Title: Sundial
Author: Catriona Ward
Date Published: March 1st 2022
Publisher: Tor Nightfire
Pages: 349
The Muddled Reader Rating: ☕☕☕½
🔍 Synopsis
You can’t escape what’s in your blood…
All Rob wanted was a normal life. She almost got it, too: a husband, two kids, a nice house in the suburbs. But Rob fears for her oldest daughter, Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her too much of the family she left behind. She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice.
Callie is worried about her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely, and speaks of past secrets. And Callie fears that only one of them will leave Sundial alive…
The mother and daughter embark on a dark, desert journey to the past in the hopes of redeeming their future.
🍀 Why I Picked This Book
The concept sounded intriguing to me; a mysterious mother daughter relationship where we’re not sure who is telling the truth. Past family dysfunction that may have carried itself up the generational river, told in a modern gothic setting? You couldn’t get more “my cup of tea” if you tried. I also found The Last House on Needless Street by the same author, highly riveting and was blown sideways with the twist. It seems Catriona Ward is the queen of unreliable narration, and I’m here for it.
🌈 Overall Feeling & Vibes
If you’re looking for a book to make you smile and feel all the feels, don’t pick this. From page 1 we’re dropped into a marriage so toxic, it almost feels rude to be eavesdropping. There is no respite from the foreboding sense of doom. We don’t know who to trust and we go round in sundial circles attempting to find someone to align with. Overall, this book left me feeling simply sad but not in a snotty bawling my eyes out type manner, a deflated balloon type of melancholy.
🧠 Mental Health Themes Present
🧵Toxic marriage
🧵Mother/daughter relationships
🧵Family dysfunction
🧵Animal abuse
🧵Psychological damage
🧵Nature/nurture
💥 Moments That Hit Hard
This book got me thinking deeply about the whole nature/nurture debate. You’ll find yourself questioning this too. There are also some animal cruelty scenes, but they are very necessary to the plot.
👥 Who Would I Recommend This Book To
If you enjoy the unreliable narrator style of writing, this book will be for you. This book will also intrigue those that like to participate in ethical debates. I wouldn’t recommend this book to people looking for a face paced thriller. This journey is slow, disorientating, and not linear. We go backwards and forwards and around, a lot.
📝 Final Reflections
I found this book quite slow to get through and it’s left me feeling quite down. There was nobody in the book I found myself rooting for which didn’t help. It raises some thought provoking debates though, and it’s not a book I’ll forget quickly, therefore, if you’re ok with the vibes I outlined I would recommend you reading it.
🌿 Comfort / Distress Balance
Emotionally heavy: 💔💔💔💔
Hopeful elements: 🌤️
Comfort read potential: ☕
Muddled Reader Rating
☕☕☕½