Mason tells the story of Miles and Kate Krzelewski, their children Wesley and Olive, their dog, Giuseppe, and their year spent away from home in California, living in the forests of southern Vermont. Kate, a professor of literature, was offered a sabbatical year teaching position at Greensbury College. Miles could look after the children, and complete his doctoral dissertation, eleven years in the making, long overdue. The couple met in graduate school, and while Kate powered through, Miles dithered, changing topics every year or so. His latest topic centered on Russian folktales, which featured country people—farmers, loggers, in short, the kind of people who populated southern Vermont. Kate thought this would be Miles chance to get to know the folks who he read about, further inspiration to complete the work, and earn his degree.

The story reads as a fairy tale, as the family embrace their new environment, seeking to experience all the unique features it offered each season. While Kate took part in the family hikes, skiing, and other adventures, Miles used the hours the children attended school to wholly embrace the locals and their avocations. He learned about tending orchard trees, scything fields, skiing through woods. Developing friendships one by one with the locals and their particular interests, he finally comes to learn of their shared passion, local legend Jeremiah Wylkes, and their Society dedicated to furthering the exploration described in his Colloquies, published in 1899.

Told in a humorous voice, we see how Miles bumbles along, fascinated by every encounter, every perspective, every experience. While his love and loyalty for Kate and the children is indisputable, his ability to stick with the dissertation and see it to completion is quite beyond him. He has a young child’s attention span, interested in every shiny object, which makes him endearing, frustrating, and shilly-shallying. This all leads to a believable and satisfying resolution in the end.

I get the impression that Mason appreciates rural life, the independent spirit of can-do it requires, as well as the community spirit of helping one another needed when circumstances require. He also appreciates the beauty of this forgotten corner of America, rural New England, with its natural beauty and deep history of place. One can see how a folk tale can feel real and present in that unchanging, undeveloped environment. For readers of Mason’s previous excellent book, North Woods, be sure to notice two Easter eggs in this novel. At least, I noticed two— let me know if you detect more.

I was eagerly looking forward to this novel, after loving North Woods. It satisfied me completely, with his now trademark humor, rich ironic detail, and wonderful story telling. You’ll love Miles, his family, the peculiar country people he embraces, and his accurate rendering of beautiful Vermont. Highly recommended.