MORNING, AFTERNOON, NIGHT. THE MOTHERS ARE ALWAYS WATCHING . . .
'Brilliant . . . you will race through this book in a single, breathless sitting' Literary Review
'Original, dark, clever and compelling' Mary Ann Sieghart, author of The Authority Gap
'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 Lux
England, 1979. 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 do their chores, play their games and take their medicine, 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.
All the boys want is to be sent to the Big House in Margate, where they imagine a life of sun, sea and fairground rides. But, as the government looks to shut down the Sycamore Homes, the triplets begin to question everything they have been told.
Gradually surrendering its dark secrets, The Book of Guilt is a profoundly unnerving exploration of belonging in a world where some lives are valued less than others.
"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
"'A future classic from one of the most intriguing, inventive and compelling writers of our time. What a book . . . jaw-droppingly breathtaking'" - Radio NZ
