Praise for Remote Sympathy "With its multiple registers and complex view of humanity, Remote Sympathy marks a vital turn in Holocaust literature."--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) "Catherine Chidgey''s second novel to be set in Nazi Germany is about how much people are able to overlook--and in doing so, perpetuate evil [ . ] surely one of the scariest books of the year."--Elena Nicolaou, O, The Oprah Magazine, Most Anticipated Historical Fiction of 2021 "A well-researched addition [to] Holocaust fiction."--Kirkus Reviews "Are there new ways to tell stories of the Holocaust that are neither crass nor exploitative? In this moving and unusual novel, the New Zealand writer Catherine Chidgey shows that there are. Her novel is a fine achievement."--The Sunday Times, Best Historical Fiction of the Month "An insightful account of human nature set against the chaos of war. It is a moving examination of the human condition and well worth serious attention.
"--Historical Novels Society "Extraordinary and engrossing. Chidgey''s exploration of willful obliviousness is chilling and utterly gripping."--Radio New Zealand "Remote Sympathy is a haunting book with an intriguing premise at its heart. An extremely emotive and impactful story, set amidst a devastating historical episode that nevertheless provides an element of hope at its core. This book will stay with me for a long while yet: a magnificent accomplishment."--Buzz UK "Chidgey is a mesmerising storyteller and a brilliant historian, a combination that reminded me of the novelist Hilary Mantel. Remote Sympathy is one of the most original, brave and profound explorations of the darkest recesses of the human heart I have ever read. Like the Sympathetic Vitalizer, Lenard''s mysterious invention, her novel also manages to inspire feelings of genuine empathy and hope, welcome antidotes to today''s climate of cynicism and despair.
"--Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind "In its deft melding of fact and fiction, its skillful examination of human sympathy and faith, its dramatic tension and quiet lyricism, Remote Sympathy takes us bravely, compellingly into the uncertain heart of human complicity."--The New Zealand Hearld "This astonishing book, with its inextricable braid of sadness and determination. forces us to face and review our relations with humanity. This is exactly the book we need now."--Kete "To read Remote Sympathy in 2020 is to read it within the context of the rise of powerful white supremacists around the world, made more dangerous by the global crisis of Covid [ . ] Remote Sympathy is beautifully written and [ . ] wears the weight of Chidgey''s years of detailed research lightly."--The Spinoff (New Zealand) Praise for Catherine Chidgey "Her third [novel] and best so far.
Chidgey could tackle any subject and produce something wonderful from it. She has that gift of the imagination that finds metaphor, contiguity and paradox wherever she looks, and a seemingly innate feel for structuring events, times and historical detail to make one whole, satisfying narrative out of a myriad unexpected parts."--New Zealand Herald on The Transformation "Chidgey is a gifted writer, and in this, her confident, commanding prose and vivid atmospherics hold the attention."--The Guardian on The Transformation "A story out of Edgar Allan Poe, with the requisite revelations about human nature, obsession, and sexuality."--Miami Herald on The Transformation "The Beat of the Pendulum is an important and deeply imaginative novel. Chidgey experiments with and opens up new structural territory for what contemporary fiction might be. Readers should be prepared to be challenged; equally, they should be prepared to be thrilled."--New Zealand Herald on The Beat of the Pendulum "A remarkable book with a stunningly original twist.
"--Times 2 Magazine on The Wish Child "A richly imaginative, memorable story."--The Times UK on The Wish Child.