"North Woods"

by Daniel Mason

More like a series of entwined short stories than a novel, with the resolutions of earlier stories appearing as offhand nuggets to scoop up … if you notice them. The characters are rich & appealing … even the rare villain. The women especially become fascinating, multidimensional people, often with remarkable insight into their own gifts, foibles & rationalizations — from a pioneer woman captured by Indians to a PhD candidate in botany, who skids off the road & flips her car while researching the native flora.

New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • A sweeping novel about a single house in the woods of New England, told through the lives of those who inhabit it across the centuries—“a time-spanning, genre-blurring work of storytelling magic” (When two young lovers abscond from a Puritan colony, little do they know that their humble cabin in the woods will become the home of an extraordinary succession of human and nonhuman characters alike. An English soldier, destined for glory, abandons the battlefields of the New World to devote himself to growing apples. A pair of spinster twins navigate war and famine, envy and desire. A crime reporter unearths an ancient mass grave—only to discover that the earth refuse to give up their secrets. A lovelorn painter, a sinister con man, a stalking panther, a lusty beetle: As the inhabitants confront the wonder and mystery around them, they begin to realize that the dark, raucous, beautiful past is very much alive.

This magisterial and highly inventive novel from Pulitzer Prize finalist Daniel Mason brims with love and madness, humor and hope. Following the cycles of history, nature, and even language. North Woods shows the myriad, magical ways in which we’re connected to our environment, to history, and to one another. It is not just an unforgettable novel about secrets and destinies, but a way of looking at the world that asks the timeless question: How do we live on, even after we’re gone?

This is a DROP-IN BOOK CLUB, Village members can come to any meeting.  There are no dues, no requirement to participate. We hope those interested in joining will read the book beforehand and be ready to engage in a lively discussion. Each meeting will be moderated by one of the members.