The Book of Guilt (Catherine Chidgey, Penguin)

Welcome to an alternative version of the UK in the 1970s. In Catherine Chidgey’s The Book of Guilt, Hitler is assassinated in 1943. After a purge of senior Nazis and a willingness to overlook past atrocities, a fragile peace is reached between Europe and an expanded Germany. This uneasy compromise ripples through politics and science, explored through three compelling characters: Vincent, one of three orphaned triplets, the last children in a very peculiar orphanage; the Minister of Loneliness, tasked with closing the orphanage; and Nancy, a girl hidden in total isolation by her parents. As the Minister’s actions force the separate worlds of Vincent and Nancy to collide, a dark and shared history is revealed. At its heart, The Book of Guilt is about the struggles of identity and belonging. Vincent grapples with the question of what he truly is, while the Minister is tormented by his knowledge of the answer to that question. Their intertwined struggles reveal how easily fear and ignorance can spiral into violence. Challenging the authority of science and politics to decide who and what a person is, this cautionary tale warns against reducing life to a mere process to be studied and exploited. Chidgey (Pet, The Axeman’s Carnival) masterfully blends speculative fiction with philosophical insight, crafting a narrative that questions the very fabric of humanity. Mary Shelley would be proud. This is one for fans of Claire G Coleman, Ray Nayler and Kaliane Bradley.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Stefen Brazulaitis has been a bookseller with a special interest in science fiction and fantasy for thirty years and is the owner of Stefen's Books in Perth WA. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Category: Friday Unlocked reviews Reviews