Daniel Mason - North Woods

Ever wonder what happened in the house you live in before you did? Or on the land it stands on? North Woods is an entertaining, if disappointing, exploration of this intriguing concept which follows a small plot of land in Massachusetts from roughly the time of European colonisation onward. The people who live there, from a couple whose illicit love affair means they must flee a tyrannical puritan colony, to twin sisters who succeed their father in the house and grow one of the most beautifully tasting apples in an orchard on the land to modern times when families, isolated individuals and lovers make the place their own. The land, and the house on it, grows and shrinks over time as people make adjustments removing beloved orchards, neglecting (or loving) the land or even digging a swimming pool.

It is an intriguing idea, but the author is trying too hard to be epic. The book feels like a loose collection of interconnected stories tied together by the land and the supernatural elements that mean many of the characters remain in the house and influence those that come after. The problem is the supernatural element doesn't quite work - it is too unclear how and why the ghostly remains influence the world and why - and the ending just doesn't work. Some reviewers have enjoyed what they see as an ecological story in the book - but this is just window dressing. The woods are cleared, they regrow, and some species arriving on American shores from elsewhere, having an impact through the book. But if anyone expects this to produce a metaphor for humanities' impact on nature, or even something deeper, they'll be disappointed.

North Woods is not a particularly bad novel. But I struggled to be that enthusiastic. It's a one trick pony.