
The Natural Way of Things
A Novel
Charlotte Wood(Author)
Riverhead Books,U.S. (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 10. March 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
979-8-217-04738-3 (ISBN)
Description
“A rare kind of writer and a formidable one.” —The New York Times
“Wood inserts the reader straight into the jaws of her story, never relenting until the devastating end. If you raced through I Who Have Never Known Men or The Handmaid’s Tale and are looking for something with the same bite, this book belongs on your TBR.” —Marie Claire
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.
“Wood inserts the reader straight into the jaws of her story, never relenting until the devastating end. If you raced through I Who Have Never Known Men or The Handmaid’s Tale and are looking for something with the same bite, this book belongs on your TBR.” —Marie Claire
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.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Penguin Putnam Inc
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 201 mm
Width: 134 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
272 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-217-04738-3 (9798217047383)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
03/2026
Riverhead Books
€14.99
Available for download
Person
Charlotte Wood