Charlotte Wood, Stone Yard Devotional ***

Stone Yard Devotional is the fictional story of a woman who retreats to a small nunnery in rural Australia. She is an atheist but feels the need to seclude herself from the challenges of her job as a wildlife conservationist. The book appeared on several "Best of 2025" lists and was a Booker Prize finalist. 

The writing was not as meditative or introspective as I expected and hoped. The narrator doesn't focus on day-to-day life in the community nor on her lack of/loss of faith, and says little about the pressures that led her here. Two themes stood out to me: whether retreat or engagement is the better approach to challenging problems (like climate change or injustice); and how to live with regrets when the possibility of forgiveness is gone.

Stone Yard Devotional has a quiet strength to it, but its wisdom applies to subjects that I am not currently struggling with.