Natalia Chi
Farrar, Strauss, Giroud
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Eleanor Catton “Barnum Wood” (Farrar, Straus, Giroux), the latest novel by the Booker Prize-winning authors of The Luminaries, is a thriller set in New Zealand that pits a radical environmentalist against a scheming billionaire.
Read the excerpt below.
Barnum Woods by Eleanor Catton (hardcover)
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Mira’s first thought when she returned to her empty apartment was that Sherry had finally done it. After calling Sherry’s name and getting no response, she stood in the open doorway for a few seconds, adjusting herself to the new but long-anticipated reality that Sherry was gone–her vision Before we got clear and saw Shelly’s bike still in the laundry. , and her shoes still piled under the radiator, her favorite bomber her jacket still hanging on her hook in the hall coat. Finding her silly, Mila wondered if a sudden emergency had taken Sherry away from her home, and she hastily revised her thoughts… but if so… So why didn’t she call or at least text?
She suddenly remembers a location tracking app they both installed months ago and never used. She pulled out her phone to see if the connection was still active, but it took a short time to get Shelly’s data, even though the device was adjusting its satellite configuration and the local mast to her position. In time, she felt ashamed of the break-in and left. It wasn’t the first time that her instincts had become so dependent on technology that she outsourced her imagination, wondering…to her phone.
It’s been two weeks since Shelley first learned she wanted out of Birnum Forest, and for two weeks she’s been as mute and devastated as when her parents first announced their separation. I was paralyzed with a sense of helplessness. Then, at her age and independence, it was ridiculous that she felt so childishly abandoned and so sad.
Excerpt from “Birnum Woods” by Eleanor Catton. Published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Copyright © 2023 by Eleanor Catton. All rights reserved.
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Barnum Woods by Eleanor Catton (hardcover)
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For more information:
- “Barnum Wood” By Eleanor Catton (Farrar, Straus, Giroux), hardcover, large print, eBook, audio format
