North Woods was one of my favourite reads of 2023 so I was excited to pick up Daniel Mason’s latest work, Country People, and I’m happy to say I loved it just as much. It doesn’t come out until July but I read it in January 2026 and I’m confident this will remain one of my favourites of the year.

The book tells the story of Miles and Kate, a pair of Californian academics relocating to the countryside of Vermont with their young children so Kate can undertake a visiting professorship at a prestigious college. Her success is not matched by Miles, who has been pursuing a PhD in Russian folktales for over a decade and tends to be distracted rather too easily by new infatuations. This leads him to become increasingly involved with some of the more eccentric townsfolk and intrigued by the legends that surround the local woods.

Daniel Mason has a wonderful way with characters which brings them completely to life, full of human flaws and strange behaviours but always keeping them likeable so you end up rooting for everyone. He makes full use here of the stereotypes that surround both Californian academics and small town rural people but it never feels nasty. They are all essentially decent people, a community which largely shares the same goals, just with their quirks in various ways. Many writers attempt to use satire in this way but it’s very difficult to be balanced across the board and, most especially, to do it without making the characters feel cartoon like.

The other thing to say about this book is that it is very, very funny. The local radio phone in show is hysterical and had me laughing out loud many times but it all adds to the story. No words are wasted and asides that seem like pure comedy or background are all quietly adding to the plot.

Daniel Mason is an exceptional writer and it shows again here, with a perfect balance of character, plot and humour, and beautiful descriptions of the landscape. It’s effortless to read, bringing you right into the world and carrying you into a story that manages to feel both real and like a folk tale. Absolutely superb.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review. This review has been added to Waterstones and Goodreads and will be added to Amazon on publication day.

Country People is a joyful, lyrical novel brimming with warmth, curiosity and eccentric charm. Daniel Mason weaves folklore, family life and the magic of the natural world into an enchanting story about belief, belonging and second chances. Wise, whimsical and deeply humane, it’s a celebration of stories and the people who tell them.

After reading Daniel Mason’s latest novel, Country People, I’m starting to think he might be one of my favourite authors. Humour is hard to pull off, as it’s so personal but this absolutely worked for me. I kept putting the book down to text funny excerpts to friends, which is always a good sign.

This book is very different from North Woods, but like his previously book Mason weaves together multiple story threads so they ultimately connect. In Country People, the link isn’t a shared place but a shared relationship to the central character. Every character is at the very least a little odd but in a completely endearing way. Mason seems genuinely curious about how people try (and sometimes fail) to live authentically, and he treats their quirks with humour and kindness rather than judgment.

Especially right now, I found the novel’s light-hearted yet meaningful message about accepting ourselves and one another genuinely refreshing. I’d highly recommend it.

This book is absolutely delightful. Miles is slightly cantankerous but in a way that reads as charming and not irritating, and his relationships with Kate and his children felt both realistic and funny. The country setting was beautifully detailed, and every time I picked this book up it was just a pleasure. I would recommend it highly!

I loved North Woods so had high hopes for Country People and it didn’t let me down. At times dysfunctional but at others gloriously cohesive, the Krzelewski family take us for a bit of lyrical and humorous romp through rural Vermont. Quirky and a tiny bit bizarre in places but beautifully written.

I loved this book. It's so gentle and so funny. It takes you down unexpected routes all the time and skirts the balance between reality and magical realism so beautifully. It was an absolute pleasure to spend time in the world Mason creates and with all the characters. It was a gorgeous experience.

Book: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
. I loved the Beyoncé hiking story, and Hugh, the hollow earth believer, leading it;
. I loved the radio show phone-ins;
. I loved the Amazon reviews of the dog hunting collars, which had better ratings than Anna Karenina or Shakespeare or even Bach;
. I loved Miranda, who had published so many unbelievably titled articles in so many obscure magazines;
. And I came to love the Jeremiah Wylkes society, after initially wondering what this was about;
. But I especially loved Epilogue Two.
Highly recommended, from an author new to me, whose back catalogue I’ll now be working my way through.

It isn’t often that when I’m reading a book I’m already thinking about and looking forward to when I can read it again, but ‘Country People’ by Daniel Mason is honestly that good. It is smart, observant, and so, so funny—multiple times it had me laughing out loud in public, and wanting to share what I’d just read with anyone who was willing to listen (or was unable to get away) so they could delight in its comedy too.

Anyone who is a serial procrastinator or has a touch of ADHD will instantly relate to the main character, forty-five-year-old father-of-two Miles, who has…how should we put it?…diverse, intense and often unsustained interests, from skiing to scything to uncovering a hidden world inside our world (the latter thanks to the band of misfits he falls in with after his family’s move from California to a small town in Vermont, where in turns out there is a thriving local chapter of Hollow Earthers). Basically, anything that doesn’t involve working on his PhD on Russian folklore.

I love how the story comes together, with all the small and seemingly insignificant details passed along the way making a reappearance at the end. It gives a real sense that the climax is the culmination of everything that has happened before, making for a very satisfying read, as well as being a masterclass in plotting. I also love the inclusion of ‘Miscellaneous Minute’, a feature on a local radio station, which not only is a great bit of world-building, with a full plot arc of its own that also manages to feed into the main story, but is honestly hilarious. Bev and the pet section now lives in my head rent free.

One last thing to note (I’m having to refrain from writing a full essay of praise for every single component of this story) is the quality of the writing. It is superb. Truly. If you’re the kind of reader who likes to highlight as you go, by the end this book will be glowing with Stabilo yellow.

So, who will like ‘Country People’? Honestly, I think everyone will benefit from picking up a copy, but if you’re in the mood for something quirky, clever and funny, with accessible but high quality writing, it might just be the perfect next read for you.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Daniel Mason, and John Murray Press for the ARC. My review will be posted on Instagram, Amazon UK, Waterstones, Goodreads and The StoryGraph near or on the publication date.

This is a beautiful wee book, that I’m somewhat stumped as to how I best describe… a family move from California to Vermont where the wife is taking up a visiting role at the university. Her husband will work on his long delayed dissertation (or more accurately will not) and life unfolds as they adjust to country living. Miles, the husband, gets immersed in local legend, their children learn to ski, their dog hunts for rats and local residents call into radio shows. And that’s largely it… but it feels so much more expansive as it unfolds. Less century spanning than North Woods, but immersive in its own way, I loved getting lost in this little pocket of Vermont.

This book is so much fun and so much more. Miles is a hoot an the narrator, and in a touching and lovable way gives away so much more about his situation that is surely intended?

It's written in a way that is so affectionate, so forgiving, and ultimately so touching on the subject of human friendship that the whole story leaves you feeling uplifted and happy - and almost ready to move to rural Vermont?!

Miles and Kate move from California to Vermont for her to take up a new position as professor, taking their long-suffering children Wesley and Olive with them, as well as Giuseppe the dog. Miles has been stuck on his PhD for 12 years, so is in Vermont as the main family carer while also having time to get his PhD on track.

What follows is a mayhemic fun ride of a year, with so many supporting characters and new things that the family all learn about themselves. It's all written in quite an unusual style which is fresh and immediately appealing, I was sad to get to the end but uplifted by the conclusion.

Miles and Kate Krzelewski, along with children Wesley and Olive, are heading into the wilds of Vermont from California for Kate to take up a visiting professorship.

As if the change of home, schools and climate weren't enough Miles is also struggling to finish a PhD dissertation on Russian folk tales. He is also beginning to think that despite a vivid imagination which weaves fantastical stories for his children plus his willingness to take on any role within the home, he is a bit of a disappointment. He resolves to knuckle down and finish his dissertation.

Of course that is before they encounter the Rat Man of Vermont and his Super-Rat-Lines, a reincarnation of Snowflake Bentley, several slightly crazed individuals who keep calling a local radio show, a Shakespearean temptress and Bjorning. All of which will throw not just Miles, but the whole family, into flux. And we haven't even met the odd collection of locals trying to find the real secrets beneath the Vermont earth.

This book is an absolute joy. Funny and witty. It takes you on a journey with so many wonderful twists that you're never quite sure whst is real and what Miles has imagined. I loved the whole family and all the peculiar locals. I will forever have a soft spot for Bev, whose calls to The Miscellaneous Minute, had me in stitches.

It reminded me of Garrison Keillor's Lake Woebegone books which I adored many moons ago. Mick Herron called this "the book of the summer". He may well be right. If you want an utterly joyful and slightly bonkers read then this is it. Loved it. Looking forward to the audiobook coming out so I can listen to it too.

Very highly recommended.

Daniel Mason has done it again. A truly remarkable book. I loved it. Thank you for the chance to read it and enjoy it. Five stars 🌟