THE BOOK OF GUILT
by German conspirators in 1943\u003B since then, British scientists have had access to studies “of immense scientific value” made in “the camps,” as they are called with pointed vagueness. In 1979, this history is taught to 13\u002Dyear\u002Dold triplet brothers—mercurial William, softhearted Lawrence, and thoughtful, watchful Vincent, who narrates most of the book. They live in a group home for boys, part of the Sycamore Homes program established by the government in 1944 to raise parentless children. Doted on by a threesome of Morning, Afternoon, and Night mothers, taught from the encyclopedic Book of Knowledge (an actual publication) and in weekly ethics discussions, the Sycamore boys have had happy if isolated childhoods marred only by incessant sickliness. Those who recuperate from “the Bug” get to move to “the Big House in Margate,” which, according to the brochure, is a wonderful place next to an amusement park. Only the triplets still remain when a new Conservative government decides to discontinue the Sycamore program to cut costs. Soon the Prime Minister puts the well\u002Dmeaning but clueless Minister of Loneliness in charge of rehoming the triplets. But where? That these children have been part of a creepy scientific experiment is obvious early on, but one shocking, horrifying surprise follows another in what is, at its most basic, a cat\u002Dand\u002Dmouse thriller. Meanwhile, Chidgey forces readers to delve into moral questions concerning science (and by extension, technology), pragmatism, personal responsibility, and institutional evil. Then there’s the novel’s unavoidable, disquieting contemplation of just who is given equal right in any given society (including ours). Chidgey, a New Zealander, borrows elements from Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go, but the character Vincent most resembles is Pinocchio. Broad themes and issues become deeply personal as his coming\u002Dof\u002Dage becomes a monumental struggle toward self\u002Ddiscovery."
Based on 2,123 Goodreads ratings
Book Details
Reading Info
About This Book
There's a deliberate vagueness to how this psychological thriller is described, and that's true to the book itself: it centers on a teenager carrying a secret heavy enough to warp their whole effort ...
Our Review
There's a deliberate vagueness to how this psychological thriller is described, and that's true to the book itself: it centers on a teenager carrying a secret heavy enough to warp their whole effort at looking normal, and the tension comes from watching how much energy that concealment costs rather than from any single dramatic reveal. The pacing stays tight throughout, built around the gap between what the protagonist is actually feeling and what they're showing everyone else, which is a specific kind of dread that doesn't rely on external threats to work.
It's aimed at ages 12 to 18 and suits a teen reader who wants morally complicated characters over a clean-cut hero, someone whose choices under pressure aren't easy to judge from the outside. The plot twists land because the emotional stakes were established first, so the thriller mechanics never overwhelm the character study underneath them. It's found real traction with readers already, a 4.38 average across 2,123 Goodreads ratings, for a book that's light on external spectacle and heavy on internal pressure, which says something about how well that kind of quiet tension can work when it's done carefully.
You Might Also Like
Looking for more books?
Visit our sister site BooksbyOrder.com