By now the word is out about this genre-bending novel. North Woods, by Daniel Mason, is nothing short of brilliant. My thanks go to NetGalley and Random House for the invitation to read and review; this book is available to the public now.

This book is all about the setting; there are some terrific characters, but don’t get too attached to any of them, because for the most part, they come and then leave. Rather, our story is about a cabin in the woods of upstate New York, and the acreage surrounding it, and how its use changes over the years.

We commence before the American Revolution, and so in the beginning, the narrative has the style of a very old diary, with antiquated spelling and language. This section is the reason I am so dreadfully late reading and reviewing this book. Honestly, the first fifteen percent or so is as dull as watching paint dry. I would begin reading it, but then my eyes would glaze over and I knew I had some other things to read by authors I knew and loved, and so I would switch books. But my Goodreads friends were raving about this book in unusually large numbers. Nobody didn’t like it. And so I summoned my self-discipline and went to it in a determined fashion, fortified by the audio version, which I received from Seattle Bibliocommons. This was very helpful. And once I got past that dry beginning, I began to understand why other readers were raving about it.

The first characters that are noteworthy are twin daughters named Alice and Mary, who are left to run the apple orchards on their own when their father goes off to war. He is a Loyalist, determined to save New England for his king. He doesn’t survive the war, which is just as well, because the locals hate him; he chose the wrong side to fight for. Neither daughter marries, and the property eventually goes to someone else.

The chain of owners is varied and, in many regards, absolutely hilarious. We see one new owner after another explore the house and the grounds, and of course, none of them has a full picture of the previous owner. I love the fact that I know more about this place than its most recent purchaser, and the assumptions that they make range from the merely incorrect to the disastrous. I cannot say too much more, although I particularly enjoy the character of George, whose phlegmatic, unattractive qualities are rendered uproarious in the audio version, and also the medium, a complete charlatan who’s horrified when she inadvertently awakens some actual supernatural beings. I would love to say more, but that would ruin it for you, and that would be a crime because surprise is an important part of the book’s success.

There is a formidable cast of actors that take on the reading for the audio book, and for those readers that are on the fence between audio and print, I recommend the audio version; better still, use both together.
After reading this one clever, memorable book, I will be watching to see what Daniel Mason writes next, because whatever it is, you know it will be good.

Highly recommended to those that enjoy historical fiction, literary fiction, humor, and horror.

North Woods is everything like the chestnut and apple trees that Daniel Mason writes about. Exquisite, unique, rare. The story centers on a piece of forested land and covers a variety of characters within a large time span, from the time the area is settled by colonists and into near future. The forest and trees change as the times change, evolving as each human caretaker has different values and visions. The author uses different techniques and structures to tell the stories of individual landowners. This is an engaging, interesting, and beautiful book.

This is the story of a home. It is the story of a forest that witnesses the building of that home, its decay and its revitalization. It is the story of the very human experiences that take place in a home. It is, quite simply, the kind of story that is unfolding around all of us all the time - and yet Daniel Mason makes it seem so rare and beautiful in this brilliant, brilliant book.

Spanning generations, NORTH WOODS is the chronicle of the many lives that are lived in a plot of land in Western Massachusetts. More of a collection of short stories than a novel, the book doesn’t quite fit into any category. It is historical, and it is clever, and it is very clearly well researched. But perhaps most significantly, it is tender. It feels intimate. To say I felt enchanted by this book would not quite do it justice. I think, in fact, that I feel haunted by it - and I’m entirely okay with that.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions here are my own.

5 stars. Amazing book and, though I read it at the end of the year, immediately made my top 10 list. The writing was incredible and the story flew along. Would that all Pulitzer-nominated books were this fun to read.

What a strange book - a great premise, but not sure I enjoyed the execution. You follow a cabin in the remote woods of Massachusetts, from the time before the Revolutionary War to sometime close to the present. Some of the characters are quite bizarre - the ones that stuck with me are the sisters Mary and Alice. I did not feel I got all the answers I wanted, and some of the stories I just had to plough through. I do not know why this book is landing on so many "best of 2023" lists - it is not on mine.

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND THE WASHINGTON POST’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Time, The Boston Globe, NPR, Chicago Public Library, The Star Tribune, The Economist, The Christian Science Monitor, Real Simple, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Bookreporter

It is clear from the above that North Woods is a special book. Anyone who enjoys an immersive read will want to give this title a look. It tells the story of a place over the course of many years and many lives and through many narrative threads. As an added perspective, there is much on nature in these pages. 

The story begins with the Puritans; readers get to know these first (and all of the other characters) well. All have stories to tell and their lives cover many years of American history.

I highly recommend this complex and rewarding book. Get to know the yellow house. Take the time to enjoy time spent there.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.

Easily one of the best books of 2023. The language is excellently crafted to entice the reader and ensnare them in the tale to the very last page.

When I started this I thought it was rather slow and boring. I was ready to give up and then I saw that it was listed on the best of 2023. I ended up sticking with it since the short story aspect makes it an easy read. While this didn't make my best of 2023 list, I think it is worth the read. Each story gets more wild as you go and I ended up liking it more than I expected to. It may not be the best of 2023 for me but it definitely wins the quirkiest of 2023.

This is the story of a place. The different people that end up living there tell the story in short stories that are so vividly different that it's easy to see how the people have changed but the place remains remarkably consistent. The language is vivid and specific to each time period. Super interesting read.

A novel spanning centuries, centered around an old home, with beautiful writing, and characters that are well done.. SIGN ME UP! I loved this novel. It has everything I love. I felt connected to the house. It was just as much a character in the novel as the living, breathing ones. This is a slower read, but there is much to appreciate in that.

Having read many reviews for this book, I was excited to delve into North Woods. I am familiar with the area of New England where it is set and I love history. This was advertised to be about a series of people living in a remote cabin over time beginning with the era of the Puritans. Unfortunately I found the transitions from one occupant to the next confusing. I sometimes had trouble making the connections between the characters or even understanding who the characters were. For these reasons it was difficult for me to become engaged with the story though the writing about the natural aspects of the setting was beautiful. Perhaps this was just the wrong book for me at this time. I will try it again at a later date. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

North Woods tells the story of a plot of land over centuries and its inhabitants. Ranging from spinster twin sisters, to beetles, to a painter, to many more.

You can argue that this book is just a collection of short nature stories that are all connected by this plot of land / cabin in the middle of the woods - you wouldn’t be wrong. Some stories were more catching to me than others, but they all still held my attention.

I ended up listening to this as an audiobook and first off - I had to move the speed up to 1.75 because of how slow the reading was. The prose were absolutely great and beautiful in the story, just so many words. This really makes it seem that I don’t like it, but I totally did, I just needed it sped read.

This novel has stories told through letters, journal entries, historical records, a true crime magazine, and poetry that showcase human’s beautiful connection with nature that involve forbidden love, enslavement, insecurity, mental health, and climate change.

Overall, this is a beautifully written novel filled with stories that will possibly make you think about your childhood home, or of the older buildings and houses around you, and all that they have witnessed. Those who love literary fiction with historical fiction will fall in love with this.

*Thank you Random House and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

A beautiful book, told in a collage of styles and across a sprawling timeline, that creates a panoramic portrait of a landscape and the people (and plants and animals) who live on it. Daniel Mason is a skillful writer and researcher—the historical voices never sound stilted or overwrought (unlike THE VASTER WILDS, which is similar in aim and genre and much worse in execution.)

I enjoyed the formal experimentation, especially in contrast to his former book, THE WINTER SOLDIER, which was much more straightforwardly historical fiction. As an eBook, I found that I stalled out a little between the sections and forgot where I was, but I assume a real paper book would solve most of my complaints pacing-wise.

The form very much reminded me of Jenny Erpenbeck's VISITATION, that focuses on different generations living in a house throughout 19th and 20th century German history, and also George Saunder's LINCOLN IN THE BARDO.

Another winner from Mason. Years ago we discussed his first novel The Piano Tuner in book group and I’ve looked forward to his novels ever since. North Woods is set in the north woods of Massachusetts and follows the residents of a house from Puritan times past today and into the future. Themes of history, environment, nature, hope weave through Mason’s wonderful storytelling. The language is beautiful and the text using a number of literary forms - prose, poetry, songs, letters, lectures and visual arts.

This was a challenging read but I'm glad I stuck with it. Loved the different perspectives. The prose was stark but every word felt like it mattered.

I absolutely loved this highly unusual story. It's the story of America found, lost, remade, destroyed, rebuilt, and on and on. I really liked each and every character who found himself or herself in the North Woods. As the timeline grew, I was sad to let each storyline and its characters shift from one to the next, although I quickly became involved with the next - this novel's originality shimmers. Unforgettable, and it's going to be a reread for me at some point. Plus, it makes you crave a truly deliciously crisp apple.

I was captivated by this beautifully crafted story of a patch of land and its morphing house over the centuries in Western Massachusetts. Mason does a masterful job capturing this quirky and endearing cast of characters with much wit and pathos along the way. This is one of my all-time favorite books, and I’m sorry it ended.

I really loved this book and especially the idea of it. The story of one house and its inhabitants over hundreds of years. Some stories more compelling than others but I loved it when they'd overlap a little. Many charming elements. Loved the ending and loved seeing the house reclaimed by nature. I want to read it again knowing all I know now.

This is a book like none other. It's about a house in western Massachusetts built within the woods. The woods are the common element in the story, and the characters come and go as the story spans several hundred years. The stories vary from funny to fascinating to macabre. The individual storylines are captivating and addictive. The writing is lush, and each character's eyes describe the woods in great detail. You can feel the breeze and taste the apples. The story is told with narrative, poems, almanac entries, and illustrations. Not all storylines are tied up nicely before moving on. I like to be left guessing. I am amazed at the author's ingenuity in writing this novel.

When I read that the structure of North Woods was a collection of interconnected short stories, I knew I wanted to read it. That structure is like bookish catnip for me. But Daniel Mason sets his novel apart from the usual by focusing not on family across generations or multiple characters in the same town, as is the norm, but on one particular piece of land in western Massachusetts throughout the centuries. Not only is the novel fantastically written, with descriptive nature writing and well-drawn characters, it is sharp and funny to boot. Mason trusts his reader to pick up on the "Easter egg" callbacks to previous stories, and making those connections as a reader is delightful as a result. This novel will stick with me for a long time, and may end up on my top ten of the year.

Thanks to the publisher at NetGalley for the ARC.