There’s something unsettling about silence, isn’t there? The way it can wrap around you like a blanket, comforting at first, then slowly constricting until you’re not sure if you’re being embraced or suffocated. Charlotte Wood’s latest novel, “Stone Yard Devotional,” longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, plunges us into that silence—the kind that hums with unspoken tension, with memories that refuse to stay buried, with questions that have no easy answers.
Set in a remote religious community in the Australian outback, this is a book that creeps up on you. It’s not flashy or plot-driven. Instead, it’s a slow burn, a gentle unraveling of one woman’s psyche as she grapples with her past, her beliefs, and her place in the world. Wood’s prose is spare and precise, each sentence carefully crafted to pack maximum emotional punch with minimal fuss. It’s the literary equivalent of a whisper that somehow manages to echo louder than a shout.
A Retreat into Silence
Our unnamed narrator, a middle-aged woman fleeing burnout and unspecified trauma, finds herself seeking refuge in an abbey nestled in the harsh Australian landscape. She’s not religious, doesn’t really know how to pray, but there’s something about the rhythm of monastic life that calls to her. The daily rituals, the quiet contemplation, the simplicity—it’s a balm for her frayed nerves.
Wood captures the minutiae of abbey life with exquisite detail. The chiming of bells marking the hours. The soft shuffling of nuns in their habits. The austere beauty of the stone chapel. You can almost smell the beeswax candles and hear the creak of old wooden pews. It’s a world removed from modern life, and our narrator sinks into it like a warm bath.
But of course, you can’t outrun your demons forever. Even in this place of silence and contemplation, the past comes knocking. And it’s not alone.
Plagues and Bones
Just as our narrator starts to settle into her new life, three disruptions shatter her fragile peace. First comes a mouse plague of biblical proportions. The descriptions of the infestations are skin-crawlingly vivid – mice scurrying through walls, gnawing on electrical wires, their little bodies piling up faster than they can be disposed of. It’s nature at its most relentless and unforgiving.
Then there’s the arrival of human remains—bones belonging to a nun who disappeared decades ago, presumed murdered. The community is thrown into turmoil as old wounds are reopened and long-buried secrets threaten to surface.
Finally, a visitor from the narrator’s past forces her to confront the very things she came here to escape. Wood deftly weaves these threads together, creating a tapestry of memory, guilt, and the desperate human need for connection and forgiveness.
The Weight of the Past
As the story unfolds, we get glimpses of our narrator’s former life—her childhood in a small town, her complicated relationship with her parents, a career abandoned. Wood has a gift for capturing those small, defining moments that shape a person. A harsh word from a teacher. The feeling of being an outsider in your own family. The way a single decision can alter the course of your life.
There’s a particular scene where the narrator recalls visiting her mother in the hospital. The description of the sterile room, the beeping machines, the way her mother’s hand felt in hers—it’s so achingly real it took my breath away. Wood has this uncanny ability to tap into universal experiences and make them feel intensely personal.
The Power of Ritual
One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is its exploration of faith and ritual. Our narrator may not believe in God, but she finds solace in the structure of monastic life. The daily prayers, the communal meals, the simple act of tending to chickens or sweeping the chapel floor—there’s a meditative quality to it all.
Wood doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of organized religion, but she also acknowledges its power to provide comfort and community. There’s a beautiful passage where the narrator describes the nuns singing during vespers:
“I’m surprised to see several of the nuns already in situ, ten minutes before start time, and then the organist starts playing quite loudly and comparatively jauntily. It’s as if everybody has been suddenly energised by some unseen force. Busy things take place: scurrying about with gold staffs and a crucifix on a stick; lighting of incense and lots of candles, putting them in position in their holders, taking them out and fitting them back in. Then suddenly, in place of the usual soundless and modest entry in pairs and threes…”
It’s moments like these that make the book feel so richly human.
A Cast of Complex Characters
While our narrator is the heart of the story, Wood populates the abbey with a cast of fascinating supporting characters. There’s Sister Bonaventure, whose gruff exterior hides a deep well of compassion. Dolores, the young novice still finding her place in this world. And Helen Parry, the disruptive visitor whose presence forces everyone to confront uncomfortable truths.
Each character is drawn with nuance and empathy. Even those who initially seem unlikeable reveal hidden depths as the story progresses. It’s a masterclass in character development, showing how people can surprise you if you take the time to really see them.
Echoes of the Past
Readers familiar with Wood’s previous work will find some thematic threads carrying through. Like her acclaimed novel “The Weekend,” “Stone Yard Devotional” deals with women grappling with aging, identity, and the weight of their own histories. But where “The Weekend” was sharp and often bitingly funny, this new work has a more contemplative, almost elegiac tone.
There are echoes of other Australian writers here too—the harsh beauty of the landscape bringing to mind Tim Winton, the psychological depth reminiscent of Helen Garner. But Wood’s voice is distinctly her own, quietly powerful and deeply moving.
A Meditation on Forgiveness
At its core, “Stone Yard Devotional” is a book about forgiveness—not the easy, Hollywood kind, but the messy, complicated process of truly reckoning with past hurts and finding a way forward. Our narrator must confront not only the wrongs done to her, but the ways she’s hurt others. It’s a journey that’s by turns painful, cathartic, and ultimately hopeful.
There’s a scene towards the end of the book that I keep coming back to. Without spoiling anything, it involves our narrator finally facing a truth she’s been running from for years. The way Wood describes the physical sensation of this realization, it’s just…perfect. It captures that moment of clarity with such precision, I felt it in my bones.
A Worthy Booker Contender
It’s no surprise to see “Stone Yard Devotional” on the Booker Prize longlist for 2024. This is literature of the highest caliber—thoughtful, beautifully crafted, and deeply resonant. Wood’s ability to explore big ideas through the lens of intimate, personal experiences is truly remarkable.
The book’s pacing might be too slow for some readers. This isn’t a page-turner in the traditional sense. It demands patience, asks you to sit with discomfort, to really ponder the questions it raises. But for those willing to give themselves over to Wood’s meditative prose, the rewards are immense.
A Lingering Presence
Days after finishing “Stone Yard Devotional,” I find myself still thinking about it. Little details keep surfacing – the sound of the wind across the plains, the feeling of cool stone under bare feet, the way grief can settle into the body like a physical ache. It’s the kind of book that stays with you, that makes you look at the world a little differently.
Wood has crafted something truly special here. It’s a quiet book, yes, but one that reverberates with deep emotional truth. In a world that often feels too loud, too fast, too much, “Stone Yard Devotional” offers a space for reflection, for grappling with the big questions of existence. It reminds us of the power of silence, of stillness, of really listening – to others, to ourselves, to the whispers of our own hearts.
So, if you’re in the mood for a read that will challenge you, move you, and maybe even change you a little, pick up “Stone Yard Devotional.” Just be prepared to sit with it for a while. Like prayer, like forgiveness, like life itself – the real revelations come not in dramatic flashes, but in quiet moments of grace.
