The Book of Guilt (PB) | Catherine Chidgey

In a sinisterly skewed version of England in 1979, thirteen-year-old triplets Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents of a New Forest home, part of the government’s Sycamore Scheme.

Each day the boys must take medicine to protect themselves from a mysterious illness to which many of their friends have succumbed. Children who survive are allowed to move to the Big House in Margate, a destination of mythical proportions, desired by every Sycamore child.

Meanwhile, in Exeter, Nancy lives a secluded life with her parents, who never let her leave the house. As the government looks to shut down the Sycamore homes and place their residents into the community, the triplets’ lives begin to intersect with Nancy’s, culminating in revelations that will rock the children to the core.

Gradually surrendering its dark secrets, The Book of Guilt is a spellbinding novel from one of our greatest storytellers: a profoundly unnerving exploration of belonging in a world where some lives are valued less than others.

A compelling story that raises profound questions not only about the power of the state to dehumanise parts of our society but about our complicity in that power . . . The Book of Guilt is written with insight and brio, deftly balancing darkness and light, depth and pace * Guardian *Compelling . . . brilliantly evokes a dystopian England. Chidgey's luxurious and unhurried prose stokes tension in a compulsive thriller with macabre hints at historical cases of scandalous cover-ups, unprincipled drug trials, eugenics, ethnic cleansing and genetic experimentation . . . Above all the novel is a powerful recreation of an off-kilter Britain at the end of the 1970s . . . it feels scarily momentous * Observer *[A] haunting blend of psychological fable, gothic parable, and slow-burn thriller . . . Chidgey writes with surgical precision and emotional weight . . . The result is a novel of conscience and consequence: quietly devastating, fiercely intelligent and unforgettable * Irish Times *Chidgey conjures a vivid and atmospheric alternative version of Britain in the 1970s. Those who came of age in the era of Spirographs and Stickle Bricks will recognise taspects of this brilliant novel's world . . . The author is clearly interested in nature and nurture, otherness and belonging, and keeps the tension high throughout. If you're anything like me, you will race through this book in a single, breathless sitting * Literary Review *Shocking . . . will make you gasp * Good Housekeeping *This is a compelling and terrifying novel whose alternative history engages chillingly with current possibilities. No one writes children better than Chidgey. She exactly gets their experimental cruelty and related innocence as they attempt to piece their world together -- Elizabeth Cook, author of LUXI raced through Catherine Chidgey's latest in awe of her trademark gifts: propulsive plotting, psychological acuity, and a knack for the uncanny. But it's the novel's moral questions that linger long after reading - about legacy and history, science and fate - as explored through the voices of children whom society has deemed expendable. The Book of Knowledge literally infiltrated my dreams, as it will yours -- Tania James, author of LOOTOriginal, dark, clever and compelling -- Mary Ann Sieghart, author of THE AUTHORITY GAP'A future classic from one of the most intriguing, inventive and compelling writers of our time. What a book . . . jaw-droppingly breathtaking' * Radio NZ *Eloquent prose, rich characterizations, and knotty concepts - an emotional and intellectual tour de force . . . Chidgey forces readers to delve into moral questions concerning science, pragmatism, personal responsibility, and institutional evil. Then there's the novel's unavoidable, disquieting contemplation of just who is given equal right in any given society (including ours) * Kirkus Starred Review *What a book! Tense, inventive, mysterious and moving, The Book of Guilt poses big questions in the context of a rocketing plot. I loved it completely -- Karen Joy Fowler, author of BOOTHAn imaginative tour de force . . . wonderfully chilling. As ever with Ms Chidgey there are serious issues rumbling beneath, for instance the ethics of scientific research and the arbitrary assumptions about who might and might not possess a soul * Irish Examiner *I was gripped by this dystopic tale of triplets William, Lawrence and Vincent, brought up in a dilapidated institutional home by a group of 'Mothers', treated with a mysterious medicine and forbidden access to the outside world. The uncannily familiar 1970s setting is conjured with uneasy menace * Financial Times, Best Summer Audio Books *Grand and devastating . . . Epically imagined, intricately constructed, conceptually engaging and packed with perfectly timed revelations, it reminded me of Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See and Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch . . . Particularly impressive is the virtuousity with which Chidgey allows the readers to see around Vincent's blinkered worldview . . . This involving, humane novel brims with vitality - and soul * New York Times *This chilling novel's shocking plot turns will make you gasp * Good Housekeeping, Best Books for Christmas *Easily one of my top books, this is eerie, edgy and other-wordly. I didn't know where it was going and yet I needed to turn every page as quickly as possible * Irish Mail on Sunday, Book of the Year *     Author Biography: Catherine Chidgey is the author of In a Fishbone Church (1998), Golden Deeds (2000), The Transformation (2003), The Wish Child (2016), the 'found novel' The Beat of the Pendulum (2019), Remote Sympathy (2021), Pet (2023) and The Axeman's Carnival (2024). Her novels have been published to international acclaim and have been shortlisted and won numerous prizes. She lives in Ngaruawahia, New Zealand, and lectures in Creative Writing at the University of Waikato.