Reviews tagging 'War'

North Woods by Daniel Mason

15 reviews

madincrafts's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I really like interesting and unique books, and this one was both. 

The structure of the book is a succession of stories of people who interacted with a single plot of land in the north woods of New England. The stories are intriguing, but not long enough to really settle in to knowing the characters, but that’s the point of the book. Time will always continue to pass. Things that happened in the past have effects on the future, but history keeps moving forward. 

A modern scientist leads an art exhibit featuring paintings from a mid-1800s painter who ate fruit from trees that were tended by a pre-revolutionary war farmer and which originally grew from a seed buried in the stomach of a Puritan soldier. Stories are all connected, but time keeps moving forward. 

I especially liked that the writing style of each section of the book matched the historical era: Hawthorne-esque prose for the Puritans, pulpy sensationalism for the 40s crime writing, etc. 

There were a few sections of the book where I worried the author was getting a little lost in the sauce, but the ending brought me back around again. 

This is a weird one, and probably not for everyone, but I’m glad I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

drymice's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Slavery, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Homophobia and War

basil_touche's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It took me until the story with the Osgood family to get truly captivated by this novel, but once I did I found it such an engrossing listening experience. The various narrators (except one which I found grating but thankfully doesn't feature much) really helped each chapter feel like the time periods they were set in and the prose was rich with detail, especially about the nature surrounding the house. The way each character's history linked in small ways was very rewarding to come across, and I much prefer that rather than having a big reveal. Feels more natural (ha) that way.

I also quite like how the supernatural elements were executed here as well, gradly being introduced until the last chapters focus more on it. It made me laugh hard at a part in the chapter with the seance, I'll just say good for them so as not to spoil anything.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Dementia

Minor: Death of parent and Gaslighting

faithemt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

best book i've read all year. 

Full review is here: 
https://goldintheclouds-faith.blogspot.com/2024/11/2024-book-review-48north-woods.html

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Slavery, Suicide, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War

angorarabbit's review against another edition

hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

North Woods tells the story of a place through a few centuries in a 3rd person omniscient narration. The humans are flashes on the years, the real character is the place. Mr Mason tells this story beautifully in loving detail. My only complaint is that the “historical pieces” especially the songs do not quite ring true to the time they are supposedly written in. But that is a small quibble. This is a wonderful book that reminded me that life is fleeting for humans and even trees, but the place remains even as it becomes unrecognisable to those who lived on it centuries ago.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Genocide, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Slavery, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Suicide and Alcohol

There is discussion regarding lobotomies.

spadefootfrog's review

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, and Colonisation

Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Slavery, Terminal illness, and War

blankcrayon's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

2.0

Interesting concept, but I didn’t enjoy the execution. I found myself wanting to finish the book, and I didn’t connect with the characters. The fantasy elements brought in toward the second half of the book were also not my cup of tea. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Death

Minor: Sexual content and War

ashleyjean6's review

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!! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

atiek's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

5.0

I give this book beyond a five point oh. It'll break your heart and allow you to see justice in the same breath. It'll build you back up once broken down. All of the characters's voices are palpable and I strongly recommend listening to North Woods on audio for the best experience. I will be buying a physical copy of this book some day, it is that freaking great.    

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Slavery and Suicide

Minor: War

deedireads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

All my reviews live at https://deedireads.com/.

See, now this is what I want every literary historical fiction novel to be for the rest of time. More books like this please!!

North Woods is super engaging and creative in structure, with the focus on the woods (and a house in those woods, complete with apple orchard) over 4+ centuries. We meet not only the people who lived in the house, but also the animals — and we get not only traditionally narrated chapters, but also songs, newspaper clippings, and more. It’s a tapestry, it’s a patchwork quilt, it’s the circle of life in miniature, and it is equally heartbreaking and delightful (and, at times, quite shocking).

Truly, I just loved this one so much. If you like books that span lifetimes, connect them in super-smart ways, cut to the quick of an excellent character in no time flat, weave in nature, and experiment with structure, run don’t walk!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death and Grief

Minor: Slavery and War