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carriepond's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
North Woods by Daniel Mason is simultaneously sweeping and intimate in scope; it is introspective, layered, brilliant, and surprisingly fun and funny. The novel opens on a June day, as two lovers flee into the woods from a Puritan colony in what is modern-day western Massachusetts. "They were Nature's wards now, he told her, they had crossed into a Realm." They make their home in a clearing in those woods that becomes the focal point of Mason's brilliant novel. From there, North Woods advances through history, using straightforward narrative as well as apparent historical documents and accounts to reveal the stories of those who live or visit the yellow house in the clearing, both human and animal. We meet an English solider turned orchard owner and his spinster daughters, a landscape painter, an avid hunter who seeks counsel from a psychic as his wife becomes convinced she can hear ghosts, a harried mother and her schizophrenic son, a true crime reporter, a widower and amateur history buff exiled from his historical society for sexual impropriety, and a young researcher. The novel connects these characters not only by their physical presence in the woods throughout history but also in other delightful and unexpected ways.
I loved this novel, about the interconnection between humans and nature, the way that the past shapes the present in so many ways that we can't fathom or see, and how everything (people, houses, forests, humanity itself) is both transient and ephemeral, eternal and infinite. There is an element of magic or mysticism that meshes perfectly with the mundane, and Mason treats both with equal reverence and attention. Toward the end of the novel, a character muses that "the only way to understand the world as something other than a tale of loss is to see it as a tale of change." In North Woods, we see that in action-- an apple tree rises from the ribs of a fallen soldier, a beetle is unknowingly transported deep into the forest to feast on and fell its elm trees. And the novel itself is a cycle-- beginning on a day in June, ending on a day in May far in the future.
The novel was beautiful to read, but it was also fun to read. I loved watching Mason weave together all the pieces of this epic story, and there were also parts that made me chuckle or laugh out loud, including a hilarious and prolonged sex scene between two beetles.
I loved this book!
I loved this novel, about the interconnection between humans and nature, the way that the past shapes the present in so many ways that we can't fathom or see, and how everything (people, houses, forests, humanity itself) is both transient and ephemeral, eternal and infinite. There is an element of magic or mysticism that meshes perfectly with the mundane, and Mason treats both with equal reverence and attention. Toward the end of the novel, a character muses that "the only way to understand the world as something other than a tale of loss is to see it as a tale of change." In North Woods, we see that in action-- an apple tree rises from the ribs of a fallen soldier, a beetle is unknowingly transported deep into the forest to feast on and fell its elm trees. And the novel itself is a cycle-- beginning on a day in June, ending on a day in May far in the future.
The novel was beautiful to read, but it was also fun to read. I loved watching Mason weave together all the pieces of this epic story, and there were also parts that made me chuckle or laugh out loud, including a hilarious and prolonged sex scene between two beetles.
I loved this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Injury/Injury detail
fkshg8465's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is one of the most interesting storytelling formats I’ve ever read. Is done effectively. It’s almost like a bunch of short stories connected through time with the setting and the part characters weaved throughout to provide continuity. It was enjoyable to read and to contemplate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Confinement, Cancer, Car accident, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide attempt
rednikki's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The more I think on this book, the more I dislike it. Much like Edward Rutherford's famous books, Mason tells the history of a place through the people who have lived there over time.
But Mason only tells the story through the white people who have lived (or in one case, visited) there. Excluding people of color from point of view was clearly a decision Mason made. The first time we encounter the place, it is through the eyes of some of the first white settlers of the US; we never see it through the eyes of the historical people of the land. There is one section where there is a person of color living in the place, and Mason chooses to tell the story through the point of view of a white visitor instead.
Rutherford's books also usually have at least some time points where there is hope and happiness. In Mason's world, there is only misery, tragedy and despair. Sometimes it's just an undercurrent, sometimes it is overwhelming – but whenever his characters experience joy they are punished for it.
Do not recommend.
But Mason only tells the story through the white people who have lived (or in one case, visited) there. Excluding people of color from point of view was clearly a decision Mason made. The first time we encounter the place, it is through the eyes of some of the first white settlers of the US; we never see it through the eyes of the historical people of the land. There is one section where there is a person of color living in the place, and Mason chooses to tell the story through the point of view of a white visitor instead.
Rutherford's books also usually have at least some time points where there is hope and happiness. In Mason's world, there is only misery, tragedy and despair. Sometimes it's just an undercurrent, sometimes it is overwhelming – but whenever his characters experience joy they are punished for it.
Do not recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Kidnapping, Animal death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Dementia, and Death
ashleyjean6's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Original and well written! It's genre defying: historical fiction, ghost story, thriller, academic essay, nature essay, poetry. It is also both a novel, but one made up of many short stories tied together by a place. The book starts during the 1600s and continues to modern day and beyond. Without spoiling things, I can't add much details. Only to say that while the overall tone of each story is typically a combination of sad and bizarre, it is also thought provoking and inspiring in its sheer creativity. Highly recommend. The audiobook was also very well done!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Colonisation, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Car accident, Child death, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Dementia, Murder, Slavery, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War
sjanke2's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Confinement, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Car accident, Death, Outing, Medical content, and Slavery
jesselynn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Rapturous, moving and eternal.
An incredible book. It is a true epic of life, death, nature, history, succession and reclamation. Told in many voices and styles, we follow hundreds of years of history revolving around a house deep in the woods of Massachusetts. This book haunts its reader with the voices of the past, rallies the timeless human and non-human experiences that are held in a perpetual clandestine shroud between walls, branches and soil. It is sweeping and vibrant and rich in longing and grief and nature. A truly fascinating literary joy and stellar achievement by Daniel Mason.
Thank you to John Murray Press/Hachette for the advanced reader copy.
Thank you to John Murray Press/Hachette for the advanced reader copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, War, Ableism, Car accident, Death, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Murder, Gore, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, and Dementia
Minor: Alcohol, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Suicide, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Slavery
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