<p>In a special Book Club episode, Julia Gillard sits down with Global Institute for Women’s Leadership Chair Professor Michelle Ryan to discuss The Book of Guilt by New Zealand author Catherine Chidgey.</p><br><p>The Book of Guilt is a deeply unsettling exploration of autonomy, identity, and morality.</p><br><p>It’s set in an alternate England in 1979 – where Hitler’s assassination in 1943 led to a negotiated peace and a chillingly different trajectory for post-war Britain.</p><br><p>The story follows three identical boys: Vincent, William, and Lawrence, who are the last remaining residents of a bleak, run-down state children’s institution. </p><br><p>The boys are part of a mysterious government project, called The Sycamore Scheme, subjected to meticulous routines, daily medication, and round-the-clock surveillance.</p><br><p>In a conversation recorded at GIWL at ANU in Canberra, Julia and Michelle discuss the book’s twists and turns, and how it explores humankind’s treatment of those deemed “the other’.</p><br><p>Show notes:</p><br><p>The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey is published by Penguin Books and is available at all good bookstores.</p><br><p><br></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
