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?
Editorial Reviews
Review
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
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 hernovel “Troll.” Shealso edited”The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy “andshe was nominated for a Nebula Awardfor her short story”Baby Doll.””
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