Painstakingly researched and highly detailed in its narrative of a broken marriage, its trial and the societal standards of the 1860s in New York, this book was just not my cup of tea. The familial tracking of characters and generations and whose-who became monotonous. For the legal scholarly, this trial may be of interest, even entertaining. Somehow the passion escaped me.

I was thoroughly surprised and entertained with the depth of this epic story. The author is genius in changing voice and language styles as you are pulled through the centuries and introduced to its characters. Among these, along with the humans who inhabit the house, are all kind of fauna and flora, including the smallest of these. The book begins four centuries ago and proceeds though pastoral settings and pioneering settlers cultivating the landscape and cohabiting with nature. Time passes and and events will shock the reader, shocked like the drop at the top of a roller coaster! The author weaves events and characters skillfully throughout the book. I'd love to visit North Woods.