Loaned to me by the Lawrences, this was a truly original novel, written by a physician first and author second. Think of North Woods as an immersive read, the book containing not only prose but photographs and music scores too. The work loosely charts the history of a house and its varied inhabitants (human and animal) in the eponymous woods in Massachusetts. Think then of North Woods as an account of America from the Puritan settlers through to the modern day. Mason's point seems to be that while some things change (the march of time), others do not. A house's history contains much more than meets the eye. Its inhabitants may live on metaphorically and potentially even physically. Mason's other contention is about the force of nature. Not only does it outwit and outlive humans, but inadvertent actions can have unintended consequences (the spread of Dutch elm disease, for example). Read this and you may have a new way of looking at the world, its secrets and destinies, how humans interact with nature and how we live on.
By Daniel Mason