This book was not at all what I was expecting. In fact, I would not have read it if I had encountered a description of it first. I read it because family in Western Massachusetts told me to. And despite feeling a bit jarred halfway through when it ended up being so different from what I was expecting, I fell absolutely in love. I’ve never read a book quite like it. Creative, unusual, peculiar, even a bit arrogant at times, but ultimately dreamy and gritty and contemplative. I deeply respect the author’s ability to write so freely and outside of expected boundaries, while still retaining a true-to-lifeness that evoked believability and familiarity.
It spans centuries of time as it follows the succession of inhabitants of a house in Western Massachusetts. The stories tangled and tumbled together, each unusual, each one inspiring my investment in them.
As it happened, the audiobook became available to me before the text at the library and so that is the version I read. And this is one of very few instances in which I’m convinced that the audiobook may be better than the text. It is more of a cooperative performance than a reading, and each narrator was exquisite and chosen to perfection. I have not been quite so moved by a book in a long time.
*North Woods* by Daniel Mason. A lovely little read.
by ShesGotSauce