Birdbrain

Heidi and Jyrki are a Finnish couple hiking in Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. They are lovers, but don't actually know each other very well. Jyrki is a strong outdoorsman and hiker, Heidi, not so much--she's just trying to maintain credibility with Jyrki. The story is told is alternating sections from Heidi's point of view and Jyrki's point of view.

While the story of Heidi and Jyrki is a good-enough story, the real star of this book are the descriptions of the landscape and hiking. For those who know the area, Heidi and Jyrki hiked the South Coast Track in Tasmania, the Queen Charlotte Track in New Zealand, the Kepler Track in New Zealand, and Grampian's National Park, Hall's Gap in Australia. The internal portraits of Heidi and show more Jyrki as they challenge the landscape and elements seem absolutely authentic. Along the way, we also learn a lot about the kea, a mountain parrot living on the South Island of New Zealand.

While the gorgeous and remote setting of this novel frequently is at the forefront, this book is in no way just a travelogue or adventure story. We are instead experiencing Jyrki and Heidi's experiences, their on-going internal monologues, and the changes they undergo. The ending is satisfactorily ambiguous. show less

An interesting novel that covers some ground not often covered in novels. The novel has a number of voices - mostly it is Jyrki and Heidi, a young Finnish couple who we hear from; their meeting and their trip to Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania backpacking. We also hear from Heidi's brother, a natural history magazine and Joseph Conrad.
The action flits in time between different backpacking trips on different trails, the final and most difficult trail being in Tasmania.
Jyrki comes over as an arrogant young man, zealous in his protection of nature, but also keen to control it. He sees himself as the only type of backpacker that has any credibility, but then took being lightweight so far he didn't carry even one bar of Kendal Mint Cake show more as spare food and no spare boot laces and we all know these are essentials, not frivolous items! He has no time for sitting and being and just enjoying being in the wild for its own sake, he needs constant challenge and needs to prove that he can meet these challenges again and again.
Heidi has no experience of backpacking and gets irritated with Jyrki and his insistence on following rules. However, she does seem to observe more and gt some pleasure from the natural environment.
Despite this, their relationship copes with backpacking, living in a small tent, getting wet, muddy and hot and dusty.
A number of unsettling incidents occur, belongings disappear and reappear and they have only each other to blame, but are way off the mark.
The novel considers themes about the natural environment and how much we need to and can control it and how we damage it and leave our mark on it and how nature constantly adapts.
An easy read - I read it in a day - and an interesting one. show less

A novel without a hero; all characters are more or less flawed.

Linnunaivot kertoo ekomatkailijoista. Matkataan, vaan ei oikein päästä mihinkään.