North Woods is a 2023 novel by American novelist Daniel Mason. The novel, Mason's sixth, is a work of historical fiction that tells the story of a single house in New England over the course of several centuries.
 1st edition cover | |
| Author | Daniel Mason |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | September 19, 2023 |
| ISBN | 9780593597033 |
Plot
editNorth Woods follows the inhabitants of a single house in New England over the course of several centuries, from the earliest American colonies to the present day. The home's inhabitants include a set of Puritan lovers, twin sisters, a crime reporter, a cougar, and a pair of mating beetles.
Development history
editThe novel has an epistolary structure, interspersing sequences of prose with letters, poems, journal entries, and case notes. In an interview with Scott Simon, Mason said that the structure allowed him to explore more voices than he otherwise would have been able to.[1] The book's UK publication rights were acquired in September 2022, in what The Bookseller reported was a "six-figure deal."[2]
Publication history
editNorth Woods was published in the United States by Random House on September 19, 2023.[3] It was simultaneously released in the United Kingdom by John Murray.[2]
Reception
editNorth Woods received praise upon its release, with critics drawing attention to the novel's prose and construction. According to Book Marks, the book received a "rave" consensus, based on twenty-one critic reviews: seventeen "rave", one "positive", two "mixed", and one "pan".[4]
The New York Times Book Review described the novel as "brilliant," praising the book's structure and Mason's prose.[5] The Washington Post's Ron Charles also praised the book's structure, adding that the overall design was elegant and concluding that the novel was "revelatory."[6] The Wall Street Journal was similarly positive, complimenting the plot and prose but offering slight criticism towards the structure, writing that "a shift makes for a very different novel and, in this reader's opinion, a less exciting one."[7] Library Journal, Shelf Awareness, and Booklist all directed praise at the novel's characters, with the latter describing them as reinforcing "the dual nature of the human condition."[8][9][10] Positive reviews were also published in Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews.[11][12]
More mixed reviews were published in The Boston Globe and The Times Literary Supplement. The Boston Globe wrote that some of the epistolary devices scattered throughout the book were "more fanciful than fulfilling" and criticized Mason for not engaging more with historical inequities throughout the plot.[13] The Times Literary Supplement criticized the inclusion of supernatural elements while praising the overall story and conclusion.[14] By contrast, The Guardian positively described the book, with Alice Jolly writing that the book stretched "the limits of what the novel can do."[15]
North Woods was a finalist for The National Book Critics Circle Awards for Fiction in 2023. [16]
References
edit- ^ Simon, Scott (2023-09-23). "Daniel Mason on his novel, 'North Woods'". NPR. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ a b Brown, Lauren (2022-09-29). "John Murray pre-empts Pulitzer Prize finalist Mason's 'magisterial' novel for six figures". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "North Woods". Book Marks. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "North Woods". Book Marks. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ Cooper, Rand Richards (2023-09-19). "The Story of a House and Its Occupants Over 3 Centuries". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Charles, Ron (2023-09-13). "Let 'North Woods' be your next book club pick". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Sacks, Sam (2023-10-13). "Fiction: 'North Woods' by Daniel Mason". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ DeZelar-Tiedman, Christine (2023-07-01). "North Woods". Library Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
- ^ Freedenberg, Harvey (2023-08-21). "Review: North Woods". Shelf Awareness. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
- ^ Kelly, Bill. "North Woods". Booklist. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
- ^ "North Woods". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
- ^ "North Woods". Kirkus Reviews. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
- ^ Oldweiler, Cory (2023-09-15). "A lament for a vanishing paradise, through the 300-year history of one plot of land". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
- ^ Maitzen, Rohan (2023-09-15). "The world came first". The Times Literary Supplement. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
- ^ Jolly, Alice (2023-09-16). "North Woods by Daniel Mason review – an epic of American lives". The Guardian. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
- ^ "2023". National Book Critics Circle. Retrieved 2024-05-11.