Novels often follow the same characters through different settings; North Woods follows the same setting through different characters. What was this reading experience like for you?

Novels often follow the same characters through different settings; North Woods follows the same setting through different characters. What was this reading experience like for you? Are there other books you've read that use a similar technique?

I grew up on the east coast and my memory of the first two houses I lived in painted them as large porches, a yard with grapevines, a scale as seen by a young child. After being gone many years, I visited and was surprised as to the actual adult perception of the home and the neighborhood. Every piece of land and home sites has its own evolution. With"North Woods" span of time over hundreds of years, the property itself became a living thing; it had its own personality and story. The approach is totally enjoyable.

There was such a range of people who lived in the yellow house that it made each chapter seem like a new story making it more appealing to me. I enjoyed reading how the house evolved - adding a wing, a porch etc but in essence remaining the yellow house remained the same.

I loved this concept - particularly since the wide circle of main characters included humans, ghosts, and beetles.

I also found this technique to be unexpected and original and totally intriguing. The house had many alterations through the years and yet remained itself. I was reminded that unless we witness events, it is hard to know what really took place and history is full of assumptions.

I think all of us wonder about the people who inhabited our home before we did. So I think this concept was something everyone could relate to.

This was so different for me. The main thing in almost every novel revolves around the person. For it to revolve around the one piece of land through generations of completely different people was a completely different experience for me. I read the first three chapters and wasn't getting the hang of it (although I loved Daniel Mason's first chapter - like a poetry of words to me). I went back and read the book's description and started over with that mindset. When I did, the book made much more sense and I adored all of it.

What a fascinating concept for a novel! I found myself looking forward to what would become of the trees, the foliage, the animals with each new time and owner. I marveled at each change of owner and how the language, activities and even implements and decor changed with them. What a captivating read!

I enjoyed it. The house became the anchor, the one main, stable character in the story. We saw the house undergo renovations, remodeling, and we saw it damaged by age, accident and neglect, and yet it stood, just as human characters do. Yes, I’ve read several like this. The Hundred Year House comes to mind. However, North Woods is a very different book. This was such a profound joy to read.

As I explained in an answer above, I requested this book because I had enjoyed James Galvin's book, The Meadow. Galvin's book was more like a series of linked short stories about those who had lived on the meadow. I found North Woods to be a bit more cohesive.

I really admired and enjoyed the way the author changed his writing style and format to “flow” with the different time periods. For example, in one story he was a journalist, then he became a painter writing letters to his lover, then he changed again into a true crime writer. What talent and imagination!

I found this approach engaging and interesting even though from time to time I lost the connections between the people. Hope to do a re-read and focus on that. I served a church which was built in 1791 and often imagined the people who worshipped within those walls through the centuries...the clothes they wore, the burdens they carried, the joys they celebrated. Maybe Mason's approach would work to bring my imaginings to fuller understanding.

I have read many books that are set in a particular place (often a haunted house) and tell the story of successive generations of the same family living in the house. What is different about "North Woods" is that many of the inhabitants are ignorant of those who lived there before. We readers have the "God's Eye" view of the entire history of the farm and house and can see the relationships more clearly than the novel's characters can.
What is unique, in my opinion, is the way nature itself becomes a character in this book!

I truly enjoyed meeting each new character and knowing I would only see a glimpse of their life. And knowing I would not know their complete story. Then enter the ghosts and I found them delightful... like guides for these new characters as they navigated their life & death.

To have a home as the main character, and weave stories around this was quite interesting. Sometimes I was a bit confused in chapters, but overall was so well done

I love the following of a house! The concept reminded me of Norah Lofts' House books, which I devoured as a teenager. Each chapter in this book is a short story that he house, instead of an individual, ties together.

This book reminded me of Kate Morton's "The Clockmaker's Daughter." The narrator is thought to be the house following different characters for a few years.

I loved this aspect of the book! I believe in the enchantment of places and the yellow house with the apple orchard definitely seemed to be an enchanted place that deeply impacted each of its residents.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have read other inanimate travels thru books - like a necklace, a pin cushion, a toy, an animal such as a rabbit, or dog or cat, but this is the first house/land/forest that was the linking object

This resonated with me as I think of the land my grandparents (on both sides) owned at different times in Kentucky. When I go back, there are new people in those places and yet I feel totally drawn to the actual land, almost feeling the history of it.

I found this an imaginative way to tell a long story! Those who have ever wondered about the people who have come before you, whether former inhabitants in a house or a predecessor at a job, this story will delight. I think many will enjoy how Mason found ways to connect the characters over time, whether they were related by family or not.