I thought I knew what this book would be about, but I was only partly right. Much admiration for this author - interesting, clever plot, evoking much sympathy for the characters and made this book feel like a movie I was watching instead of a book. So visual and well described.

Lots of twists and turns, that kept this fresh and full of surprises. I love how the author slowly dropped clues, like little breadcrumbs to pick up along the way. She infused personality and uniqueness into each character, without even saying that much. I don't want to reveal too much, but couldn't put this down and was continually surprised by the next development.

I’m not clever enough to write a review that will do this book justice. Seriously, Catherine is such a brilliant author and every book she writes just gets better and better. I didn’t think she could top The Axemans Carnival but she has. Buy it. Read it. It’s wonderful! Thanks netgalley and the publisher.

Thanks to the publishers and net galley for an advanced copy in exchange for a review.
This was a different type of book and storyline than I have read before. The book follows 3 triplets, Lawrence, Vincent and William told for one of the boys points of view. They live in a home for boys the ‘Captain Scott house’ and are looked after by 3 mothers and a Dr. They have to take medicine to keep ‘the bug’ at bay. We also hear from another narrator who is Nancy whose parents want her to be perfect. All the characters in the book were quite strange but I felt impelled to read on to find out what was going on. Good writing and enjoyable to read. I would recommend to others.

Thank you to @johnmurrays @catherinechidgey and @NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This has become my favourite read of the year so far and I suspect will stay a favourite of all time.

I absolutely love a dystopian novel, and this one is just perfect. I was totally enthralled by it and could not put it down. It’s a seriously unnerving read full of dark secrets. It shocking, emotional, disturbing, just perfection.

I really don’t want to give any of the plot away. But I will recommend this to everyone. Its release date is 22 May 2025 and I will definitely be pre ordering my physical copy.

70s Britain but make it dystopian!

I absolutely loved this book! I was drawn in straight away by the mysteriousness of the triplets, their care home and the women who look after them, Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night.

Then of course there is Nancy, a young girl kept isolated from the world by her parents.

The triplets are part of something called the Sycamore Scheme and let me tell you, this book is so convincingly written that I actually googled it to see if this was a real thing. It's not haha and by the time I got to the end of the book I was glad about that!

Perfectly written, perfectly paced and so intriguing, I couldn't put this one down! This book very quickly became my favourite of the year so far!

Largely set in an alternate version of 1979, close to reality but unsettlingly different, Catherine Chidgey’s novel follows a set of triplets living in a children’s home in the New Forest, one of several that formed part of the Sycamore Project to be wound down under the new government. Thirteen-year-old Vincent, Lawrence and William have been told their parents both died young from heart attacks, obediently accepting the medicine administered every morning, recounting their dreams when they wake and attending lessons based on the Book of Knowledge. They’re polite and well behaved although sometimes William is malicious and violent. They’ve been brought up in isolation, treated with disdain on rare visits to the local town, comments that make no sense to them muttered as they pass. As the story unfolds, we learn about the Sycamore project through a series of reveals made even more jolting seen from Vincent’s perspective. What seems comforting and routine to him, is a little off then alarmingly so to the rest of us. There’s a lot of darkness in Chidgey’s novel which asks big questions about nature and nurture, what makes us human, and the ethics of research all wrapped up in a gripping piece of storytelling.

It’s a bold claim to say that I may have already found my favorite book of the year in February, but when I say that this book is special, I truly mean it.

In The Book of Guilt, you enter the world of triplet brothers who are the last residents of a government run program called the Sycamore Scheme, cared for by their three mothers - Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon, and Mother Night. The mothers teach the boys from The Book of Knowledge, record their nightmares in The Book of Dreams, and log their wrongdoings in The Book of Guilt. The boys dream of being sent to Margate, an oasis by the sea where children can be children. Slowly the boys start to see cracks in the facade that is their every day lives.

The Book of Guilt has so much of what I love in its 320 pages - from a creeping unsettling feeling as the story unfolds, an emotional investment in an eager young voice, to an almost Pleasantville-like perfection that feels just a bit off, but you can’t quite put your finger on why that may be.

I had to google if this was based on a true story, that’s how real it felt.

It’s 1979 and triplets Vincent, William and Lawrence are the last residents left at New Forest Hope, part of the governments sycamore scheme. Raised by mothers none of them are related to, the boys do chores, take their medicine and do lessons. Mother morning, mother afternoon and mother night see to everything that is needed and always watching. Most important is their dreams, they must be recorded. The older the boys get the more questions they have. When the government decides the scheme has to end and the children need adopting they’re socialised with other scheme children, specifically a home with three girls. The boys learn that their medicine isn’t used to heal them, but trialed on them as experiments. Worse yet is to discovery their origin, their dna, and what this really means for all their futures. Before children left to go to a house for older children, a place the boys can’t wait to go too, but the truth is exposed as the system and mothers break down. There’s a reason these children must be watched carefully, and a reason the children who leave are never seen again,

This must be in line for book awards this year !
I started reading, thankfully on a morning on a day that had no appointments, because I didn't stop reading until the book ended. The stunning story of triplets Vincent, Lawrence and William but also Nancy. Without spoilers, their stories are profound and so very topical. This is a book you must read this year.

Triplets Vincent, William and Laurence are the only remaining children in a care home where they're looked after by 3 women .Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night. Care is lavished on them, and the boys feel loved. Their dreams are recorded by Mother Morning in the Book of Dreams; she teaches them from the Book of Knowledge; and their misdemeanors are recorded in the Book of Guilt.
It was an exceptional book and I loved it

Inventive, funny, devastating.

Is it too soon to pick my book of the year?

[Full review on publication]

I adored this book. It piqued my curiosity from the opening. Familiar period details (1970s) overlaid by a completely unfamiliar political landscape and language.

The book defies explanation and this is the key to this very compulsive read. Triplets in some sort of care home cared for by morning, afternoon and night mothers; an overprotected girl for whom it seems normal to eat her meals in the wardrobe and government decisions being made that only very gradually start to reveal the status quo and how we got there from the perspective of the Minister of Loneliness.

The imagination of the writer is electrifying and she unravels plot strands with complete mastery. I found it my perfect read combining top tier writing, character, setting, plot.

With thanks to #NetGalley and #JohnMurrayPress for the opportunity to read and review

I am obsessed. It's like an even darker version of "Never Let Me Go", but with even more plot (while still maintaining beautiful imagery and prose). I'm a new fan of Chidgey and will be picking up all of her books. I just wish I had been made aware of her talent sooner!

Also... I cannot WAIT for this to be turned into a movie! Someone get on that ASAP.

After 2 DNFs in a row, I was wary of books which get effusive praise- but I needn’t have been. This is an excellent story, well written, thought-provoking and engrossing.
It’s obvious from the book description and the first few pages that all is not as it seems.
Set in an alternate 1979, where WW2 had a different outcome, we are introduced to identical boy triplets living a strange, secluded life. They are ‘Sycamore’ boys - very special, they’ve always been told.
The basic concept of the story is not new, I realised very early on, but it is a very interesting take. The truth is gradually revealed in layers, but not too cryptically, and it kept me guessing with surprises (and some shocks). The pace is good, picking up nicely and building tension.
The ‘Book of Guilt’ is where the boys’ misdemeanours are recorded - but there are many different types of guilt visited in this tale. Well worth a read.

This is a book that will stay with you. It's dystopian but doesn't seem too far-fetched to actually happen, if the political will was there.

There are two narratives in this book: the orphaned triplets, and a girl named Nancy. The orphaned triplets looked after by 3 women, Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night. Nancy lives with her adoring yet controlling parents.

The story unfolds slowly, and you start to feel uneasy when you realise things are not what they seem. The two narratives come together near the end and reaches a shocking climax, from which the rest of the story and the explanations of what is really going on, finishes with a conclusion which leaves you feeling satisfied yet slightly disturbed.

4.75 ⭐

The Book of Guilt is set in a post-war Britain of some alternate universe where WW2 ended with Hitler being killed by someone else and the country has a Minister of Loneliness. Three boys -triplets- live in a strange house with three "Mothers". A girl isn't allowed to go farther than her garden. The Minister of Loneliness needs good publicity. The story slowly unravels who these boys are, why they're in this house, why the girl can't leave home, and how all their paths intersect.
The concept of this book is inherently interesting and you can't help but want to solve the mystery of the characters' lives along with them. It was quite well-paced and held my attention all the way through. While the characterization and continuity of narrative voice weren't flawless, this is overall an excellent read. I also like the cover and would be quite happy to own this book when it is published.

Just vibes 5 ⭐
Plot 4.75 ⭐
Characters 4.5 ⭐
Writing style 4.5 ⭐
Readability 5 ⭐
Likelihood to recommend 4.75 ⭐

Catherine Chidgey, in my opinion, is New Zealand's best novelist. Every one of her novels is different, unique, thought-provoking, from the horrors of Nazi Germany to a magpie telling the tale of the family he lives with and then this, the story of identical boys, Vincent, Lawrence and William as they live their closeted lives in the 1070s with their three mothers (one each for morning, noon and night) and gradually come to understand who they really are. It is impossible to give details without spoiling the story, but it harks back to the themes of her Nazi German books, would be loved by readers who loved 'The Midwich Cuckoos', and will make every reader stop and think (numerous times) about what makes us human, what makes us evil, what are morals and could this happen today... and along the way enjoying a masterclass in how to conceive of and write a unique and very complex and perfectly structured story.
Thank you to Catherine Chidgey (again!) and NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #TheBookOfGuilt #NetGalley.

a brilliant thought provoking dystopian about the human condition and identity.

this works as both a recommendation for people who DID enjoy Never Let Me Go and for people who DIDN’T (as it’s a much more readable story overall in regards to plot pace & writing) !

Many thanks to the author, Catherine Chidgey, Netgalley, and the publisher, John Murray Press for an ARC of The Book of Guilt, which will be published on 22 May. It's one of the most brilliant books I've read in a long while, but also one of the most disturbing, and I think it will linger in my mind. It's a book that you really should consider reading for the questions that it poses.

We're in the south of England (Exmoor) in 1979. It's an England very similar to how ours was in the seventies: people watch The Generation Game, and play Spot-the-Ball and eat fondant fancies – but there are also subtle differences (the Second World War ended in the early 1940's with a rapprochement between the Allies and Germany, and the British government has ministries in Berlin and Bonn).

Triplets Vincent, William and Laurence are the sole remaining children in a Sycamore care home England where they're looked after by Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night. Care is lavished on them, and the boys feel loved. Their dreams are recorded by Mother Morning in the Book of Dreams; she teaches them from the Book of Knowledge; and their misdemeanors are recorded in the Book of Guilt.

An unnamed female Conservative politician wins the 1979 election, and embarks on a series of cost-cutting measures to stimulate the economy. Among the targets of the cuts is the network of Sycamore Homes. The newly-appointed Minister for Loneliness is charged with shutting down the homes and integrating the boys into the community.

The boys slowly discover the horrifying truth about their life in a way that parallels how prepubescents gradually come to reassess the decisions of adults around them as they reach adolescence. It's a perfect example of how to pace the gradual reveal of information. The first revelation comes about a third of the way through, and from then on, nuggets of information are dropped regularly (some of which you may guess, but not all, I think). There's just enough detail to keep you wanting to know what happens next: I read the final 70% in one sitting, staying up until 3am to finish it.

The writing is superb, and it made me think about the many people in our world who are dehumanised for our collective convenience, and how we largely ignore or don't know what happens to them. I don't normally think of any novels as essential reading, but I think that this one might be for the way it encourages the reader to open their heart and develop empathy for others.

I LOVE Catherine Chidgey - one of my absolute favourite authors, I’ll read anything she writes. If there’s a Chidgey authored shopping list out there, send it my way! Something I’m coming to admire beyond the books themselves is the sheer variety and scope of Chidgey’s writing. She’s written compellingly about the widest and wildest subject areas but I’m always in safe hands.

The Book of Guilt is completely different again, and sort of defies categorisation. Set in an alternate reality of 1970s England we predominantly follow the stories of triplet boys growing up in a care home. It is somehow concurrently a country pastoral coming of age story AND a dystopian parallel universe.

As I read an early review copy I went into this book knowing nothing and not having seen any other reviews. I think this probably provided the optimum reading experience as I was allowed to get swept along in Chidgey’s writing as the truth is gradually revealed. Super compelling! As such I won’t provide much more plot detail but themes include the ethics of progress, what it means to be human and if 1970’s Margate’s Dreamland was really as good as the book’s children imagined it to be!