Reviews with content warning for Murder - North Woods

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

North Woods by Daniel Mason

40 reviews

lyndigo42's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is probably one of the best books I’ve ever read. I reflected on the passage of time and how it seems both swift and slow at the same time. Amazing study in how we are connected to the land in ways we may never fully realize.

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angorarabbit's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

North Woods tells the story of a place through a few centuries in a 3rd person omniscient narration. The humans are flashes on the years, the real character is the place. Mr Mason tells this story beautifully in loving detail. My only complaint is that the “historical pieces” especially the songs do not quite ring true to the time they are supposedly written in. But that is a small quibble. This is a wonderful book that reminded me that life is fleeting for humans and even trees, but the place remains even as it becomes unrecognisable to those who lived on it centuries ago.

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readingoverbreathing's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Ever since this was included in the NYT Book Review's list of the best books of the year, I've been dying to read this. It checks so many of my boxes: lush, descriptive writing, an 18th-century New England farmhouse, and a threaded series of different characters, time periods, and circumstances that are all woven together into one brilliant tapestry. I am someone who is also very protective and sentimental about place and home and curious how places evolve over time, so this was truly, totally, utterly up my alley. And, to top it all off, I just so happened to be spending time traveling in the Berkshires while reading this, traversing the same landscape that shapes these characters and this story, apple picking and all. There could not have been a more perfect book in my hands for that trip.

And, believe me, it did not disappoint. Admittedly, I was a bit bewildered by the first couple of chapters, but by the time I got to Mary and Alice, the story was starting to click. And it only gets better from there.

However, while this was so close to a five-star read for me, there were a few minor things that bothered me. For one, the songs and the images Mason incorporates. Personally, I don't think they really added much. I'm sure the author could offer a detailed and fascinating justification for their inclusion that would help me appreciate them, but I honestly found them a little pretentious and unnecessary.

Secondly, I could have done without the last chapter, maybe even without Nora's story altogether. Part of the thrill of this book, for me at least, was the slow realization that

a supernatural world did in fact exist just beneath the surface of the present one. By exposing this so fully, Mason took away a lot of the magic, mystery, and intrigue for me. I also wouldn't have been opposed to a glimpse into the house and land's future, but the way Mason explored this lacked the detail and rich storytelling that characterized the rest of the book and honestly just felt like a cheap way to tie this off. There's definitely some allusion to climate change, but I would have preferred something more substantial, if he did indeed want to take the story that far.

However, overall, I'll say it just one more time: I loved this. The writing is beautiful, the story brilliant, the characters vividly memorable. Maybe it was a case of right place/right time for me, but I am so grateful to say that this was just about everything I had hoped it would be.

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alexjamiestaples's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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spadefootfrog's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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lorenag5's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this book. Though it came highly recommended and I wanted to love it. And I didn’t. This said, some of things that made me not love it are things that may be right up the alley of other readers: an omniscient third person narrative voice that can sometimes feel a little emotionally detached (not to be confused with the book being unemotional, it’s a very emotional book. Only that the narrator is giving us that emotion from a very outside perspective), and nearly every chapter featuring a totally new central character all linked together through living in or attachment to a single house over centuries.

Which for me, I tend to be attracted to very character driven books, and so being presented with a new central character each chapter just as I was getting to know the previous one was difficult for me to get into. But what I will say is, the book is super interesting. It’s very concept driven and the concept is incredibly compelling. One of the things I really did love in its concept was the usage of ephemera. Oftentimes, between chapters, there would be things like photographs, news clippings, obituaries, poems, journal excerpts, etc, which really made the world feel so real and palpable.

So for those who love somewhat experimental concept driven books, you will likely love this. And there are multiple characters who I did find incredibly compelling and was sad to depart from so quickly when the book moved on to a new inhabitant of the house. The book is also undeniably very well written and constructed. I think that while it wasn’t a five star read for me, it would be a five star read for many others. In fact I already recommended it to two different friends who I think would absolutely lose their minds over this book based on their reading tastes. So don’t let my criticism deter you if this is the kind of storytelling you like!

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vireogirl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Very disparate, some chapters much harder to read than others. The randomness was too much for me.

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blankcrayon's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

2.0

Interesting concept, but I didn’t enjoy the execution. I found myself wanting to finish the book, and I didn’t connect with the characters. The fantasy elements brought in toward the second half of the book were also not my cup of tea.

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emjay2021's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Fantastic. I started with the print book, but was having a hard time getting through it and had to return it to the library. Then I picked it up again as an audiobook and loved it. Don’t know if it was because of the different format, but the different narrators are all excellent and really add to the experience of the story. I felt like I was sitting around a fire with people taking turns telling stories about the land we were sitting on.

I loved all the callbacks to previous chapters and the recurring characters, human and non-human alike. THE BEETLES! Some stories were funny, some suspenseful, some poignant. There is something special about this book. Highly recommended if you like historical fiction and linked stories with a strong sense of place and detailed description. I’m so glad I gave it another chance.

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