Title: Sundial
Author: Catriona Ward
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Published: 2022
Description: 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.
Review: “Sundial” is a horror-thriller with a psychological edge to it. Family
ties play a big rol in this book.
Rob is a school teacher. She is married to Irving and they have two children,
Callie and Annie. Rob grew up on the ranch Sundial in the Mojave Desert.
Sundial was a dog kennel where experiments with dogs were done by the CIA. The atrocities
they witnessed as children shaped Rob and her sister jack into nevertheless
troubled individuals. Now Rob herself is experiencing aberrant behavior ins one
of the daughters. Her daughter Callie collects animal bones, talks to imaginary
figures and seems to bother her younger sister Annie about everything. Mother
and daughter wage a silent psychological battle that impacts their entire
family. She doesn’t have much use for her husband Irving, either. Irving is one
of those types who constantly cheats on her, and he also exhibits quite a few
sadistic traits towards Rob. Rob decides to go away with Callie for a while. Back
to her childhood home Sundial. She thinks that the past of both herself and
Callie may play a role and she wants to come to terms with it.
Catriona Ward has written “Sundial” for the most part from Rob’s
perspective. But over the course of the story she allows other characters to
speak up as well. This does make it necessary to keep your attention. Ward’s
style is intriguing, she is not straightforward. The further you read, the more
questions arise. And it’s not until the final page that everything becomes
clear. It’s not an easy book to read and it’s really weird. The many flashbacks,
the thoughts of the characters, the strange events, everything is strangely
intertwined.
“Sundial” is an intriguing book about a complicated family history and
evokes many emotions. Amazement, horror, misunderstanding. Surely this really
is one dysfunctional family. The atmosphere evoked by the house and the Mojave
Desert is almost as if the house itself is also a character. Dark intimidating,
yet for Rob the basis of her existence. The early chapters are more psychological,
but later on it’s more horror.
“Sundial” is a good book, with a lot of depth, but it might be too weird
for most people.
Rating: 4/ 5
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