Sundial - Domestic, Experimental, Supernatural Horror
I received an ARC for Catriona Ward’s novel Sundial through Netgalley. The book is due to come out March 1st, 2022!
This is the second book I’ve read by Catriona Ward and I can tell you that she is someone to keep your eye on in the horror industry. Her writing is like a dream. The character development is thorough and genuine; they all have their motives and reasons and it is always made clear as to what those are. The story is unique and extremely engaging. Sundial hits the mark.
Sundial follows Rob, a woman in an abusive marriage with two daughters who are feeling the tension and mirroring the behavior of their parents. The narrative flickers between Rob’s present life and remembering her past at the desert farm she grew up on (called Sundial), and the relationship she had with her sister, Jack, there. It also bounces into chapters of a fictional novel Rob is working on that draws on characters in her own life and puts them into fictional settings and circumstances.
There is a lot of depth in this story and it is clear that it took a lot of thought on the part of the author. The puzzle pieces move around until they fit together. There is scientific experimentation on animals and people (TW), ghosts, and domestic horror. I will say that the addition of the fictional novel chapters felt like an extra that was not truly needed, but was too negligible in length to get upset about. The details are beautifully written, describing smells and tastes in a glorious wave of synesthesia that fully immerses you.
