A beautifully written book following the inhabitants of a house in the Northeast over the course of centuries. The cast of characters is vast and the writing style reflects this. Mason does a magnificent job of crafting his writing to the character, which is a style I have not encountered before. The descriptions of nature and the beauty of it were top notch. Excellent read.

North Woods is the location version of an intergenerational story. Instead of following one family through years, this story followed a cabin/hunting lodge over the years: how it changed from a hiding ground to apple orchard to hunting ground to murder scene to simply a house.

I believe that places have their own memories too and these memories impact what comes after. If you know that the new place you bought was once an apple orchard, your reaction would be different than it being a murder scene. What if it is t both and many more? What if you find bits of each past life in your land and house?

I'm curious of what's happening in places that I have once been. Houses, dorm rooms, classes, offices... I'm curious if people experience similar things to me. Are the places that I thought to be a sad and dark, do others find light in them? North Woods is a good response to those questions I have.

Excellent writing however I was not a fan of many of the characters. The words were a joy to read and so many do love the book. I am the unusual outlier as a reader of this novel.

4.5⭐️

North Woods by Daniel Mason is a beautifully written novel. Spanning centuries, the narrative tells us the stories of those who inhabit a home deep in the woods of Western Massachusetts. Through these stories, we explore not only the history of the land, the people and animals but also how the concept of home and shelter evolve over time and the precious bond human beings have with nature. Forbidden love, enslavement, belongingness and insecurity, rivalry, mental health, climate change and survival are only a few of the themes that are deftly woven into the fluid narrative.

The strength of this novel is the writing and the vivid imagery that transports you to the "north woods”. The landscape changes over time, stories begin and end and generations of people come and go, leaving an imprint on the land – a legacy of joy, sorrow, loneliness, tragedy and renewal. Told through letters, journal entries, historical records, an article from a true crime magazine and poetry, this is a story that must be read with time and patience. Overall, Daniel Mason’s North Woods is an immersive experience that I would not hesitate to recommend.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group- Random House and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel was published on September 19, 2023.

An absolutely superb exploration of a place and its history. Mason excellently maneuvers the reader through the course of the book, and through centuries of time. Love and pain are constant companions on the voyage, and never surprise or disappoint. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

I love the conceit of this novel of interlocking short stories: the book tells of the inhabitants of one specific house in Western Massachusetts, from the Puritan era and then over the course of many centuries. We meet a pair of Puritan lovers, a soldier-turned-farmer determined to grow the best apples of the world, spinster sisters whose ghosts come to haunt the property, a pair of doomed lovers, a participant in a prison pen pal program, a panther. This didn't have the emotional resonance I find in my favorite novels, but there is much to admire in what I can only call a very good book: the ingenious looping and overlapping of some of the stories, the strong epistolary components throughout, the emotional pull of some of the threads.

Two people build a cabin in the woods to get away from their colony. Little do they know how history will wind its way through the cabin and the people that follow them. In this tale, history lives through the ages and this book tells the tale of a few of them.

A story about a specific location and house and the occurrences over a few centuries. Interesting premise for a book. This was not the easiest book to read and I had to force myself to stay with it. I’m glad I did. The story all came together by the end.

Mason's playful, imaginative fifth work of fiction crosses centuries and genres to tell the history of one patch of forested Western Massachusetts land and its inhabitants. Rather like in a linked short story collection, each chapter is set at a different time and interspersed with documents such as almanac pages, historical reports, journals, letters, photographs, and songs. The style shifts to suit the period and mimic a certain literary genre. While I admired the novel's sweep and ambitious blend of forms, I felt limited emotional commitment. The historical pastiches of the early chapters, though convincing, are rather dull, making for a slow start. There is then insufficient time with certain players. I was most engaged with the story of the S. family, followed by Teale and the Osgood sisters. (Full review at BookBrowse.)

A terrific read. Daniel Mason is incredible at his craft. I recommend this book at our store for the person whose looking for, lack of a better word, a good read. Mason is very descriptive in his writing, so if that's not your thing I wouldn't recommend this title, but I would highly recommend giving him a chance. I've got so many little movies in my head from scenes he's written. He wrote one scene: a man picking an apple in the tangled woods, and I think about it daily. I cannot stop recommending this title.
______________________________________________________


One house, multiple lives. Old puritan New England and onward. It reads like a fairy tale with seperate but all connected narratives. Mason uses such specific language to describe the land and seasons that he makes you feel like you're there with the characters. At times this book may ask you to work a little harder but in the end it is such a rewarding read.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

A top book of 2023. Thank you NetGalley and Random House publishing for coming together and sharing this title with readers.

North Woods was a fantastic read. I loved the story being told over the centuries and how the house was steadfast. It is a wonderful read for fall.

A mesmerizing and creative book. I love how the styles change throughout time. It was sprawling and intimate at the same time.

It reads like a short story collection but centered on a place. It reminds me of Groff's Florida.

Definitely enjoyed!

I was fully engrossed by this book in a way that I did not expect. Historical fiction is often hit or miss for me; I love the genre, but it doesn’t always work. But I’m here to say that this was a truly enjoyable read from start to finish

North Woods takes place at a cabin and the land surrounding it from the colonial period to the present day. As seems to be the case with many recent novels, Mason tells his story through a series of interconnected, short stories, each one taking place in a different month of the year. This format doesn’t always work for some but here it felt very successful. Through the stories you’re able to follow the history of the land and the people that lived there over the course of American history.

The real star of the show in this novel is the writing, particularly Mason’s way of describing nature. I truly felt transported to the land where the cabin is located. This book made me want to go out and hike in the woods, or wander through an apple orchard, because of how vivid the writing was. The characters often take a backseat to nature, but that was OK with me.

I’ll admit that some of the stories surrounding the cabin get a little bit weird, verging on supernatural, which I did not expect. But it is a testament to Mason’s writing that he is able to keep his reader engaged through all the twists and turns of the story.

Overall, this was a masterful work that I kept thinking about when I wasn’t reading. I wonder if we will see this on future prize lists?

I loved this novel about a house and its inhabitants over the span of three centuries. It's immersive and mysterious. I did a mix of audio and print because I didn't want to stop reading.

From the moment two forbidden lovers – the prospective wife of an abusive minister and a reported troublemaker she ironically met at church – flee their repressive Puritan colony for the remote woods of western Massachusetts, the cabin they build in a mountain clearing becomes the setting for an astonishing collection of events across the centuries. In twelve chapters that press forward in time and evoke the different seasons, Mason reveals the transformative magic inherent in an ordinary place. Humanity and nature intermix, spurring small and large changes, and the layers of the past remain with us, albeit occasionally taking different, surprising forms.

While the different time periods aren’t formally signposted, each can be determined through the reading, and the chapters show impressive virtuosity in terms of period-suitable language, format, and characterization. In the anonymous “Nightmaids Letter,” a young wife who survives an Indian attack describes a scene of attempted vengeance and the shocking aftermath. An English veteran of the French and Indian War dedicates his life to his apple orchard; his twin daughters grow old while attempting to continue his legacy. Deep human emotion winds through the pages: loneliness, jealousy, passion, family ties, concealed and thwarted desire, along with beautiful reflections on the natural world, from the echo of songbirds to death and decay. A painter’s ongoing letters to his writer friend are among the most poignant sections.

Over the novel’s course, it feels especially rewarding (with some great “aha” moments for the reader) to see earlier episodes reappear as historical artifacts or tales down the road. Just like in life, the process of historical discovery can be incredible or frustrating, since mysteries from the past sometimes stay that way. The last two chapters, full of revelation, put the entire story-landscape into greater and more wondrous perspective. This wisely compassionate and refreshingly different literary epic is an excellent read.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this. Wow. This was such an excellent work. Each story was compelling and as a whole, the theme-related idea really worked for me. A usual novel but very much worth the ride. The writing is fantastic. I WILL be reading more of Mr. Mason's earlier works. Highly recommended. The hype on this one is not unjustified. This book will stay with you.

North Woods is a fascinating story that takes place in Western New England. It is a series of stories that revolve around a house, first constructed by a couple who escape their colonial colony because of their love for each other. Each subsequent story is linked to others by the house and often by the characters involved. The descriptions of the topography, plants, trees, birds, animals and weather of this area are so rich and nuanced I could almost smell the fallen leaves and the apples. The writing is beautiful with a wonderful vocabulary, clever descriptions of characters and pulls the reader directly into the stories. I absolutely recommend this book without reservation.

I was granted a pre-release copy of Northwoods by Daniel Mason courtesy of Northgate to review. All thoughts and opinions written here are my own and I received no compensation of any kind for this review.
Northwoods by Daniel Mason is a gripping tail. Difficult to put down and perfect for the fall months. I found it both charming and spooky as it tells the winding tail of a little house in the northwoods. This book is set up like a group of short stories all and woven through as a common thread. Is this small orchard of trees and this small yellow house. This is the first book by Daniel Mason that I've ever read, but I found it perfect for Halloween season as it illustrates the commonly spoken question of I wonder what tail this house could tell if it could speak or these woods or any variation thereof. We finally get an answer here in this book to these quiet musings. I love how these tails are woven together like a tapestry and if you look closely you can see how they were all meant to shape each other. Loop around and come back upon each other like thread. Weaving a beautiful tail. You have to pay attention to it though to get to see the beauty of the whole pattern. Bravo! Bravo! I hope to stumble upon one of Daniel Mason's books again soon. I thoroughly enjoyed this spooky tale

Two hundred years in a home and the land surrounding it told through the people that inhabited, walked across, reaped, and died on it. Two hundred years of history told through a myriad of voices, style and form. Letters, poetry, ballads and prose, Daniel Mason has not only encapsulated one lands history, but in a grander scale the whole country and the vast circle of life.
‌
Moving through time like a series of stacking blocks, characters come and go and come back again, sometimes merely in passing in a future generation, sometimes in other unexpected clever ways. There are English soldiers, swindlers and sisters, lovers and longing and the bountiful land and all that it offers.
‌
Comparisons to David Mitchell and his woven story telling like in both #Ghostwritten and #CloudAtlas, feels very apt here.
It’s ambitious in scope but intimate in its telling. Some of Its many pleasures are simply in the gorgeous prose and the brief time we get to spend with these simple wonderfully wrought human beings.
A book to make you wonder who wandered the rooms you walk through now. Who held someone in your bedroom before you? Who cried on the porch you’re sitting on? Who watched the sun rise or set from your kitchen window over a cup of coffee or tea?
Thank you to @randomhouse for the #gifted book, this is also a top notch audio selection, and thanks to @prhaudio for the

I loved this book, a chronological story of the north woods and the people, plants and animals who inhabited it over centuries. There is beauty, humor, secret love, jealousy, a few murders and some insect erotica. Characters included an apple grower and his twin daughters, a slave hunter, a mountain lion, seeds, gay lovers, a true crime reporter, and a mother and her schizophrenic son. I’ve never read anything structured in this way. Things from the past never really left, but continued to be present in the future in a very palpable (and sometimes lethal) way. I also loved and recommend “The Piano Tuner” and “A Registry of My Passage upon the Earth” by the same author. They were not at all like this book, and I appreciate the scope of the author’s imagination.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.