Overview

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD An exquisitely readable, polyphonic novel of domestic drama and human connection set in and around a concentration camp in Germany during the second world war and its aftermath. Moving away from their lovely apartment in Munich isn't nearly as wrenching an experience for Frau Greta Hahn as she had feared. Their new home is even lovelier than the one they left behind, and best of all--right on their doorstep--are some of the finest craftsmen from all over Europe. Frau Hahn and the other officers' wives living in this small community can order anything they desire, whether new curtains made from the finest French silks, or furniture designed to the most exacting specifications. Life here in Buchenwald would appear to be idyllic. Lying just beyond the forest that surrounds them--so close and yet so remote--is the looming presence of a work camp. Frau Hahn's husband, SS Sturmbannführer Dietrich Hahn, is to take up a powerful new position as the camp's administrator. As the prison population begins to rise, the job becomes ever more consuming. Corruption is rife at every level, the supplies are inadequate, and the sewerage system is under increasing strain. When Frau Hahn is forced into an unlikely and poignant alliance with one of Buchenwald's prisoners, Dr. Lenard Weber, her naïve ignorance about what is going on so nearby is challenged. A decade earlier, Dr. Weber had invented a machine: the Sympathetic Vitaliser. At the time he believed that its subtle resonances might cure cancer. But does it really work? One way or another, it might yet save a life. A tour de force about the evils of obliviousness, Remote Sympathy compels us to question our continuing and willful ability to look the other way in a world that is once more in thrall to the idea that everything--even facts, truth and morals--is relative. A novel of devastating beauty that will leave readers shaken and exhilarated. ""So tragic, so moving, so darkly funny.""--Stacey D'Erasmo, author of A Seahorse Year

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9781609456276

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Reviews

""Highly original and deeply researched, Catherine Chidgey's Remote Sympathy is a powerful and disturbing study in terrible lies and the human need to believe them... Few readers will close the covers of this book unshaken.""―Annie Proulx, author of Barkskins ★ ""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 ""'Simply being' is a major achievement for two of the three central characters in Catherine Chidgey's powerful new novel, which is set on both sides of the barbed wire barriers at Buchenwald.""--The New York Times Book Review ""A well-researched addition [to] Holocaust fiction.""--Kirkus Reviews ""Immersive, profound, and beautifully plotted.""―The Guardian ""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 ""The writing is beautifully wrought and the research a result of years of study. The novelist illustrates the senseless cruelty of the regime and portrays its characters convincingly, not as monsters but deluded, indulged and frightened victims of their own stupidity.""--The Jewish Chronicle ""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.""--BuzzMag (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 for The Transformation 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 Chidgey is a gifted writer, and in this, her confident, commanding prose and vivid atmospherics hold the attention. --The Guardian A story out of Edgar Allan Poe, with the requisite revelations about human nature, obsession, and sexuality. --Miami Herald for The Beat of the Pendulum 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 for The Wish Child A remarkable book with a stunningly original twist. --Times 2 Magazine, The Times, UK A richly imaginative, memorable story. --The Times, UK

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 Extraordinary and engrossing... Chidgey's exploration of willful obliviousness is chilling and utterly gripping. --Radio New Zealand 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 A well-researched addition [to] Holocaust fiction. --Kirkus Reviews 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

Author Information

Catherine Chidgey is an award-winning and bestselling New Zealand novelist and short-story writer. Her first novel, In a Fishbone Church, won the Betty Trask Award, and was longlisted for the Orange Prize. Golden Deeds was Time Out's book of the year, a Best Book in the LA Times Book Review and a Notable Book in the New York Times Book Review. Her fourth novel, The Wish Child, was published in 2016 and won the 2017 Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize, the country's richest literary prize.

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