North Woods

De: Daniel Mason

Narrado por: Arthur Morey, Billie Fulford-Brown, George Newbern, Jason Culp, Jayne Entwistle, Kirsten Potter, Mark Bramhall, Mark Deakins, Michael Crouch, Simon Vance

The 'spellbinding' American epic.

'Truly outstanding' Mail on Sunday

'This is a time-spanning, genre-blurring work of storytelling magic . . . The only constants are the land and Mason's genius' Washington Post

'Daniel Mason's latest novel is one of those rare books that truly deserves the description "spellbinding" ' Observer

'A tapestry at once intimate and epic' TLS

'Utterly beguiling' Scotsman

'Extraordinary characters . . . a tour de force' Independent, Best Books for Autumn

'Epic . . . weaves a Cloud Atlas-style narrative of humanity under pressure and nature under threat' Guardian, 2023's Biggest Books

FOUR CENTURIES. A SINGLE HOUSE DEEP IN THE WOODS OF NEW ENGLAND.

A young Puritan couple on the run. An English soldier with a fantastic vision. Inseparable twin sisters. A lovelorn painter and a lusty beetle. A desperate mother and her haunted son. A ruthless con man and a stalking panther. Buried secrets. Madness, dreams and hope.

All are connected. The dark, raucous, beautiful past is very much alive.

Exhilarating, daring and playful, NORTH WOODS will change the way you see the world.

'A monumental achievement . . . I loved it' Maggie O'Farrell

'Ambitious, alive, and lush with generosity . . . an immersive sprint through time' Tess Gunty

(P)2023 Penguin Random House Audio©2023 Daniel Mason

Reseñas de la Crítica

Set in a single home in the forests of Massachusetts, the interconnecting stories of
this enthralling novel span four centuries. A timely musing on what and who are lost
to history.

My novel of the year . . . An absolute feast of American political, agricultural, religious, culinary and social history built around the people, animals and plants that occupy one lush spot in the New England countryside over centuries, it's a little piece of magic

Daniel Mason's latest novel is one of those rare books that truly deserves the description "spellbinding"

Epic . . . weaves a Cloud Atlas-style narrative of humanity under pressure and nature under threat

This is 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

Mason teases out the joy and meaning in the sometimes small lives of his characters. North Woods has been heaped with praise and hype, and deservedly so. This is a book that treats life as a miracle and demands the proper awe from its readers

Creates a tale of sensory obsession to rank with Patrick Suskind's Perfume . . . Shows us what is possible when a writer lets his hair down

'This is a time-spanning, genre-blurring work of storytelling magic . . . The only constants are the land and Mason's genius'

Adopting a variety of styles and literary forms, and written in elegant prose, this is a virtuoso
performance. All human life and nature is here. Truly outstanding

Deliciously chimeric

Stunning

Narrative expertise is supported by rich characterisation: in chapter after chapter, Mason swiftly realises his compelling, varied cast . . . It seems almost a magic trick, the way in which Mason knits his lives into a single tale. He links their stories together with a satisfying subtlety that never fails to surprise and delight . . . and he brings well-earned surprises that had me, on more than one occasion, gasping with shock

Mason may not yet be a household name, but his readers tend to be evangelical about his talent - and little wonder . . . Mason has the born storyteller's gift of knowing how to reignite your interest in a new scenario even as you're mourning the one just gone

Epic, playful, polyphonic . . . Daniel Mason's formal innovation and narrative depth combine to transcendent effect, illustrating the wondrous ways in which we are rooted in our surroundings and history

Mason follows the inhabitants of a secluded western Massachusetts home and their tragedies across centuries in this spectacular ghost story . . . [He] interleaves his crystalline prose with enchanting and authentic-seeming historical documents . . . Each arc is beautifully, heartbreakingly conveyed, stitching together subtle connections across time. This astonishes

Intricate and Expansive

Structured into a series of stories, some narrated and others from written records or dictated, this sprawling narrative is as much about place as the people and creatures who inhabit and live in a house and it's surrounding landscape in the remote woods in Massachusetts. From botanists to painters, the stories unfurl to include love, war, disaster and even murder. This is a story about humanity in all its forms and our profound connections to land and loss. Some stories translate more evocatively but this is a novel that is more than the sum of its parts and the gentle entwining of themes, the ghosts of the stories and the transformation to the yellow house and it's beautiful orchards and woodlands will have you transfixed.