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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?… (more)
User reviews
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 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.