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While I have dipped into Seamus Heaney's work (in Seeing Things), this is the first time I've read a book of his poems. North's collection is in two parts - the first, a broad view of history and contemplation of the Irish bogs, and the various northern invaders (i.e. Vikings) that came to them seeking to do violence. The second part focuses on the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, and the aftermath of having loved ones killed in the conflict, as well as living in fear from further attacks.

For me, North proved a very deep read. I started out reading commentaries on the poems, which explained the references Heaney was making, thinking "there's no way I'd know all this". But a subsequent conversation with a good friend dropped the study and started the quest for my own meaning of the poems. That said, I found Part I much more opaque than Part II, but I think the poems benefit from re-reading and contemplation.