Stone Yard Devotional

A Novel

By: Charlotte Wood

Narrated by: Ailsa Piper

Shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, a novel about forgiveness, grief, and what it means to be good, from the award-winning author of The Weekend.

“Stone Yard Devotional is as extraordinary as you’ve heard.”—Ron Charles, The Washington Post

“An exquisite, wrenching novel of leaving your life behind.”—Lauren Christensen, New York Times

"Meditative (but by no means uneventful)."—New York Times

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.

©2025 Charlotte Wood (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Founded on the same rock of introspection that anchors the Gilead series….Stone Yard Devotional not only stays aloft but soars… A strange sense of engagement with these pages gives way to sheer gratitude for the chance to be in the presence of such restraint and wisdom.”–Washington Post

“The novel is, in many ways, an extended meditative vigil...Activism, abdication, atonement, grace: In this novel no one of these paths is holier than another; Wood is more invested in noticing the human pursuit of holiness itself.”—New York Times

"This meditative (but by no means uneventful) account includes a mouse infestation, a celebrity nun, a pair of complicated homecomings and countless reminders that the sacred and the profane not only coexist but complement one another."—New York Times

Beautiful and interesting story

I thoroughly enjoyed this quiet, thoughtful story. It is one woman's experience and reminiscences on life and nature set in a unique time of pandemic, yet able to be separate from the chaos of the world. The narration was excellent and I would highly recommend this book.

The mice and facing death

I liked the reader’s quiet, intimate, delicate delivery. The story I still don’t understand. It’s more like a strange poem with fine observations.

The clear and concise language

If you meditate, ponder, or are trying to slow down
Take this journey through a woman’s re-visiting her self, her small town… it is worth the journey.

Fearless reflection on shame, grief & love.

A masterful meditation on the past and present with a fiercely honest voice. Thank you, Charlotte Wood.

I

I liked the voice of the main character- she was very believable and likable. Her religious interests were clear .

A profound inward journey

If you told me I’d be praising a book about Catholic nuns, I would have turned my nose up and laughed. This is book is about Catholic nuns, and I loved it! It’s really about a woman’s journey to find peace—she hadn’t recovered from her mother’s death from many years ago. Ironically, it wasn't spiritual in the sense of higher power etc. Instead it was about a woman facing herself and her feelings. Not for the faint hearted but compassionately written in wonderful images. It’s one of the most profound books I’ve read.

Pleasant, soft cadence

Highly spiritual, reverent and meaningful story. Opportunity for thought and reflection about life's experience. Many lessons.

Gorgeous, meditative, provocative

I wasn’t sure at first if I would enjoy this as reading about religious retreats is not my thing and I’m not a fan of the Catholic Church. But I was hooked by the narrative voice, the lyrical writing, and heartfelt dilemmas at this novel’s core. How do we manage the multiple anxieties that have become part of daily life for so many of us? What does it mean to retreat? There will always be weather, memories, our aging and its attendant powers and fears. Mice infestations can come for us all. I started listening one day and finished it the next. Will surely reread and recommend to others.

Subtle and real

The narrator’s voice was really soothing. The story was as much an homage to the narrator’s mother and her mother’s kind nurturing ways as anything. Wise women both mother and daughter. Loved it!

What a gorgeous work

I have not really read anything like this before. The reflections are deep and philosophical but never cause the narrative flow to slow down or cease towards its beautiful end.