(Pub date 7/7/2026)
Daniel Mason's newest book, "Country People", is a perfect summer read in that it is a literary novel written in a light, humorous style. It is a fun read that has something serious to say about marriage and community and the role stories play in our lives.
Miles Krzelewski is a devoted husband, a doting father beloved for his outlandish bedtime stories, and the proud owner of a truffle-hunting dog in a land with no truffles. He is also a bit lost, twelve years late with his PhD on Russian folktales and increasingly haunted by a sense that he’s become a disappointment to his family. So when his wife, Kate, accepts a visiting professorship at a prestigious college in the faraway forests of Vermont, he decides that this will be the year to finally move forward with his life.
But Miles is a man of many enthusiasms, one who possesses, in Kate’s words, a great capacity “to fall in with anyone, anywhere.” And no sooner does he arrive in Vermont, than he finds himself entangled with a cast of characters as colorful as those of any of his folktales. This motley crew is secretly searching for a lost world, the door to which, according to an obscure local legend, is located under their town.
Mason's characters are delightful and the contrast between a family from California who has only known organic foods, private schools and a curated life with small town eccentrics and lifestyles is the source of much gentle humor. The book opens with the story of the family's move to Vermont, written in a third person voice of a storyteller speaking to an audience. The author's deeper theme here is the role stories play in how we understand ourselves and others. Miles, who is at the heart of the novel, is a person who seems to be always living in a story. When he meets people, he immerses himself in the stories of their lives. His understanding of his family and his marriage are shaped by their stories as well. Jumping to conclusions about the stories we see unfolding or even misunderstanding the stories we think we are being told can lead to tragedy. But in this happy novel Miles and his family get their happy ending.
Well worth reading!
reviewed by Jean C VanNoppen
