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?