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anusha_reads 's review for:
Stone Yard Devotional
by Charlotte Wood
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
BOOK#11 (FROM THE LONGLIST) "STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL" BY CHARLOTTE BROWN, SHORTLISTED FOR THE #BOOKERPRIZE2024
Charlotte Brown has previously won the Stellar Prize and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award.
“ARRIVE FINALLY AT ABOUT THREE. THE PLACE HAS THE FEEL OF A 1970S HEALTH RESORT OR ECO-COMMUNE BUT IS NOT WELCOMING.”
The book opens with these lines, and it is divided into three parts. The first part reads like diary entries.
The story unfolds as if the narrator were telling us about her stay at a particular convent. Stone Yard Devotional is a narrative about a few days spent in a dormitory next to a chapel by an unnamed woman. She helps the nuns with cooking, cleaning, and gardening. The book doesn’t explain why the woman is there, how she feels, or anything about her immediate past, except that she is present in this environment. The protagonist reflects on the lives of the sisters at the convent and their daily tasks. She contemplates religious thoughts, the contrast between life and death, good and evil, and other moral dilemmas.
A significant portion of the book is devoted to the problem caused by grotesque, fluffy, grey, smelly mice. These mice gnaw at electrical wires, insulation, and food, even plastic. One part of the book delves into the cannibalistic nature of these mice. The characters struggle to rid themselves of the infestation, trying every possible method to eliminate the plague. The mice occupy much of the narrative - Are they symbolic? Do they represent the troubles that plague our lives, gnawing at our minds and souls day by day?
What touched me the most was the section about her mother being in palliative care, an episode still fresh in my mind. I lost my mother a year ago. She had breast cancer, and it metastasized. Coming to terms with loss is deeply personal, and everyone deals with it differently. Some express their grief, while others bottle it up. Emotions build and resurface unexpectedly—sometimes in unrelenting, sudden downpours, and sometimes not at all.
Another aspect of the book that I found endearing was the protagonist’s encounters with people from her childhood. Whether these were people she liked or disliked, it evoked a sense of warmth and familiarity.
The book is not about glamorous dresses or lavish lifestyles, nor does it promise a happily-ever-after. Sometimes, stepping away from everything familiar and embracing dolce far niente—the sweetness of doing nothing—can answer the questions we carry within.
As I read this book, I couldn’t help but wonder why the author chose to write it. How did she come up with the idea? Was she going through something similar, or had she witnessed someone else experiencing it? My curiosity led me to research the author, and I found an article that stated, “THE PSYCHIC CALAMITY OF WOODS' CANCER EXPERIENCE FOUND ITS WAY INTO STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL.”
The meditative journey undertaken by this unnamed woman, leaving behind her friends and husband, seemed rather questionable. Perhaps it was meant to provide answers to the questions troubling her.
This book may not have a conventional plot, but it is beautifully written biographical fiction. One must immerse themselves in its pages to grasp how the experience of "being nothing" can, in fact, mean everything. This could very well be the one!
Charlotte Brown has previously won the Stellar Prize and the Prime Minister’s Literary Award.
“ARRIVE FINALLY AT ABOUT THREE. THE PLACE HAS THE FEEL OF A 1970S HEALTH RESORT OR ECO-COMMUNE BUT IS NOT WELCOMING.”
The book opens with these lines, and it is divided into three parts. The first part reads like diary entries.
The story unfolds as if the narrator were telling us about her stay at a particular convent. Stone Yard Devotional is a narrative about a few days spent in a dormitory next to a chapel by an unnamed woman. She helps the nuns with cooking, cleaning, and gardening. The book doesn’t explain why the woman is there, how she feels, or anything about her immediate past, except that she is present in this environment. The protagonist reflects on the lives of the sisters at the convent and their daily tasks. She contemplates religious thoughts, the contrast between life and death, good and evil, and other moral dilemmas.
A significant portion of the book is devoted to the problem caused by grotesque, fluffy, grey, smelly mice. These mice gnaw at electrical wires, insulation, and food, even plastic. One part of the book delves into the cannibalistic nature of these mice. The characters struggle to rid themselves of the infestation, trying every possible method to eliminate the plague. The mice occupy much of the narrative - Are they symbolic? Do they represent the troubles that plague our lives, gnawing at our minds and souls day by day?
What touched me the most was the section about her mother being in palliative care, an episode still fresh in my mind. I lost my mother a year ago. She had breast cancer, and it metastasized. Coming to terms with loss is deeply personal, and everyone deals with it differently. Some express their grief, while others bottle it up. Emotions build and resurface unexpectedly—sometimes in unrelenting, sudden downpours, and sometimes not at all.
Another aspect of the book that I found endearing was the protagonist’s encounters with people from her childhood. Whether these were people she liked or disliked, it evoked a sense of warmth and familiarity.
The book is not about glamorous dresses or lavish lifestyles, nor does it promise a happily-ever-after. Sometimes, stepping away from everything familiar and embracing dolce far niente—the sweetness of doing nothing—can answer the questions we carry within.
As I read this book, I couldn’t help but wonder why the author chose to write it. How did she come up with the idea? Was she going through something similar, or had she witnessed someone else experiencing it? My curiosity led me to research the author, and I found an article that stated, “THE PSYCHIC CALAMITY OF WOODS' CANCER EXPERIENCE FOUND ITS WAY INTO STONE YARD DEVOTIONAL.”
The meditative journey undertaken by this unnamed woman, leaving behind her friends and husband, seemed rather questionable. Perhaps it was meant to provide answers to the questions troubling her.
This book may not have a conventional plot, but it is beautifully written biographical fiction. One must immerse themselves in its pages to grasp how the experience of "being nothing" can, in fact, mean everything. This could very well be the one!