North Woods – by Daniel Mason – independent book review – Fiction

NORTH WOODS is unlike any book I’ve ever read. But its distinctive approach to story, exceptional use of language, and thoughtful messages are not to be missed. It’s on both The Washington Post and New York Times lists of Top Ten Books of 2023. Though it’s not necessarily a book that will appeal to everyone. Awarded four stars on Goodreads.

Looking at the novel from the ten thousand foot vantage point, it’s about one plot of land in western Massachusetts and the assorted people who have lived there over the centuries. In many ways, the book reads like a series of short stories (and poems). But the house, with its slow expansion and eventual decay, is not nearly as important as the lives of its residents. Because the message at the heart of the book is the richness inherent in EACH person’s life story and, perhaps more importantly, how much of that richness is lost over time. And this same richness of story is present in every location, everywhere.

These are stories of love, betrayal, jealousy, and revenge. There are even references to connections that live on after death. Whether it’s an apple tree farmer planting an orchard, an enslaved woman on the run, twin sisters reconnecting with a childhood friend, a son struggling with mental illness, or a little known artist and his evolving relationship with a writer — each person’s life in this one spot has a way of impacting those that follow. And that together they form a never-ending cycle of human connection that is built into the passage of time.

Author Daniel Mason’s skill with language is extraordinary. Both his poems and prose are full of beautifully crafted phrases that evoke detailed images of nature. And throughout the novel, he continually refers to the value of the natural world to all of us.

NORTH WOODS is a book that will likely make you think about larger themes. Like isolation, relationship, connection, even reality. This is my first experience with this author. But it certainly won’t be my last.

More about Daniel Mason, a prize winning author, professor at Stanford University Department of Psychiatry, AND a physician. You might be interested in a Q&A with Mason about combining psychiatry and writing HERE.