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Shortlisted for the 2026 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards
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.
The latest novel by Catherine Chidgey is a deliciously chilling story set in an alternate England. In this world WWII ended early in 1943 with the death of Hitler and the subsequent peace allowed the UK to access research carried out in the Nazi death camps.
In 1979 three identical teenaged boys are living in a rundown old house, the final subjects of a secretive project that is being closed down, watched over by three Mothers. They receive treatment for a medical condition they don't understand, the symptoms of which keep changing. Kept isolated for all their lives, they are finally being allowed access to the nearby village, the inhabitants of which seem to both fear and hate them.
The England of 1979 is beautifully evoked through an accretion of perfect details. Secrets are gradually revealed, ratcheting up the tension as the truth behind the mysterious project is revealed. The frequent mentions of the children's TV show Jim'll Fix It are a subtle hint that the darkest evil can live in plain sight and be ignored by otherwise moral and upright citizens.
Catherine Chidgey is one of New Zealand's very best authors, a wonderfully precise and thoughtful writer, andThe Book of Guiltis probably her finest work since the marvellous Remote Sympathy, which covered some similar themes. A book to savour, this will resonate long after the final page.
– Review by Phil at Timaru Booksellers
432 pages
Paperback
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