North Woods

Get in the xigxag app
Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book. Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }} Send as a gift

Listen to a sample

What to expect

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

Critics Review

Daniel Mason’s latest novel is one of those rare books that truly deserves the description “spellbinding”

Observer

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

Guardian

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

Guardian, 2023's Biggest Books

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

Financial Times

An enthralling novel

The Economist

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

Washington Post

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

Mail on Sunday

Deliciously chimeric

Telegraph

Stunning

Good Housekeeping, Book of the Month

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

Sunday Times

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

Daily Mail

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

Culture Whisper

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

Pulbishers Weeky, starred review

Virtuosic, astonishing, gorgeously vivid

Bookseller

The story of a house, the humans who inhabit it, the ghosts who haunt it, and the New England forest encompassing them all . . . Readers will find themselves in an entrancing fictional realm where the human, natural, and supernatural mingle, all captured in the author’s effortlessly virtuosic prose . . . Throughout, this loose and limber novel explores themes of illicit desire, madness, the occult, the palimpsest of human history, and the inexorable workings of the natural world (a passage recounting the fateful mating of an elm bark beetle is unforgettable), all handled with a touch that is light and sure. Like the house at its center, a book that is multitudinous and magical.

Kirkus

A magisterial mosaic . . . truly triumphant

Booklist

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

Antonia Senior, The Times

About xigxag

Enjoy the best audiobooks on xigxag, an innovative, user-friendly audiobook platform that makes it easy to find, purchase, and enjoy your favorite books in audio format. xigxag’s flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less – affordable prices and the best audiobook deals with no subscription required.  Give the perfect gift with our audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

xigxag’s commitment to sustainability and ethical practices ensures a guilt-free listening experience from an exceptional digital book platform – an exciting alternative to big tech.  Enjoy audiobooks from the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service and a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Search effortlessly, read honest audiobook reviews evaluating both the book and the narration, and discover hidden gems.  Download or stream top audiobook titles anytime, anywhere and get the best possible listening experience on the UK’s best independent audiobook app.  Experience the future of audiobooks today.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.