Loosely based on the real lives of a number of native North Americans, A Cry c f Stone is the fictional account of the life of a native artist, Rose Wabos. Abandoned as an infant, Rose is raised by her grandmother, Oldmary Wabos, in the remotest regions of the northern Ontario wilderness. The story covers a period from 1940 to 1973, chronicling Rose's growth to womanhood, her discovery of art, her moving out into the world of cities and sophisticated cultural circles. Above all it is the story of a soul who is granted little of human strengths and resources, yet who strives to love in all circumstances. As she searches for the ultimate meaning of her life, she changes the lives of many people whom she meets along the way.

In this fifth novel in his series, Cliddren of the Last Days, Michael O'Brien explores the true meaning of poverty of spirit. He takes the reader deep into the heart of a "small" person, or as Rose says of herself, a "nothing-person." There he uncovers the beauty and struggles of a soul who wants only to create, to help others to see what she sees. The story also explores the complex lies and false images, the ambitions and posturing that dominate much of contemporary culture, and shows how these have contributed to a loss of our understanding of the sacredness of each human life.

Once again, Michael O'Brien beautifully demonstrates that no matter how insignificant a person may be in the world's eyes, marvels and mysteries are to be found in everyone. His central character, Rose, is among the despised and rejected of the earth, yet her life bears witness to the greatness in man, and to his eternal destiny. "Michael D. O'Brien is a major talent, one of the brightest lights in the Catholic literary firmament. His latest novel, A Cry of Stone, makes for disturbing reading at times. This is as it should be. We live in disturbing times, and O'Brien's narrative skills strip the gloss from the demonic reality of our heedless and hedonistic age. The novel's chief protagonist, Rose Wabos, grows in sanctity in spite of the sordidness surrounding her. A rose among thorns, her story is that of a saint in a satanic world. We fear for her delicate innocence but gain comfort, through O'Brien's masterful deployment of typological hints, in the knowledge that she is never alone in her often lonely struggle with life. O'Brien reminds us that, although the Crucifix is the emblem of our lives in this vale of tears, the promise of the Resurrection is never absent even at those times when we feel that God has forsaken us. Beyond the vale of tears, and the veil of sorrows, is the Light Eternal. It is not always seen but it is always there. Few writers of fiction unveil this paradoxical Presence in Absence better than O'Brien.