In his evocative novel North Woods, Daniel Mason traverses three centuries’ worth of lovers, families, friends, foes, and ghosts on a lush plot of land in the woods of New England. North Woods begins with a pair of Puritan runaway lovers who leave their homes and families to begin a new life of freedom together. As time passes, new characters come to live in the home that the couple built, including a young Black mother fleeing slavery, a contemporary postdoctoral fellow seeking respite in nature, and an artist pining for a forbidden love, among others. Weaving between multiple eras, the book is a deft study in the universal feelings of longing and a desire for escape. —Cady Lang
Buy Now: North Woods on Bookshop | Amazon
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Why Cell Phone Reception Is Getting Worse
- The Dirty Secrets of Alternative Plastics
- Israeli Family Celebrates Release of Hostage Grandmother
- We Should Get Paid for Our Online Data: Column
- The COP28 Outcomes Business Leaders Are Watching For
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2023
- The Top 100 Photos of 2023
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time