north woods book review

north woods book review

The Beauty of North Woods: A Book Review

1. Introduction

Chapter Review Chapter 1: Opening the Door – Osgood begins his journey with a letter to one of his Japanese students, providing detailed directions to his house, which are quite specific and more telling about how to find the woods being described than a general “open door.” He quickly calls a golfer a thief for robbing the natural world of beautiful land to build better fairways. After rumination, Osgood decides that life in the woods holds more interesting natural beauty than what he sees on a golf course. At this point the first chapter ends and the nature narrative begins.

The Beauty of North Woods: A Book Review is the sixth and final book in John Nielson’s Nature of Life series. The book is written as an exploration of Mount Chocorua village in the middle of New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Osgood claims to record his attempts to rise early and take a walk in the woods, but the book reads more like an episodic nature diary, with Osgood walking further and further into the ledges and woods of Chocorua during the course of a year.

2. Setting: The Enchanting North Woods

The setting of “The Beauty of the North Woods” is in Yosemite National Park, located in central California. The specific location is at the edge of an open space near the forest. It includes a stream nearby the fire. This is significant to the rest of the story because the forest is what has driven the author’s passion for canoes to explore and the stream adds to the scene of why he’s contemplating choices of simpler canoes. Since Rory is a boundary waters guide, he values a primitive forest with a body of water where he can ply his trade in a vessel of his choice. It brings him to the open question of “what makes a great canoe?” still pondering the idea of building his own to fulfill the empty feeling he has in the world of modern canoes until a trip to Kettle Falls. The setting is a place where camping is the mode of living and the most simple form of canoe travel can be easily tested. The initial and main setting is the North Woods. This is the main place of reference in chapter three. The North Woods is a unique rugged forest often including many swamps and bogs; it is a more fitting home for the canoe, a traditional mode of North American transportation. An easy journey into this is a visit to the U.S. Boundary Waters Canoe Area. It is, with the exception to the Chippewa, no longer native home to any people but has a rich history from native tribes to early white fur traders and travelers. Step one is a look at the nature of the northern native tribes in comparison to the tribes in the era of European contact and on to the voyageurs. He then discusses paddlers and hunters to modern man and his preface closes with the opening idea of the entire book, a wish for a crude camp and woodland fireplace to ponder a collection of thoughts while staring into the fire. This is a metaphor for the whole book. Recurring setting is referenced in contemplation of the river along with varying natural habitations.

3. Characters: Unforgettable Personalities

Although characters are the most essential ingredient in a novel, they are often so well integrated in the whole that they are the hardest to single out. The characters in this novel were very well defined and unforgettable. They were what made the book so interesting. Each character added a different aspect and substance, or lack of substance, to the story that made it more than just a tale about a town and a man who loved it. Allen Karper, a taciturn, self-sufficient man that lived in the cabin on the hill, was the town’s only loner. He was somewhat of a mystery and many stories were told about him, most of which no one knew whether they were true. One example of Allen’s loner disposition was when the government decided that they were going to flood out the Snake River town to build a dam, which was supposed to provide electricity to rural areas and promote economic development. The people of Ontario were divided on the issue but ultimately decided to move six miles south to Ontario II. This caused Allen to be so upset that he drew a line on the map at Ontario’s old site and labeled it “the town of Ontario’s shame” because they had sold out to the government and he vowed never to move across that line to Ontario II. He spent his days up until the water rose around his cabin and forced him to move, sitting on an orange crate next to the potbelly stove in Virgil Munts’ barbershop listening to all the gossip of the town. Allen finally died on the day the town went underwater and it was said that he died of a broken heart. He was as much a part of Ontario as anything else and his sad story was a good representation of what the old Ontario meant to many people. Although Allen Karper was a great character in the book, the most endearing character was undoubtedly Timberline Jukes. He was more of a non-eventful farmer, who’d watched another man get rich off a hole in the ground. It was Jukes who suggested that DNR survey the area and see if a mine was valid. Jukes lived for getting rich quick, his last good try was a scheme to feed egg yolks to chickens thinking he could hit the expensive health food market. This most often got him nothing but mockery, but Jukes was a man that wasn’t afraid to be laughed at. It was his effort to persuade Stillman to drill a hole that resulted in Jukes saying “Deedee hit it again Harold, I got a feel’n bout this hole!” and it was that hole that eventually gave them enough gold to live the dream of every broke man. Jukes’ tobacco habit and his gassy old dog Monty were a regular sight around town at Virgil’s barbershop where there would be much argument about various topics, one of them being whether or not Jukes’ dog had a corresponding look. Jukes was an optimist and a man of many talents. When the town finally went under the water, Jukes tied Monty to a canoe and told his dog “Row Monty, show thy old master how it’s done!” and the two of them leisurely paddled to and from Jukes’ barn just for the hell of it. Jukes was an embodiment of the old idea that in doing a job right and taking your time to enjoy it, anything can be accomplished.

4. Plot: A Journey of Discovery

The basic structure of The Beauty of North Woods revolves around Brian’s developing relationship with his father, personified by his growing awareness of his father’s own life as well as Brian’s growing understanding of his own life. Brian’s journey of self-understanding is represented by his life-or-death struggle to survive in the wilderness, and his understanding of his father is represented by an almost mystical, spiritual link he feels with him while on the same “wavelength” during the moose hunt. The two lines meet at the end of the moose hunt where, as he is following the wounded moose, Brian has a vision of the Great Spirit who tells him to “never give up”. Brian’s reconciliation and unification of the two parts of himself—the one that was secretly abused by his mother and the alcoholic, and the one that later pretended the “secret” never happened—allows him to understand his father and forgive him, and the discovery of the moose’s skeleton he had killed marks the beginning and the end of the “almost mystical” journey of discovery of his father. This reconciliation is the focal point of Brian’s life, and the narrator illustrates the thematic significance of it: “The light in his eyes would never go out now, Brian thought. He knew from now on his father would always have hope”.

5. Conclusion: A Must-Read for Nature Enthusiasts

Drake conveys to readers the concept of ‘Northern’ awareness in such a way as to leave a lasting impression. Cooke stated, “As you read more, Drake’s special imagery features become addictive, and you will find yourself drawn to the places he describes. From reading about the author’s affinity for a tiny log shack in the woods, I came away feeling cleaner for having washed my senses in this author’s perceptions of life where he lives.” Drake was successful in taking Cooke through a journey of exploration which helped Cooke to draw closer to a place Drake refers to as “A far different world.” Whether the reader is someone who demands pathos from nature writing or someone who is drawn merely by an adoration for the mystique of the North woods, this book will draw the reader into the life of Northern Wisconsin and provide a sense of familiarization with the surroundings. In relating his realization of the implications behind ‘Northern’ awareness Drake stated, “My feelings as to what has happened to the northern wilderness and what is about to happen very nearly reduce me to tears.” Through Drake’s perspective, readers will gain a sense of what is at stake in today’s nature and what we can do to prevent a loss of natural society. Whether you are an enthusiast for the outdoors, a naturalist, or simply someone who cares about nature, this book will provide insight to readers about what the natural world once was and in some places, still is today. This book further serves to bridge that gap between generations and provide an understanding of what our ancestors experienced in settling North America. In ‘The Beauty of the ‘Primitive” Drake describes events from an encounter with an “old-timer” who was able to recall arrows which were still used for hunting deer and moose and invites the author to “come watch the old ways while you still can.” This piece carries a somber, unspoken understanding that the experiences we have known with the natural world will soon come to a passive end.