The Weekend

A #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER One of The Times books of the year: 'Ripples with wit, insight and vitality' 'The Weekend is so great I am struggling to find the words to do it justice... Wood is an agonisingly gifted writer: I am now going to read all her other books!' Marian Keyes 'It was refreshing to encounter a novel that so profoundly sympathises with women on the forbidding cusp of being classified as "elderly". Wood ably conveys that older women didn't used to be old, and that the experience of ageing is universally bewildering' Lionel Shriver (Observer, Books of the year) 'Radical... I really recommend it' Pandora Sykes and Dolly Alderton on The High Low podcast 'Riveting' Elizabeth Day 'A perfect, funny, insightful, novel about women, friendship, and ageing. I loved it' Nina Stibbe 'What a terrific novel... Witty warm and wise' Simon Mayo 'Charlotte Wood zooms in and makes these women increasingly sympathetic and individual in a way that really pulls on the heartstrings of the reader' Mariella Frostrup 'Authentic, funny, brutally well-observed... As with the novels of Elizabeth Strout or Anne Tyler, these are characters not written to please, but to feel true' The Sunday Times 'Glorious... Charlotte Wood joins the ranks of writers such as Nora Ephron, Penelope Lively and Elizabeth Strout' Guardian 'The Weekend triumphantly brings to life the honest, inner lives of women' Independent 'A lovely, lively, intelligent, funny book' Tessa Hadley 'One sharp, funny, heartbreaking and gorgeously-written package. I loved it' Paula Hawkins 'One of those deceptively compact novels that continues to open doors in your mind long after the last page' Patrick Gale 'I'm not looking forward to much this locked-down summer but The Weekend is definitely an exception. The premise sems the perfect vehicle for Wood's unsparing observation, great gift for storytelling and total lack of sentimentality' Eimear McBride Sylvie, Jude, Wendy and Adele have a lifelong friendship of the best kind: loving, practical, frank and steadfast. But when Sylvie dies, the ground shifts dangerously for the remaining three. These women couldn't be more different: Jude, a once-famous restaurateur with a spotless life and a long-standing affair with a married man; Wendy, an acclaimed feminist intellectual; Adele, a former star of the stage, now practically homeless. Struggling to recall exactly why they've remained close all these years, the grieving women gather for one last weekend at Sylvie's old beach house. But fraying tempers, an elderly dog, unwelcome guests and too much wine collide in a storm that brings long-buried hurts to the surface - a storm that will either remind them of the bond they share, or sweep away their friendship for good. WINNER: LITERARY FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR, AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKSELLERS' CHOICE BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLISTED FOR THE AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY GOLD MEDAL SHORTLISTED FOR THE STELLA PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR THE MILES FRANKLIN PRIZE

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 and was selected by the New York Times as one of their 10 best books of 2025. 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.