lemoine realizes that Shelley is who he should deal with. Meanwhile, Lady Darvish doesn’t believe that her husband’s death was an accident. Lemoine’s security sends him footage of a figure taking pictures of his leach pits.

Tony is taking the pictures. He tries to leave and is blocked by black SUVs. He makes sure that his film is safe and jumps off a cliff into a river. He breaks an arm and ankle in the fall and tries to hobble out of the wilderness.

Mira and Shelley go back to the farm and see a man with an assault rifle. Lemoine tells them that the man is looking for a threat to Lemoine’s life and they shouldn’t worry. Lemoine directs all official papers to Shelley. Mira resigns as CEO of Birnam Wood. Lemoine asks Shelley to spend the night.

Mira sees Tony. He is delirious but explains what he’s found. Mira decides to help. She sees construction starting on the bunker.

Lemoine’s plan is to make it appear that Tony killed everyone in Birnam Wood. Lemoine will leave with the minerals that he’s dug up hidden in construction equipment. Mira comes back for Tony at night and Lemoine’s drones track her. He finds them and drives them toward the house. Lemoine takes Tony’s film.

Shelley drives the van to get supplies and sees Lemoine with Mira in the car. Shelley later realizes that Mira is missing, and Lemoine says that he’ll meet with the entire group in the morning.

Lady Darvish goes to Thorndike to see what’s happening. She finds the doors of her house open and evidence of a struggle. A barrel of poison is missing from her garage. She hears a scream and grabs the rifle in the front room. She finds multiple dead bodies and Tony tied to a dead Mira. She understands that Lemoine is the villain and shoots him between the eyes. She cuts Tony free but is shot by Lemoine’s bodyguard. Tony uses his last strength to find the mine site and sets it on fire so that people will find it.