The Sundial

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The Sundial by Shirley Jackson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Shirley Jackson, you have written all the beautiful words and left none for the rest of us.

This novel is deeply and blackly humorous. It consists almost entirely of dialogue which is snappy and character revealing, conversation had among wretched and self-serving and just nigh evil people that is a scream to read.

The plot of the novel is that a group of people come to believe that the world is ending and that they must prepare to become those chosen to survive and populate a new Eden. To say more would definitely spoil what is an extremely well written story.



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Y'all, I absolutely love the way that Jackson writes these disturbing, creepy stories in which the supernatural aspects can never be definitively proven. Is this a story of prophecy and supernatural visitation? Is Aunt Fanny really being visited by her dead father who warns them of the impending apocalypse? Or is Aunt Fanny justifiably upset that her position in the household has become precarious due to her sister-in-law's machinations? Is Gloria really seeing visions of the future in the mirror, or is she just saying what she thinks the insane people she is trapped with want to hear? The weather is going wonky by the end along with all sorts of other suspect events, so is the apocalypse really happening, or have they all just worked themselves into a froth of hysteria? We'll never know because Jackson ends the novel just before we can know for sure whether the prophecy is real or not.

Orianna is accused of murdering her son. Did she? Who murders Orianna? My money is on little Fancy although really anyone could be a candidate.

Beyond the sheer joy of the unanswered questions and the totally ambiguous ending, this novel has a lot of interesting things to say about class; Aunt Fanny puts on airs like the aristocracy, yet her family is revealed near the end of the novel to be nouveau riche. Aunt Fanny remembers her father like a benevolent lord enriching the surrounding peasants, and they remember him as an asshole. LOL It also has a lot to explore about faith and belief and mass delusion. The psychology of all the characters is extremely interesting, especially as all reluctantly begin to believe the world is about to end.


Highly, highly, recommended as is all of her work.