The Natural Way of Things Paperback – 5 January 2017

by Charlotte Wood (Author)

16

An explosively provocative exploration of contemporary misogyny and corporate control by one of Australia's most acclaimed writers.

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Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Allen & Unwin
Publication date

5 January 2017
Dimensions

12.9 x 2.3 x 19.8 cm
ISBN-10

9781760291914
ISBN-13

978-1760291914
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Charlotte Wood
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Product description

Review

Charlotte Wood's shocking feminist dystopia, sees 10 women, all of whom have been involved in sex scandals with powerful men, held in a remote prison in Australia. Beautiful and savage - think Atwood in the outback. -- Paula Hawkins ― Observer

This is not psychological fiction but a horror parable; a portrait not of people, but of tendencies. Seen as mythical archetypes, the characters are only too frighteningly real...The Natural Way of Things is chillingly dark and unfashionably didactic. But it's also compulsively readable, and bears its load of significance with effortless power. The fury of contemporary feminism may have found its masterpiece of horror. ― Guardian

A haunting parable of contemporary misogyny...Ms Wood's writing is direct and spare, yet capable of bursting with unexpected beauty. ― Economist

A heavy, traumatic yet thrilling read... The Natural Way of Things had me gripped from beginning to end... It strongly appealed to my feminist nature and had me questioning our social standpoints.... An eye-opener in true form. ― Grazia

This is an extraordinary novel: inspired, powerful, at once coherent and dreamlike. ― Sydney Morning Herald, Best Books of 2015

A confronting and blazing read... A novel to provoke thought, conversation, disgust, anger and concern, a work that will haunt the reader with its poetry and the stark truths buried within Wood's brilliant exploration of a toxic culture in extremis. ― Weekend Australian

A virtuoso performance, plotted deftly through a minefield of potential traps, weighted with allegory yet swift and sure in its narrative advance. -- Rosemary Sorensen ― Sydney Review of Books

A dystopian fable, both gripping and lyrical. ― The Saturday Age, Best Books of 2015

A moving, mesmerising and brilliantly topical interrogation of misogyny that demands to be read at a sitting. ― Adelaide Advertiser

Bold, provocative, startling and insightful, The Natural Way of Things is what fiction should be. ― The Newtown Review of Books

[A] Confronting, confounding novel of mysteriously kidnapped and imprisoned women. ― The Australian, Best Books of 2015

The kind of book you inhale in a sitting... Stark prose and unrelenting pace. ― The Saturday Paper, Best Books of 2015

How each character copes with their unusual incarceration is fascinating. The language is beautiful... Charlotte Wood's is a unique, original voice that soothes and shocks in equal measures in this pitch-perfect dystopian nightmare. ― Townsville Bulletin

Exposing the threads of misogyny, cowardice and abuses of power embedded in contemporary society, this is a confronting, sometimes deeply painful novel to read. With an unflinching eye and audacious imagination, Charlotte Wood carries us from a nightmare of helplessness and despair to a fantasy of revenge and reckoning. ― Guardian

About the Author

Charlotte Wood is the author of five novels and two books of non-fiction. The Natural Way of Things won the Stella Prize, the Indie Book of the Year and Indie Novel of the Year. This and other books have been shortlisted for many prizes including the Miles Franklin, Christina Stead and Queensland Literary Awards. The Australian described her as 'one of our most original and provocative writers'. She lives in Sydney.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1760291919
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen & Unwin; Main edition (5 January 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781760291914
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1760291914
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 2.3 x 19.8 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 694,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 2,940 in Feel-Good Fiction
- 8,330 in Dystopian Fiction
- 34,552 in Contemporary Women's Fiction

Customer Reviews:
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Heather Hackett

Hard to put down

Reviewed in Australia on 8 February 2022

This book made me angry as hell, but I still couldn't stop reading it. A brave and honest tale of women at their best and others at their worst. Inspiring. Loved it. On to the next book by this wonderful author.

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Nazarin

Compulsively readable!

Reviewed in India on 29 December 2020

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Have you ever imagined about waking up in a strange, deserted place with some strangers?! Well, Charlotte Wood's The Natural Way of Things is an emotive and haunting story of this kind in which two women, Verla and Yolanda, awaken from a drugged sleep to find themselves abducted and imprisoned in the middle of a desert, somewhere in Australia, guarded by two remorseless jailers and a nurse, along with eight other girls like them, totally unknown to each other. They don't know why they are there or what to do, except that they are trapped there for eternity. Their heads shaved and forced them to wear strange uniforms and to do hard labour in the bare, fearful desert.

As time goes on and food starts running out, they became aware that they all are locked up there including the jailers. There are no computers, telephones or any other devices and the place is surrounded by a powerfully electrified 30 ft fence. Terrifying..right?! They can't leave the place, but only the girls can save themselves.

The book is a savage, a dark and unfashionably didactic feminist book, a perfect slap on the face of patriarchy, a book that challenges misogyny. The characterisation and plot are simple and authentic which makes the characters frighteningly real. The men are characterised as oppressors but inferior and filthy. The book talks about incarceration, sexual abuses and brutality. It's tragic and mysterious, the reader seeks logical answers to some of the questions and that makes the novel enthralling.
This is a beautifully written work of fiction, so beautiful and peculiar. The way the author expounding the ecosystem, the cockatoos, rabbits, kangaroos, mushrooms and everything is appealing. It was like watching a psychological thriller and of course, the final pages of this book are as tense and exciting as any thriller. It's compulsively readable and bears it's load of significance with effortless power.

Regina

Compulsary reading for everyone!

Reviewed in Germany on 17 May 2019

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I think everyone needs to be given a copy of this book and made to read it. It has a reputation of being a difficult read in terms of subject matter, but I suspect that is only because we can easily image a world where this could happen.

Cleto

Deprime

Reviewed in Spain on 3 December 2017

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Me aburrió mucho. No me gustó la historia. Me pareció triste, deprimente leer acerca de un grupo de chicas q las llevan a la fuerza a un decadente complejo en mitad de la nada y las tratan peor q si fueran animales, en unas jaulas para perros, donde duermen. Los días pasan y las prisioneras cada vez se vuelven más salvajes, en cuerpo y alma. No me aporta nada este tipo de lecturas.

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Lucie

This was a wonderful read. There were some lyrical turns of phrases ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 January 2018

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Wow, wow, wow! This was a wonderful read. There were some lyrical turns of phrases that were beautiful and made you read them more than once. The story is great and definitely one that leaves you reflecting on the characters and the unfolding story. My only niggle is that I wanted to know more about organisation that held them captive and Perry at the end. But don't let that stop you reading this. It's more powerful than the Power by Alderman.

Marilyn

Absolut spannend!

Reviewed in Germany on 31 March 2018

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Eines der interessantesten Bücher, das ich jemals gelesen habe. Kann ich jedem, der sich für Frauenrechte und die Rolle der Frau in der Gesellschaft interessiert, nur weiterempehlen!

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