An Yu
Grove Press
5 August 2025
256
eBook - PDF
Dystopian
ARC via Edelweiss
In Five Poems Lake, a small village surrounded by impenetrable deserts, the sun is slowly disappearing overhead. A young woman keeps one apprehensive eye on the sky above as she tends the pharmacy of traditional medicine that belonged to her great grandfather. She has few customers, and even fewer her older sister Dong Ji, her last living relative, works at a wellness parlor across town for those who can afford it—which, during these strange and difficult days, is not many.
Five Poems Lake had fallen on hard times long before the sun began shrinking, but now, every few days, a new sliver disappears. As the temperature drops and the lake freezes over, the population of the town realizes that they will soon die—if not of the cold and starvation, then of despair. When the Beacons begin to appear—ordinary people with heads replaced by searing, blinding light, like miniature suns—the town’s residents wonder if they may hold the answer to their salvation, or if they are just another sign of impending ruin. Soon, a photograph found in the possessions of their father, who disappeared mysteriously twelve years ago, will offer another clue in the mystery of the Beacons, and Dong Ji and her sister wonder if they may finally learn what happened to their father.
Ghost Music by An Yu was a five-star read for me. I was therefore exciting to see what Sunbirth had to offer. Unfortunately, Sunbirth did not grip me in the same way Ghost Music did. I'd really connected with that earlier work right from the first chapter, but this time I didn't feel the same immediate pull. It may simply be that the themes of Ghost Music spoke to me more. Sunbirth was a novel with an interesting premise, and I was intrigued by what would happen as the sun disappeared and what the Beacons would come to represent. The tie-in with the mystery of the sisters' missing father mostly worked well, but after all these questions and the build-up, I found the ending a little disappointing. As such, I am giving this book 3.5 stars. It was certainly a fascinating premise and had some interesting things to say, but overall it didn't thrill me in the same way Ghost Music did, so it's that earlier work I would recommend to readers new to An Yu's writing, rather than this one, as a starting point. Although, I allow that personal interests and preferences when it comes to the themes and ideas in the two books could play a part in my views.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I picked up Sunbirth because I loved Braised Pork and was drawn to An Yu’s signature style—quiet, melancholic, and strangely hypnotic. This time, she takes us to a remote desert town where the sun is slowly disappearing. The premise itself is eerie, but what lingers isn’t the apocalyptic setting—it’s the quiet, aching loneliness that seeps into every page.
ReplyDeleteAt the heart of the novel are two sisters, each surviving in their own way. The younger one tends their family’s traditional medicine pharmacy, watching the sky with growing unease. Her sister, Dong Ji, works at a wellness parlor, tending to a dwindling number of customers. Their relationship isn’t built on dramatic moments but on unspoken care, a deep understanding that comes from shared history and loss. There’s also a lingering mystery—their father’s unexplained death years ago—and then there are the Beacons: figures with blinding lights for heads, appearing as the world darkens.
What I love about An Yu’s writing is the way she blends surrealism with deep emotional truths. Even as the world is literally fading, life still goes on—people still wake up, go to work, and find small ways to cope. It’s an understated kind of dread, one that feels more real than an outright catastrophe.
That said, Sunbirth won’t be for everyone. The pace is slow, and the tension simmers rather than erupts. But if you enjoy novels that feel like a dream—unsettling, poetic, and impossible to shake—this one is well worth your time.