It was a busy month and I got shockingly little reading done, but these are three significant books.
North Woods by Daniel Mason was my book club’s selection for the month. The book is a novel focusing on a single plot of land in Western Massachusetts, following the inhabitants of a cottage from pre-Revolutionary War days to the near present. Residents die off but in most cases, their ghosts linger, although that isn’t apparent in the novel immediately. The plot is unconventional (there really isn’t one), but the writing is beautiful and the question of what’s going to happen next still drives the reader forward.
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry is a novel I picked up because I’ve been reading some contemporary Irish fiction lately. Although Barry is Irish, this novel is set in Montana, featuring early Irish immigrants in Butte. While the plot was compelling (with some improbable turns), from the very beginning the language is startling in its freshness. I was going to give my copy away, but I want to spend more time studying his word choices.
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami is a novel I was asked to review for the Washington Independent Review of Books. The book comes out in November, but I’ll just say here that Murakami’s brand of magical realism can be a lot of fun, although sometimes difficult to follow. My full review should appear mid-month.
