Scan barcode
A review by danaaliyalevinson
North Woods by Daniel Mason
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked this book. Though it came highly recommended and I wanted to love it. And I didn’t. This said, some of things that made me not love it are things that may be right up the alley of other readers: an omniscient third person narrative voice that can sometimes feel a little emotionally detached (not to be confused with the book being unemotional, it’s a very emotional book. Only that the narrator is giving us that emotion from a very outside perspective), and nearly every chapter featuring a totally new central character all linked together through living in or attachment to a single house over centuries.
Which for me, I tend to be attracted to very character driven books, and so being presented with a new central character each chapter just as I was getting to know the previous one was difficult for me to get into. But what I will say is, the book is super interesting. It’s very concept driven and the concept is incredibly compelling. One of the things I really did love in its concept was the usage of ephemera. Oftentimes, between chapters, there would be things like photographs, news clippings, obituaries, poems, journal excerpts, etc, which really made the world feel so real and palpable.
So for those who love somewhat experimental concept driven books, you will likely love this. And there are multiple characters who I did find incredibly compelling and was sad to depart from so quickly when the book moved on to a new inhabitant of the house. The book is also undeniably very well written and constructed. I think that while it wasn’t a five star read for me, it would be a five star read for many others. In fact I already recommended it to two different friends who I think would absolutely lose their minds over this book based on their reading tastes. So don’t let my criticism deter you if this is the kind of storytelling you like!
Which for me, I tend to be attracted to very character driven books, and so being presented with a new central character each chapter just as I was getting to know the previous one was difficult for me to get into. But what I will say is, the book is super interesting. It’s very concept driven and the concept is incredibly compelling. One of the things I really did love in its concept was the usage of ephemera. Oftentimes, between chapters, there would be things like photographs, news clippings, obituaries, poems, journal excerpts, etc, which really made the world feel so real and palpable.
So for those who love somewhat experimental concept driven books, you will likely love this. And there are multiple characters who I did find incredibly compelling and was sad to depart from so quickly when the book moved on to a new inhabitant of the house. The book is also undeniably very well written and constructed. I think that while it wasn’t a five star read for me, it would be a five star read for many others. In fact I already recommended it to two different friends who I think would absolutely lose their minds over this book based on their reading tastes. So don’t let my criticism deter you if this is the kind of storytelling you like!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail