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Sign up todayNorth Woods
A Novel
Length
11 hours 5 minutes
Language
English
Narrators
Mark Bramhall, Michael Crouch, Jason Culp, Mark Deakins, Jayne Entwistle, Billie Fulford-Brown, Arthur Morey, George Newbern, Kirsten Potter & Simon Vance
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“'If these walls could talk' springs to life in this story of a house that becomes a home to many throughout history. It's also the story of our home and the less than stellar care we've provided over the centuries. In memorable prose North Woods shows our connection with nature and how we live on when we depart this mortal coil. ”
— Mary • House of Books
Bookseller recommendation
“North Woods is a novel about a house, its inhabitants, and the land over four centuries set in the hills of western Massachusetts. A gorgeous, layered tapestry in which the house and the woods play into the lives of those who live there.”
— Fran Keilty • The Hickory Stick Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“Wow, Daniel Mason can WRITE. A truly masterful story of one house, one orchard, one forest over the American centuries. A feast of descriptions of the natural world paired with poignant character sketches. I started with the ensemble cast on Libro.fm audio (incredible) and finished by reading the actual book - pick your method; both are amazing.”
— Elese • Flyleaf Books
Bookseller recommendation
“It's hard to imagine what could be more lovely than this sprawling, constantly evolving, richly textured story of a place in the American Northeast, unless it's Mark Bramhall's gentle and kindly narration of the audio version, supported by an ensemble sharing the odd snippets grafted on to the greater story, in voices ranging from jolly to prim to effusive to hilariously newscaster-like. If you loved the audiobook production of Richard Powers' Overstory or of David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, you will find yourself entirely at home in the yellow house in The North Woods. ”
— Nialle • The Haunted Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“North Woods left me in awe. Daniel Mason makes the simple concept of a single house over time into a thought provoking and enrapturing book. He is able to create depth in transient characters – those who once existed, do exist, and will continue to exist – within a setting that endures and is ever-changing. By the end of the book, it’s hard not to believe that there is enchantment at work in the world. 'One believes the world is enchanted or one does not'. Even the smallest beetle has an impactful story to tell. ”
— Emma • Content
Bookseller recommendation
“North Woods is a phenomenal novel that I’ll be thinking about for a long time to come. Daniel Mason’s tells the story of a single plot of land in western Massachusetts over the span of centuries, through the eyes of its many varied inhabitants, and the ways that their choices reverberate — one might say haunt even — throughout the ages. Equal parts Richard Powers and Edgar Allan Poe, Daniel Mason delivers a unique and compelling storytelling experience. ”
— Josh • Underground Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This book reminds me of a puzzle, with each chapter, character, and relationship adding a piece to the whole beautiful picture. However, I did have to pause and search where the puzzle pieces fit. I enjoyed the imagery Daniel Mason creates; I could see the scene come together before me as if painted on a canvas. The narration lends to the generational transitions throughout the book. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it, especially because it does have some lyrical parts that are "meant" to be listened to in my opinion. I recommend this book to anyone who has an enthusiasm for nature, American history, and adventure. ”
— Janie • Stone Soup Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Set in the North Woods of Massachusetts over centuries, this book is told through letters, poetry, historical entries, amorous bugs, and (my favorite) a true crime blogger. Daniel Manson skilfully ties his chapters together to create a beautiful, sometimes gut-wrenching, always tender love story of place. ”
— Melanie • The Well-Read Moose
Bookseller recommendation
“North Woods is an extraordinary tale told in an extraordinary voice. The history of one home in the wilds of Massachusetts through generations of inhabitants from a Puritan couple to a modern-day professor. The story is told by the living, the dead, and even some lovelorn beetles. The cast narration (Simon Vance and Mark Bramhill are two favorites) gives perfect voice to this remarkable work. ”
— Claire • Honest Dog Books
Bookseller recommendation
“It is a rare thing to find a book i consider both literary and delightful, but North Woods is both and an amazing listen to boot. If you’re headed on a long solo trip or just searching for tale that will envelop you in its loveliness, this is the one. ”
— Angie • The Country Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“Truly magnificent & spellbinding. This epic tale follows a single house in a New England forest. You meet its inhabitants over the centuries, learning about their lives & the fate of the home through journal entries, letters, newspaper articles, and even a hallucinatory dream sequence. A book like no other, I can’t stop thinking about it. My favorite book in years. ”
— Amanda • Bethany Beach Books
Bookseller recommendation
“A fascinating and, at times, mysterious story of place that provokes questions about change, loss, and what lingers on. North Woods gives the reader the impossible ability to experience history across multiple lifetimes. The audiobook version is a particular delight with a talented and wide-ranging cast who enliven the story. ”
— Carrie • Stay Gold Books
Summary
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR
A WASHINGTON POST TOP TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR • FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD AND THE MARK TWAIN AMERICAN VOICE IN LITERATURE AWARD
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” (The Washington Post) from the Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Piano Tuner and The Winter Soldier.
“With the expansiveness and immersive feeling of two-time Booker Prize nominee David Mitchell’s fiction (Cloud Atlas), the wicked creepiness of Edgar Allan Poe, and Mason’s bone-deep knowledge of and appreciation for the natural world that’s on par with that of Thoreau, North Woods fires on all cylinders.”—San Francisco Chronicle
New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Time, The Boston Globe, NPR, Chicago Public Library, The Star Tribune, The Economist, The Christian Science Monitor, Real Simple, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Bookreporter
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?
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Reviews
“Dazzling . . . a brave and original book, which invents its own form. It is both intimate and epic, playful and serious. To read it is to travel to the limits of what the novel can do.”—The Guardian (US)“A time-spanning, genre-blurring work of storytelling magic . . . Each chapter germinates its own form while sending out tendrils that entwine beneath the surface of the novel . . . As [Mason] floats through thrillers, a bit of comic noir, erotic paranormal fiction and other genres, it’s hard to imagine there is anything he can’t do . . .”—The Washington Post
“Gorgeous . . . a tale of ephemerality and succession, of the way time accrues in layers, like sedimentary soil.”—NPR
“Brilliantly combines the granularity of realism with the timeless, shimmering allure of myth . . . Sui generis fiction . . . The forest and the trees: Mason keeps both in clear view in his eccentric and exhilarating novel.”—The New York Times Book Review
“It seems almost a magic trick, the way in which Mason knits his lives into a single tale.”—Erica Wagner, The Sunday Times
“A treatise on forest management (and mismanagement), a hallucinatory dream sequence, and an anthropologist’s life’s work all rolled into one. North Woods fires on all cylinders by engaging all the senses as it transports readers through history.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“A tender lament for our vanishing earthly paradise. . . . it’s hard not to come away feeling a bit wistful, seeing what we’ve lost and imagining what lies ahead in our probably dystopian future.”—The Boston Globe
“Enthralling . . . the bigger point of North Woods is how much is forgotten or never known. This resonates at a time when Americans are arguing about what version of history students should be taught.”—The Economist
“This is . . . a cunningly contrived and beautifully intricate book . . .”—The Scotsman
“[A] magisterial mosaic . . . Truly triumphant.”—Booklist, Starred Review
“It’s a dazzling high-wire act—and it’s thrilling to read . . . There are a lot of great books coming out this fall but, if I were you, I’d start with this one.”—The Star Tribune
“North Woods is a monumental achievement of polyphony and humanity . . . I loved it.”—Maggie O’Farrell, New York Times bestselling author of Hamnet
“North Woods is the most original and spellbinding novel I’ve read in ages. Mason makes bramble, brush, and orchard come alive with the spirits of their unforgettable former inhabitants. Their lives . . . had me glued to my seat.”—Abraham Verghese, New York Times bestselling author of The Covenant of Water
“Ambitious, alive, and lush . . . I emerged from this book as though from an enchanted forest, covered in leaves and changed by what I had seen there. . . . Electrifying.”—Tess Gunty, author of The Rabbit Hutch
“North Woods is a sui generis work of pure brilliance, an epic written with a miniaturist’s precision. Daniel Mason has unearthed . . . a universal story of loss and reclamation. It’s the best book I’ve read in ages.”—Anthony Marra, author of Mercury Pictures Presents
“Mason depicts all of [the] stories with sympathy, sensitivity, and affectionate humor. Epic in scope and ambitious in style, this book succeeds on all counts. Highly recommended.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Readers, too, will find themselves in an entrancing fictional realm . . . Like the house at its center, a book that is multitudinous and magical.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Each arc is beautifully, heartbreakingly conveyed, stitching together subtle connections across time. This astonishes.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“North Woods is a love poem to the human and natural history of Western Massachusetts . . . wise, profound, chilling, carnal and funny.”—BookPage Expand reviews
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