Today’s Topic: Sundial by Catriona Ward
From the Top: About 80,000 delicious words, Sundial will take no time to read at all. This novel, crafted by the talented Catriona Ward, will have readers drowning in captivating prose before they realize what is actually happening. Very beautiful, very twisty, very teasy. Readers and lovers of well-crafted diction will want to come back again and again and again.
My Quip: One of the top rules of compelling storytelling is to leave no loose ends. I feel Ward does this very well, but in a way that isn’t entirely obvious upon a single read. I found I did have to go back and forth a little (and wanted to) to understand the storyline. It reminded me of Christopher Priest’s The Prestige with themes and motifs of the nature of perception, twin psychology, epigenetics, and generational trauma, but with a little bit of Karen Joy Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves splashed in. (Catriona Ward does claim the latter as a source of inspiration to her novel.) Also, I’m pleased to say no character is wasted. Each character serves a legitimate purpose in pushing and pulling at the CC, Rob. (Though the concept of a CC itself is also challenged due to the aforementioned themes.) Often in horror, and Fantasy/Romance genres, readers come across characters who are one-dimensional and exist only for the sole purpose of increasing risk or taking up space within a narrative.
Not so in Sundial.
Another thing: as a creative type, “fact is stranger than fiction,” is a quip I’ve always hated, furiously. However, Ward may be the first evangelical to effectively prove how mystifying (not just horrifying) the truth can be. Further inspired by the CIA’s MK Ultra experiments, this novel may in fact be a glimpse into possible philosophy and thought of what the modern world may perceive as “supernatural” Phenomena—among many other things.
Tie it Off: This is totally my shit. I would recommend this book to horror fans who love prose and all things psychological. And Catriona Ward’s word-smithery is absolutely out of this world. However, I would caution readers who struggle with content concerning child, partner, and animal abuse. If you are particularly sensitive to these themes, I would tread carefully. Even I struggled a bit and I’m pretty desensitized. Have fun with this one!