A Children’s Bible IWF12951294

Finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction

An indelible novel of teenage alienation and adult complacency in an unraveling world.

Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millets sublime new novelher first since the National Book Award long-listedSweet Lamb of Heavenfollows a group of twelve eerily mature children on a forced vacation with their families at a sprawling lakeside mansion.

Contemptuous of their parents, who pass their days in a stupor of liquor, drugs, and sex, the children feel neglected and suffocated at the same time. When a destructive storm descends on the summer estate, the groups ringleadersincluding Eve, who narrates the storydecide to run away, leading the younger ones on a dangerous foray into the apocalyptic chaos outside.

As the scenes of devastation begin to mimic events in the dog-eared picture Bible carried around by her beloved little brother, Eve devotes herself to keeping him safe from harm.

A Childrens Bibleis a prophetic, heartbreaking story of generational divideand a haunting vision of what awaits us on the far side of Revelation.