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simplyammee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Miscarriage, Medical content, Mental illness, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Addiction
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
imstephtacular's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Cursing, Abandonment, Confinement, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Alcohol, Body horror, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Vomit
starrysteph's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The setup is an unassuming tale of domestic dysfunction, though it soon elevates and spirals into the realm of horror. We follow Rob, an English teacher & mother struggling with her deeply unstable family. Her husband Irving is abusive and dangerous, her older daughter Callie has been acting strange, and her younger daughter Annie is sweet and frail.
Callie has begun to display some peculiar & disturbing behavior - she's collecting and displaying animal bones, talking to imaginary creatures, and may wish to harm her little sister. Rob feels she must take action and flees with Callie to Sundial - her family's compound in the Mojave desert - in an attempt to improve their bond and understand Callie's behavior. (Irving wholeheartedly disagrees.)
Once they arrive, the plot expands in a flash and Rob's tumultuous history is slowly revealed. As dark secrets come to light, Rob knows she's at a critical decision point for her family's safety.
We as readers are constantly being manipulated, tossed back and forth by the unreliability of the characters’ minds. Catriona Ward is skilled at sharing little specific moments that illuminate the core of a person (thinking of the French restaurant scene here). Though are a lot of plot threads, it is overall a straightforward story.
The setting is excellent - you feel the grittiness and expansiveness of the desert. The depiction of the Sundial compound is also really well done; I could picture every part of it.
One of the big thematic questions is nature vs nurture, specifically in regards to violent impulses . Some of the characters tackle this through extreme medical experimentation (huge trigger warning for animal cruelty & death, specifically with dogs). Though many of the actual instances of cruelty happen "offscreen", please be wary if you are sensitive to depictions of animal harm.
Overall - I enjoyed Sundial (if enjoyed is even the right word to describe the experience). I'll be chewing on these concepts for a while (I have some THEORIES!).
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Violence
nisima's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Torture, Kidnapping, Confinement, Animal death, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abortion
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
Much of the plot and setting revolves around animal experimentation specifically on dogs and a coyote. Things go horribly wrong, and the premise of the experimentation is debateably ableist. The rest of the plot and setting basically revolve around a woman escaping a deeply abusive relationship, and worries that one of her two daughters might be a serial killer. There are multiple violent confrontations. The end is happy but may be too ambiguous for some given the tension.archaicrobin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If you’re up for a crazy thriller/sciFi/horror mashup with beautiful writing, grab this one. I’m still thinking about it!
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infidelity, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Violence, Gun violence, Grief, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship
nicoles_reading_corner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Grief, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Medical content, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse and Miscarriage
readmeem's review against another edition
2.0
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Murder, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Mental illness, family, twins, abuse, crueltybeccam22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
catwhisperer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Medical trauma, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
darkefyres's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Medical content, Blood, Addiction, Gore, and Pregnancy