Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

North Woods by Daniel Mason

34 reviews

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

sjabw13's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Beautifully written! Fascinating plot. Favorite book of the year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

rcarri264's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Murder

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

lyndigo42's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This is probably one of the best books I’ve ever read. I reflected on the passage of time and how it seems both swift and slow at the same time. Amazing study in how we are connected to the land in ways we may never fully realize. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Animal death

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.

siobhanward's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

NYT Notable Books 2023: 34/100

This wasn't my favourite, unfortunately. The concept was cool but the execution felt muddled and things moved around so quickly that I found I didn't particularly care about any given plot line. There was some small redemption when the stories fed into one another, but it felt like that didn't happen as often as it could have. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Homophobia

readingoverbreathing's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Ever since this was included in the NYT Book Review's list of the best books of the year, I've been dying to read this. It checks so many of my boxes: lush, descriptive writing, an 18th-century New England farmhouse, and a threaded series of different characters, time periods, and circumstances that are all woven together into one brilliant tapestry. I am someone who is also very protective and sentimental about place and home and curious how places evolve over time, so this was truly, totally, utterly up my alley. And, to top it all off, I just so happened to be spending time traveling in the Berkshires while reading this, traversing the same landscape that shapes these characters and this story, apple picking and all. There could not have been a more perfect book in my hands for that trip.

And, believe me, it did not disappoint. Admittedly, I was a bit bewildered by the first couple of chapters, but by the time I got to Mary and Alice, the story was starting to click. And it only gets better from there.

However, while this was so close to a five-star read for me, there were a few minor things that bothered me. For one, the songs and the images Mason incorporates. Personally, I don't think they really added much. I'm sure the author could offer a detailed and fascinating justification for their inclusion that would help me appreciate them, but I honestly found them a little pretentious and unnecessary.

Secondly, I could have done without the last chapter, maybe even without Nora's story altogether. Part of the thrill of this book, for me at least, was the slow realization that

a supernatural world did in fact exist just beneath the surface of the present one. By exposing this so fully, Mason took away a lot of the magic, mystery, and intrigue for me. I also wouldn't have been opposed to a glimpse into the house and land's future, but the way Mason explored this lacked the detail and rich storytelling that characterized the rest of the book and honestly just felt like a cheap way to tie this off. There's definitely some allusion to climate change, but I would have preferred something more substantial, if he did indeed want to take the story that far.

However, overall, I'll say it just one more time: I loved this. The writing is beautiful, the story brilliant, the characters vividly memorable. Maybe it was a case of right place/right time for me, but I am so grateful to say that this was just about everything I had hoped it would be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Medical trauma, and Murder

Minor: Slavery and Death of parent

alexjamiestaples's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Gore