Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood / review 

Well hello there Eric, I’ve been watching your channel for years - ashamed to say, lurking in the background😊 . It’s about time for me to give back a little and at least say how much I enjoy listening to you. Your enthusiasm is infectious and your reviews so insightful. I’ve enjoyed both the The weekend and The Natural way of Things by this author, so I’m glad this review has tempted me to finally pick up Stone Yard Devotional, which has been on my TBR since the day it got published a year ago. Always excited to receive a notifications. Greetings from Spain.

So glad you had the same reaction to Stone Yard Devotional as I did! A quietly excellent novel.

I loved Stoneyard Devotional. I also loved The Weekend, but that may be because I’m a 70ish woman who vacations with her friends.

Thank you for championing this book. I loved it for its very thoughtfulness.

I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would on account of not caring for anything monastery, Catholicism. I listened to the audiobook which was beautifully narrated by Ailsa Piper. It was reminiscent of the Miles Franklin winner "The Labyrinth" by Amanda Lohrey (highly recommended).

Are Earth's problems just too big, or are we desperately trying to find meaning in our lives? I think perhaps that +7 billion people with a life expectancy of +60 y.o. must be good compared to say 100 million with an average life expectancy of say 45 y.o.? Of course relativity isn't the answer to everything, so maybe we do indeed face difficult, almost insurmountable issues like climate change and nuclear proliferation. I don't think about it much but obviously other people do, so maybe it's me being insensitive not them being supersensitive.

I read this a few months ago, and would really like to read it again in a few years. There's so much going on in a seemingly very quiet book.

It''s fascinating to see the reaction to Charlotte Wood's novel. I don't even think it's her best. I loved The Weekend and other bits of her writing. I'm still yet to read The Natural Way of Things, which until now is probably her best known work in Australia. The Monaro Plains where the book is set is south of Canberra, where I live. I only live a few minutes from The Monaro Hwy and we travel on that most days. I've seen mouse plagues in the country like the one described in the book, can happen in NSW every 4 years or so. I'm hesitant to relate it to climate change, plagues happen when conditions are mild and there's bumper wheat crops, sometimes after a drought. Conditions are forecast to become more extreme due to climate change. The plague is a good metaphor for something that creeps in and then becomes overwhelming, like her memories, maybe. Anyway, I think even Charlotte is surprised to see this novel on the list compared to say, Praiseworthy by Alexis Wright and a few other Australian novels that were eligible. She's underplayed the inclusion on the Booker in her response in the Aus Media. Still, very pleased to see it getting a great response internationally. Happy Reading.

Thought this was such an fantastic read - definitely my favourite on the long list. What do you make of the sand on the cover? External nature vs human interior spaces?

How to get this book? I can't find it on Kindle or Apple books. I'm in Spain, so not many new EL books near me either.

Thanks for the great review! I live in the U.S. How can I get a copy of the book? Looks like it's not to be released until May of 2025. Thanks for any help you can give. :)

Try and get a copy of The Natural Way of Things, a far more pessimistic, dystopian novel than Stone Yard. She is one of Australia’s best novelists. Hope for good things for her in the Booker.

Is this a book with strong religious themes? I’ve stayed away from it for that reason. It sounds like a book I’d love to read but am not interested in spiritual or religion based plots. Thanks!

For some reason this book and the safekeep seem the most promising to me, like some kind of outsider who might as well win the booker.

The mouse plague was stomach churning 🤢

I am going to purchase it right away. I am absolutely sure I will like it.Thank you for sharing this 😊

I just started this today on audio, and am loving it 20% in, I'll come back to your review when I'm done.

Really loved this book, I found it thought provoking and enjoyed Charlotte Wood's writing a lot, such an interesting summer read. I have bought myself a second hand copy of her book, The natural Way of Things, a dystopian novel which I have heard is both disturbing, and powerful. I'm two thirds through the booker longest and am going to read another book by some of the author's whose books I have enjoyed the most. I have also bought a second hand copy of Samantha Harvey's novel, The Western Wind, and am looking forward to getting to that one.

This is one of the best book reviews I've ever heard. I am going to purchase this book - i always appreciate your recommendations

loved this one so much