Liz Moore’s Long Bright River was a breakout success in 2020, garnering both critical acclaim and a loyal fan base for an author who had been plying her trade for thirteen years. It’s been a long four-year wait for a new novel, but with the release of The God of the Woods, she proves that she was working diligently to provide readers with an epic reading experience.
Over the course of 500 pages, Liz Moore takes readers through a plethora of varied stages. At time gripping, engaging, absorbing, and even frustrating, The God of the Woods is ultimately unforgettable. Spanning from the 1950’s to 1975, Liz Moore has crafted not just a compelling mystery, but also a testimonial of a time. With her hypnotic writing, she whisks readers back to those idealized days only to shred the façade, revealing just how little things have changed over the years.
At its core, The God of the Woods is a missing persons story. Two of them, actually. In 1975, thirteen-year-old Barbara Van Laar convinces her family to allow her to attend Camp Emerson—the summer camp that has residence on the Van Laar acreage. When she ultimately disappears from her bunk, her family and the surrounding community are rattled to the core. Everyone is worried about Barbara’s safety, but they are also reminded of another camper who went missing years earlier, one who never returned home—Barbara’s older brother, Bear Van Laar.
Told in nonlinear fashion, The God of the Woods requires the investment of the reader’s attention. The plot features a huge cast of characters, most of whom are involved in the story across the twenty-five-year timespan the novel covers. Conveniently, Liz Moore places a timeline at the start of each chapter (after the first few) that demarcate the most significant years: 1950s, 1961, Winter 1973, June 1975, July 1975, August 1975—with the period the following chapter covers rendered in bold. What seems a bit unnecessary at the start, quickly becomes a guidepost to help readers navigate what is a very complex story of family legacy, the land, and the lies we tell ourselves and others.
The God of the Woods is full of fascinating characters—from the Van Laar family members to the campers and camp counselors to the townsfolk in the surrounding area. One of the most fascinating is Judyta Luptack, one of the Nation’s first female state troopers. Because of her unique vantage point as an outsider, she is able to observe things with a fresh set of eyes, making connections that have been overlooked for decades. Lest it seem like there is not enough going on in this novel, there is also an escaped serial killer on the loose, roaming the woods around the Van Laar Preserve and Camp Emerson.
With The God of the Woods, Liz Moore documents a period in history, the legacy of one family, and the complex dynamics between the rich and the poor, bosses and employees, and adults and children.
BUY LINKS: The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
