Country People, by Daniel Mason 

Daniel Mason’s critically acclaimed and inventive 2023 novel, North Woods, was set in rural Western Massachusetts. In his new quirky and highly creative novel, Country People, we land firmly in Vermont. An academic couple has moved from California for the wife to take a visiting professor gig at a small Southern Vermont college. She is a renowned Milton scholar; her husband Miles is virtually unemployable after working on his dissertation for over a decade, and getting nowhere. 

 The Vermont setting is the perfect foundation on which to build this gentle satire, focused around Miles and his overly-romanticized notions about rural life. For example, when Miles considers writing about Russian peasants, he imagines meeting Vermont “country people” will help his research. Mason creates a cast of characters that could populate a “Keep Vermont Weird” campaign, offering them up with both affection and parody. 

In a fantastical sub-plot, some natives believe they are close to discovering caves in Vermont that lead down to an entire other world stored inside the earth.  This through line underscores the bit of myth, hope, magical thinking, community and the power of storytelling that gives this book a special heart. Plenty to enjoy! 

Join us on Zoom Wednesday, October 28, 2026, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. 

Registration will open soon.

Questions? Feel free to email YCV Book Club Liaison Mary Jane Mona, maryjanemona@gmail.com