“She has found that the only way to understand the world as something other than a tale of loss is to see it as a tale of change.” 

 

A section of forest in the north woods of Massachusetts evolves over hundreds of years alongside its inhabitants. From runaway lovers from America’s earliest colonies, to an orchardist and his lonely twin daughters, to a hunter and his wife, to a man who sees spirits, to those coming to dig up the past—the flora and fauna surrounding a yellow house changes—and is changed by—these characters. 

 

NORTH WOODS was a fascinating exploration of the ways humanity impact the environment and vice versa. The story is told in isolated vignettes—some long, some a few short pages—but each are interconnected. Even the smallest, most seemingly inconsequential chapters are important because they explain the big ways the forest changes over time. The setting is immersive, and I really appreciated Mason’s level of detail to paint the picture mentally.  

 

Mason has a fantastic mastery of voice and switches seamlessly between his characters. The omniscient narrator’s chapters still have soul and depth for each new character, while the letters/poems/songs/diary entries in between take on a new level of characterization. I loved how the story and cast kept changing, propelling us forward. 

 

There are some wild things in these pages! Murder, seances, mountain lion hunts, a sex scene between two invasive beetles… I truly never knew what would be coming next. Some stories were heartbreaking, some funny, some bizarre. It was truly a fun ride. I’d love to reread this and discover more of the ways the stories connect over time and dig deeper into the underlying idea of nature’s cycles—from new life, to destruction and back again. 

 

If you’re a fan of books with interconnected stories, lit-fic prose, and ruminations on nature, I’d highly recommend.