Stone Yard Devotional

by Charlotte Wood
Stone Yard Devotional cover
Good Books rating 4.26
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  • ID: 6
  • Added: 2025-08-02
  • Updated: 2025-09-10
  • ISBN: 9780593453629
  • Publisher: Random House
  • Published: 2025-02-11
  • Formats: 33
  • Reviews: 4

Shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, a novel about forgiveness, grief, and what it means to be good. Burnt out and in need of retreat, a middle-aged woman leaves Sydney to return to the place she grew up, taking refuge in a small religious community hidden away on the stark plains of rural Australia. She doesn't believe in God, or know what prayer is, and finds herself living this strange, reclusive existence almost by accident. But disquiet interrupts this secluded life with three visitations. First comes a terrible mouse plague, each day signaling a new battle against the rising infestation. Second is the return of the skeletal remains of a sister who disappeared decades before, presumed murdered. And finally, a troubling visitor plunges the narrator further back into her past. Meditative, moving, and finely observed, Stone Yard Devotional is a seminal novel from a writer of rare power, exploring what it means to retreat from the world, the true nature of forgiveness, and the sustained effect of grief on the human soul.

Reviews
The Guardian (via Wikipedia summary) · Frank Cottrell-Boyce · 2025-09-03
haunting 4.50

The novel masterfully intertwines an unsettling mouse infestation with deep themes of despair, remorse, and the possibility of usefulness despite brokenness, delivering a narrative that is both eerie and compassionate.

Frank Cottrell-Boyce praises the vivid and chilling depiction of the mouse infestation, which adds a haunting atmosphere to the otherwise intimate and isolated setting. The novel's exploration of despair and moral complexity is handled with elegance and compassion, avoiding simple answers and inviting readers to reflect on human fragility and the search for meaning amid personal and communal crises. This nuanced approach makes the novel both unsettling and deeply humane.

Quick quotes

    The parts of the book vividly describing the mouse infestation would make Stephen King's hair stand on end.

    Wood's novel elegantly incorporated themes of despair, remorse, and highlighting how though we are broken, we might still be of use.

    Wood's exploration of this question is always compassionate and curious.

Books We've Read · Lachmi Khemlani · 2025-09-03
reflective 4.00

The novel features incandescent writing with a strong focus on the narrator's evolving sense of equanimity and reverence for nature, especially evident in its poignant closing paragraphs.

The reviewer admires the beautiful and luminous prose throughout the book, highlighting how the narrator's reflections on her mother's reverence for the earth provide a profound sense of peace and acceptance. This thematic thread of returning to nature and finding nourishment in death adds a contemplative layer that enriches the novel's exploration of grief and forgiveness, making it a thoughtful and emotionally resonant work.

Quick quotes

    While the writing of the book is incandescent throughout.

    She would cut old pure cotton or silk or woollen clothes into small shreds and compost them too.

    Anything that had lived could make itself useful, become nourishment in death.

Goodreads · 2025-09-03
meditative 4.25

The novel is a deeply moving meditation on forgiveness, grief, and the nature of goodness, told through the intimate experience of a woman living in a secluded religious community despite her atheism.

The story explores profound themes such as loss, atonement, and whether a person can be truly good, through the eyes of an unnamed narrator who retreats from urban life to a hidden monastic community. The novel's narrative is meditative and intimate, with the narrator confronting her past and existential questions, making it a powerful and reflective read that resonates beyond religious boundaries. The writing evokes a sense of quiet introspection and emotional depth, illustrating how personal grief and moral reflection are universal experiences.

Quick quotes

    A deeply moving novel about forgiveness, grief, and what it means to be 'good'.

    She does not believe in God, doesn't know what prayer is, and finds herself living this strange, reclusive life almost by accident.

    Can a person be truly good? What is forgiveness? Is loss of hope a moral failure? And can the business of grief ever really be finished?

The Manchester Review · Stuti · 2025-05-13
thoughtful 4.30

The novel is engaging yet maintains a certain emotional distance, making it a delight to read and a compelling character study in quiet strength.

Stuti finds 'Stone Yard Devotional' to be a captivating read that balances emotional engagement with a measured detachment, which allows readers to appreciate the complexity of the narrator's inner life without overwhelming sentimentality. The novel is praised for its nuanced portrayal of a woman retreating from her former life, exploring themes of solitude, resilience, and introspection. This approach makes it a rich character study that invites readers to reflect on the subtleties of human strength and vulnerability in a quiet, thoughtful manner.

Quick quotes

    A novel which pulls you right in, and yet keeps you at a distance.

    Charlotte Wood's Stone Yard Devotional is a true delight to read.

    It explains its appeal as a character study in quiet strength.

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