Vincent, Lawrence and William. Triplets. The last remaining Scott boys: orphans who are part of the government-funded Sycamore Scheme. Every day they are woken by Mother Morning who records what they dreamed of in the Book of Dreams. They are assigned chores, and given daily medicine. Occasionally, Dr Roach comes to examine them. If they are naughty their misdemeanours are written up in the Book of Guilt.
We get to see the boys as they go about their daily lives, each dreaming of they day they will get to leave the home to go to Margate.
From the suspicious reactions of the villagers they occasionally encounter it is clear that there is more to this situation. We don’t learn much, but we watch as the boys are offered Socialisation Days to meet young women and a government Minister takes an interest in their lives, though she is clearly unsettled by the boys.
Though it takes some time we do get answers. This was an eerie read, which drew me in and held my attention throughout. I’m grateful to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this prior to publication.

Catherine Chidgey has created something truly unforgettable with The Book of Guilt. It’s eerie, elegant, and quietly devastating. The prose is razor-sharp, the world-building unnerving in its precision, and the emotional impact creeps up on you. A haunting exploration of control and identity that lingers long after you close the book. Easily one of the most original and affecting novels I’ve read this year.

I found this a really uncomfortable read and did not enjoy it. I'm sure it's just a personal preference as I know others who loved it but it was just not for me.

I read my first book by Catherine Chidgey earlier this year and on the basis of reading Axman’s Carnival I went out and bought her back catalogue. I’ll be honest, however, and say that I had reservations about reading The Book of Guilt because of the comparisons to Never Let me Go as that book made me feel ill.

I would advise prospective readers to go in with as little knowledge of the plot as possible and will therefore only sketch out the basics. 1970s in the New Forest three boys - triplets - live in a home, cared for by three Mothers - Mother Night, Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon. They learn from the Book of Knowledge. are carefully observed by the mothers and their dreams are recorded in The Book of Guilt. They dream of going to Margate where children go if they are good..

Unique, incredible, terrifying and challenging, this is a book I will never forget. I would like to read it again as I don’t think it is possible to appreciate the art of the writing or the trail of clues the author has woven into the text, but at the same time this is a book which leaves you bruised and shaken, questioning what you have just witnessed. This book challenged my assumptions about what I wanted from a reading experience. A bit like going on a fairground ride - do you want to head for the tea cups or go for the roller coaster. I usually look for the merry go rounds and found myself on the big dipper! A wild and fabulous ride. In an increasingly dystopian world I have often avoided dystopian texts.

This is a compulsive and tense read. I couldn’t let go but at the same time I was nervous about what might be revealed. Chidgey conjured up the individual personalities of the triplets so powerfully, establishing their uniqueness and that they not simply ‘copies’ of each other. Whilst I was horrified at the boys’ situation, I didn’t find these boys likeable - is it possible for them to be so given the extreme circumstances of their lives?

I am sure that there are many messages to take from this book. Messages about the abuse of science, acceptance, belonging, forgiveness. Personally I couldn’t help relating this to all the sentient animals who are shut away in laboratories.

A unique and totally unforgettable read. Thank you to John Murray and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Three identical triplets are living in a children’s home in the late 1970s, watched over by three ‘mothers’ by morning, afternoon and night shift. The boys were orphaned when very young and have lived here all their lives, treated for the ‘bug’ that is making them ill. It’s clear there have been many more children there in the past but now only the triplets remain and the future of the school is in doubt. Having been kept separated from the world for most of their lives, the boys are now allowed some visits to the outside world and socialisation practice with three girls from another of these homes which is also about to close. As they grow older and meet more people, including the government minister charged with finding homes for them after the school closes, they start to question the truth of their situation.

Nancy has also led a secluded life, although she lives with her parents. Her world, as well as that of the triplets and the government minister, are all set to collide as the truth reveals itself.

And that’s all I’ll say since I really don’t want to give spoilers. It’s beautifully written with clues throughout to what is happening, yet the reveal and twist are still a surprise. The characters are all so well written - the boys have very different personalities and complicated relationships, and Chidgey really manages to show how normal extreme situations can feel for those who are in them. The setting feels part of our world and yet somehow different, leaving a slightly unsettling atmosphere throughout.

I really enjoyed this read, it’s one of those that leaves you thinking about it long after you’ve finished and going over all the clues, and I’ll definitely be reading more by the author.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review

I spent a lot of this book desperately trying to anticipate what would happen next. I LOVED how sucked into the setting I got. I could imagine everything so perfectly and I was fully invested in the characters. I knew going into this that it probably wasn't going to be a super upbeat book but when I got to the end I still felt that same discomfort that had gripped me the entire book.

“The Book of Guilt” was the first book I read from Catherine Chidgey. I know for certain it will not be my last by any means. The story is about the triplets William, Vincent and Lawrence, always dressed in yellow, red and green. They live in the Captain Scott Home for Boys and Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night look after them.
There used to be more children in the home, but now they are the only ones left.

They are often poorly and the mothers give them medications and injections. The doctor also comes often to check on their health. Every morning, when they wake up, their dreams are recorded in the Book of Dreams. They take lessons from the mothers from the Book of Knowledge. And if they are naughty, it’s all reported in the Book of Guilt.

One day, they overhear the locals talk about them in the village, and learn something that turns their lives upside down. All of a sudden, they start questioning everything they’ve known.

The more I was reading, the deeper the rabbit hole was starting to get. We find things out through the boys, and the book highlights on some intriguing psychological and sociological topics – on the border of what is deemed morally and ethically wrong if done for the right reasons.

“But sometimes we love those who are not kind to us.”

It’s certainly a book that opens the floor up for discussions.

Somehow, I know it will be a hit with book clubs. I also personally enjoyed the relationship between the triplets and how their personalities came together and at times clashed. I quite enjoyed this book and will be looking for the next one that Catherine writes!

A deeply unique, and quite haunting, novel which reminded me in places of works by Iain Banks - a subtle, unsettling undercurrent of not-right-ness permeates every page.

This is one you should go into as blind as possible, so at risk of giving things away, I will only say that The Book of Guilt is compellingly readable, and stacked with memorable, rounded characters.

There is not much I can say about this because I don't want to give away the slightest of spoilers. I went into this book knowing very little and felt all the better for it.

This dystopian/speculative fiction story is a slow burn, complex and captivating, that questions everything. I found myself deeply unsettled and left feeling uncomfortable at times.

It questions the whole nature vs nurture debate, ethics and morals. If we could, should we?
I found myself lost in thought throughout this book asking myself these questions. Weighing up the answers. I feel like if I were to read it again I would get something different from it each time.

It's a story that plays with your emotions, it's cruel and shocking but makes you feel a deep sorrow and sympathy for these characters and then takes it quickly away from you. So well written, unlike anything in this genre I have read before, I didn't want to put it down.

This one will stay with me for a while.

Thank you John Murray Press for my advanced copy of this book.
My thoughts are my own.

Wow! It's going to be hard to do this book justice in a no spoilers review but right from the first page there is an underlying feeling of menace lurking. Set in the 70s, we know the world was a different place, but the world the boys live in is different again. In a home for boys,many of whom are from multiple births, looked after by 'mothers' they live in a closed environment, reading only encyclopedias and are feared by locals.
We don't find out why until the clues have layered up throughout the book.
It's chilling. Really sad and quite hard to think about at times, yet you won't be able to put it down.
Absolutely amazing.

The Book of Guilt is challenging for me to rate as I vacillated a lot. I liked aspects of it such as the fascinating descriptions, unique writing style and riveting premise but didn't enjoy my reading experience as a whole. The story is unsettling and strange but not in a way I enjoy. However, it is easy to see that this novel would appeal to many others. It is time for me to accept dystopia and speculative fiction just don't work for me. Purely a matter of personal taste.

my god this book was a brilliant unveiling; not only of why the triplets were living so far away from civilisation, why nancy wasn’t allowed outside, the weird rules of the mothers, the mothers as a concept! masterfully done, and the twist of which twin actually went to the liddell’s??? my god, i was gripped!

Vincent, Lawrence and William are the last remaining residents of a secluded New Forest home, part of the government’s Sycamore Scheme. Every day, the triplets dress in their assigned colours; yellow for Vincent, green for Lawrence and red for William. They do their chores, play their games and take their medicine while under the watchful eyes of three mothers: Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night. 
Their nightmares are recorded in The Book of Dreams.
Their lessons are taken from The Book of Knowledge.
And their sins are reported in The Book of Guilt.

It took a bit to get going. In fact, I almost gave up on it but after a time the story began to unfold. I'm not sure I have ever read anything quite like it. It is a mixture of science fiction, history and, in parts, nail-biting suspense. It’s a book that will stay with me for a long time. So many twists and unexpected turns. Great writing.

The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey is a slow, unsettling read about triplets — Vincent, Lawrence and William — the last children living in a strange, isolated home deep in the New Forest. Part of the government's Sycamore Scheme, the boys live under the strict routines set by three ‘mothers’ — Morning, Afternoon and Night — where everything they do is controlled, from the colours they wear to the dreams and sins they record in special books.

The story is told in three parts, and honestly, I struggled with the first one. It felt quite slow and a bit confusing at times — I nearly gave up. But I'm glad I stuck with it because it really picked up in the second part, and I found myself much more drawn into the triplets’ eerie little world. Even so, it’s definitely a slow read overall and sometimes dragged a bit too much for my taste.

That said, the story has a really creepy, unsettling atmosphere that stays with you, and Chidgey paints a haunting picture of children questioning the strange rules they've lived under all their lives. If you like books that are a bit different and don’t mind a slower pace, it’s worth a go.

William, Lawrence and Vincent are triplets who live in a house under a government scheme called Sycamore. When the government decide to shut the scheme down, the boys then start to have questions about everything they have believed.

A difficult book to review, and unlike any other book that I have read.

This was a very slow burner, and there were a couple of times that I questioned carrying on with it.

Thankfully, it did eventually pick up pace, and I did enjoy it.

I absolutely loved this book! I hadn't read anything by this author before but I was absolutely hooked! It was creepy and sinister whilst also being intriguing and compelling! Would definitely recommend!

I thought this would be an easy review to write as this book is just fabulous but how to do so without giving any spoilers away. I don’t even want to mention the plot as given in the blurb..just go into this book blind. A book that is a real page turner that has a growing sense of unease and menace that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. An author at the height of her craft this book took you on a journey into the unknown which just as you thought you knew what was happening more information would make you question yourself. A book of humanity and values which will stay with me for a long time. Book of the year 2025 beyond doubt. I can’t do this book justice in a written review and will be recommending far and wide. Bravo. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

Three triplets at a boys home in an alternate Britain dream of being cured of a mysterious bug and being allowed to join their friends at the Big House in Margate. A taut novel that is engaging and unsettling in equal measure, with a perfectly created world that feels like a small sidestep away from our own. Hypnotic, immersive and deeply affecting, this might be Catherine Chidgey's best novel.

4.5⭐️

A new to me author. This is so very different it’s hard to describe it, or do its creation justice. It really is one that you need to read for yourself.

It is set in 1979, in a fictional world but with enough references to the era to make it feel real.Triplets Vincent, Lawrence and William live in a special home in the Forest of Dean.

It had me intrigued from the beginning trying to figure out what was happening at the home. The storytelling is slower paced. The way that the breadcrumbs are laid and then the pulled together is very cleverly constructed. All the hints are there so when the reveals come they make sense. I really felt for the plight of the boys. It elicited several emotions sadness for the boys in that environment and @nger at the way they were perceived.

I loved the uniqueness of the plot, it’s got good character depth and development so I was very invested in the boys lives.
The only thing that stops this very different work being a 5⭐️ is the slowness of the pace.

Catherine Chidgey is a versatile author – her fifth novel “A Beat of the Pendulum” was an experimental “found novel” based on daily entries assembled from a variety of sources (from newspaper articles to satnav instructions to spam emails), her sixth “Remote Sympathy” (Women’s Prize longlisted and International Dublin Literary Award shortlisted) and the only one I have read was historical fiction a heavily researched but fictionalised retelling of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp (drawing on its proximity to Weimar), and her last “Pet” a psychological thriller.
 
This her ninth novel is very much in the science fiction dystopian mould of Ishiguro’s “Never Let Me Go” but with an alternative history angle (here on the assumption that Von dem Bussche’s aborted plot to assassinate Hitler succeeded and that the Allies struck a peace with Germany which included the sharing of concentration camp experimentation findings).
 
The links to “Never Let Me Go” are very strong: The Sycamore Homes standing in for the Hailsham Boarding School, Three Mothers – Mother Morning, Afternoon and Night - standing in for the Guardians,
Mother Night playing something of the Miss Lucy role and even with Margate replacing Cromer as a seaside destination.  It lacks though I think Ishiguro’s narrative voice being perhaps a more conventionally told novel.
 
Much of the novel is told in the first party voice of Vincent – one of three triplets who are the only remaining inhabitants of their Sycamore Home (the Homes initially founded in 1944 after the peace, we are now some 35 years later) – a school for children where they learn from a multi-volume Encyclopaedia “The Book of Knowledge” but are otherwise largely kept to the house, where they are carefully monitored by the three Mothers in respect of their health (the children being especially vulnerable to a bug which necessitates a variety of medicines), their dreams recorded first thing each morning in the Book of Dreams, and their behaviour (particularly examples of anger or temper) in a Book of Guilt.  When they are allowed in carefully prescribed visits to the nearby town they are regarded with clear suspicion by the locals.  They are also visited at intervals by an ageing Doctor (Dr Roach) who supervises and directs many of these activities.   All the other children have left the home over time – most to the dream destination of Margate where they live a life of permanent fun-fairs and amusement arcades – something the boys eagerly await.  The three triplets have different characters – William in particular prone to violent and dominant acts.
 
Other third party chapters tell the story of Nancy – thirteen years old, she lives with her mother and father but to her increasing disquiet is neve allowed to leave the home (and even hidden in wardrobes when there are rare visitors there), they dress her up and take pictures of her in old fashioned clothes, seem to believe she has tastes which she does not share, and her father works on an elaborate model railway and village.
 
And the third set of chapters tell, again in third person, of a female politican newly appointed as the Minister of Loneliness in the new 1979 Conservative government, run by a determined female Prime Minister who as part of their wishes to get Britain back on its feet and cut spending have decided to close the remaining homes and try to find places in homes for the last children to be placed (the responsibility for which falls on the Minister).  They have also as one of their first acts decided to reinstate the death penalty – including for existing murderers whose death sentence had been suspended when the penalty was suspended, the first of which is a notorious child-killer. 
 
To say anything more would be to give away the plot of the novel – and the skilful way in which the author both gradually reveals the real truth about the Sycamore Homes and weaves the three stories together into a climatical resolution of each.
 
Overall I found this an enjoyable novel.  There is an impressive marketing buzz around it (short memo vidoes, which triplet are you quizzes etc) which I think might result in the novel getting British Book Award nominations next year, but it did not really spark for me perhaps as it did feel a little derivative.