The Natural Way of Things - by Charlotte Wood (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The prescient feminist fable and international classic described as
"The Handmaid's Tale for our age" (The Economist), from the Booker-shortlisted author of Stone Yard Devotional

When the women awaken from a drugged sleep to find themselves imprisoned in a broken-down property in the middle of a desert, they have no idea where they are or how they came to be there. Doing hard labor under a sweltering sun, guarded by two inept yet vicious jailers, the prisoners soon learn what links them: in each woman's past is a sexual scandal with a powerful man. They pray for rescue but as the hours turn into days and the days into weeks and months, it becomes clear that the women must rescue themselves.

Originally published in 2016 and ever more relevant upon its 10th anniversary, The Natural Way of Things is a lucid and illusory fable and a brilliantly plotted novel of ideas that reminds us of humankind's own vast contradictions--the capacity for savagery, selfishness, resilience, and redemption all contained by a single, vulnerable body.

Review Quotes

"Ferocious . . . recalls the early Elena Ferrante." - NPR

"Like the surreal prison itself, Ms. Wood's writing is direct and spare, yet capable of bursting with unexpected beauty." --The Economist

"The fury of contemporary feminism may have found its masterpiece of horror."--The Guardian

About the Author

Charlotte Wood is the author of seven novels and three books of non-fiction. Her novel Stone Yard Devotional was shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. Earlier novels include The Natural Way of Things, which won the 2016 Stella Prize and was joint winner of the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction, and The Weekend, which was an international bestseller. Her features and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Guardian, Literary Hub and Sydney Morning Herald, among others. Charlotte lives in Sydney with her husband.