God of the woods

We’re all falling and we need a place to hide
A safe place somewhere in the woods we can start a fire
All we know is what will be our home
We will stay ‘til the break of dawn
The cold night takes us to a place to escape the chill
Tucked up somewhere in the woods on a hill
Wake up feeling the cold in between our toes
Is there a way back? Nobody knows

plot
Mattina presto, agosto 1975: un consigliere del campeggio scopre una cuccetta vuota. La sua occupante, Barbara Van Laar, è scomparsa. Barbara non è una tredicenne qualsiasi: è la figlia della famiglia che possiede il campo estivo e dà lavoro alla maggior parte degli abitanti della regione. E non è la prima volta che un bambino dei Van Laar scompare. Il fratello maggiore di Barbara è scomparso quattordici anni fa e non è mai stato ritrovato. Quando iniziano le ricerche nel panico, si scatena un dramma avvincente.

Quotes
“A certain energy was appreciable in the air: it was the energy of teenage hormones, of sidelong glances, a taking note of who had changed over the past year, and in what ways. It wasn’t just the campers, but the counselors, too. All over, they were sidling toward one another, whispering in each other’s ears, making gestures Tracy could not understand. Each one of them, she would learn, was a celebrity in his or her way; campers strove earnestly to learn facts about them, about their home lives and romantic prospects and heartbreaks; these facts were then traded eagerly as whispers in the dark.”

“She wasn’t – frightened of him, exactly, though there had been one or two incidents that caused alarm. It was more that she had come to see herself nearly exclusively through his eyes, and therefore being in his good graces was the easiest way to achieve a sense of well-being.”

“But nobody asked her, and so she kept these wishes quiet, writing them only in journals, summoning them to the forefront of her mind whenever a birthday or a well or a star presented her with a formal opportunity to make them known to the universe.”

“There was a particular brand of humor employed by twelve- and thirteen-year-old girls, especially when they weren’t in the presence of boys: it was at once disgusting and innocent, bawdy and naive. When it wasn’t being used for ill—when no one was its target—this type of humor delighted Louise. From the wall, she watched them quietly, fondly, recalling what it was like to be in this moment of life that was like a breath before speech, a last sweet pause before some great unveiling.”

“For a bonus, she asked them: Who knew the origins of the word? “Which word?” someone said. “Panic,” said T.J. But no one raised a hand. She explained. It came from the Greek god Pan: the god of the woods. He liked to trick people, to confuse and disorient them until they lost their bearings, and their minds. To panic, said T.J., was to make an enemy of the forest. To stay calm was to be its friend.”

“Do you ever worry that being born into money has stunted us?” Alice blanched. “I don’t mean anything by it,” said Delphine. “It’s just—lately I’ve been wondering whether having all of our material needs met from birth has been a positive aspect of our lives. It seems to me it may have resulted in some absence of yearning or striving in us. The quest, I like to call it. When one’s parents or grandparents have already quested and conquered, what is there for subsequent generations to do?”

what martie thinks
Questo libro è stata una piacevole sorpresa. Sono molto attratta dalla trope ‘found family’ e da tutto ciò che si svolge nei campi estivi, e in questo libro troverete entrambi. Per anni ho basato la mia personalità su Julia Buchanan, ma ne ‘Il dio dei boschi’ penso di aver trovato la ‘nuova’ Julia Buchanan : Barbara Van Laar.

about the book
Tradotto in più di venti paesi, Il dio dei boschi è uno dei bestseller americani del 2024, selezionato per il Summer Book Club di Jimmy Fallon e incluso da Barack Obama tra i migliori libri dell’anno.

about the author
Liz Moore è una scrittrice e musicista americana, insegna Scrittura creativa alla Temple University di Philadelphia. NNE ha pubblicato I cieli di philadelphia (2020), da cui è stata tratta la mini serie Long Bright River, Il mondo invisibile (2021) e Il peso (2022), romanzo che è stato selezionato per l’International IMPAC Dublin Literaly Award e ha imposto il talento di Liz Moore sulla scena letteraria internazionale.