Summary | Excerpt | Reading Guide | Discuss | Reviews | Beyond the book | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
"History haunts him who does not honor it." This incidental line from Daniel Mason's North Woods encapsulates the spirit of the whole. In surveying the lives and land use changes that have defined one Western Massachusetts site over four centuries, Mason recalls major groups and events in American history — the Puritans, colonial-era conflicts, slavery and abolition — as well as perennial experiences like love, escape, pride, jealousy, devotion, deception, and mental illness. As the years pass, ghosts linger, their presence manifested in unexpected ways in a creative work that also incorporates epistolary elements and biblical allusions.
The book is rather like 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...
BookBrowse's reviews and "beyond the book" articles are part of the many benefits of membership and, thus, are generally only available to subscribers, including individual members and patrons of libraries that subscribe.
Join TodayIf you liked North Woods, try these:
A gorgeous debut, laced through with magic, following four generations of women as they seek to chart their own futures.
An epic, immersive debut, Damnation Spring is the deeply human story of a Pacific Northwest logging town wrenched in two by a mystery that threatens to derail its way of life.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.