A non-religious woman leaves her life to seclude herself in a tiny, rural religious community near where she grew up, but her days shaped by contemplation of her mother’s death and banal logistics are soon thrown into turmoil…

I’m drawn to books about grief, so this one caught my attention when the Booker longlist was announced. Sadly, it fell rather flat for me - I mean, it was fine, but I was expecting rather more from it. Things happen and yet it feels like nothing actually happens other than a whole bunch of mouse-killing (and whether this bothers you probably depends on whether you’ve had to deal with mice yourself (hopefully never on this scale if you have)).

Wood explores choosing solitude, finding solace in quietude and the rippling waves of a disturbance. The book is contemplative with some astute lines, but ultimately it all felt rather aimless and I struggled to connect with any particular aspect of the book.

A contemplative but pointless story of solitude and solace.