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G’day mate, here we have an absolute didgeridoo (think unrelenting, droning style narrative) of a book.

Sorry Shelia’s (or Charlotte Wood I guess), I tired. I really did.

I mean, at least I finished it (despite the fact I seriously considered giving up at about the 1/2 way mark…naively optimistic of me I now know)

Comprised of a monastery, a mice infestation (don’t even get me started on how this -quite literally, took up almost a third of the “plot��), morals, memories and a recent marital separation, Stone Yard Devotional is a meandering (understatement) -and frankly mundane (to the max) account of a middle aged woman clearly going through some sort of midlife crisis/breakdown.

Despite there being interesting themes scattered throughout (grief, morality, identity -heck, even religion) the novel is instead, far too preoccupied with self indulgent, navel gazing “woe is me�� ruminations -oh, and how to deal (or not as the case may be here) with a plague (and I mean PLAGUE, why on earth were there so many? Where (and why!) in holy heck did they keep coming from exactly?) of mice, reeking havoc on the nunneries!

Pointless and plotless, frankly I wouldn’t bother.

1 v sad star