The Book of Guilt cover art

The Book of Guilt

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The Book of Guilt

By: Catherine Chidgey
Narrated by: George Naylor, Alison Campbell
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About this listen

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.

©2025 Catherine Chidgey (P)2025 W.F. Howes Ltd Dystopian Science Fiction Government

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The book starts really well and paints such a compelling picture of the 1970s. Not just the toys and TV programmes but the closure of asylums, the care in the community programmes, the failure to protect children in care. However, as a whole, the story can't live up to its beginning and becomes overblown, repetitive and predictable, with the end still a long way off. A shame as there are some very good bits. I don't know why the editors at the publishers didn't edit it into better shape.

Great evocation of the 1970s but ...

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The first part is a compelling page turner unless you know what and why. After that it falls flat for a good few chapters before cranking up again. Sinister and intriguing, it would make a good film. Overall I enjoyed it but a good edit and 50 pages less would have improved it.

Excellent plot but The less you know about this book the more you’ll enjoy it

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Found the story completely intriguing and couldn’t wait to uncover the truth. An allegory of clever writing, with the odd moments of humour even though the subject is dark overall. The narration is excellent. A must listen!

A real page turner!

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