Sunbirth

by An Yu

A Quiet Apocalyptic Novel About Connection, Loss, and What It Means to Keep Going

ARC Review

Publisher: Grove Press
Release Date: August 5, 2025
Format: Digital (via NetGalley)

I didn’t know what I was walking into with this one, and maybe that made the experience better.

Sunbirth takes place in a small, forgotten village called Five Poems Lake, where the sun is slowly vanishing from the sky. Day by day, a sliver disappears. The temperature drops and people begin to lose hope.

But this isn’t exactly a dystopian novel. It’s stranger.

At the center are two sisters: one tending to their great-grandfather’s traditional medicine shop, the other working in a wellness parlor across town. Both are holding their lives together while the world around them unravels. Their father died years earlier under mysterious circumstances and as the novel progresses, their loss, fear, and questions about the future begin to converge.

And then there are the Beacons.

Ordinary people, transformed. Their mouths and heads glow with searing light like small suns, walking around the village. Are they a warning? A salvation? A metaphor? I’m still not sure. But the image of them, especially the way it’s described, with light pouring out of their mouths has stuck with me.

There’s a dreamlike quality to the writing. The final pages especially left me wondering: Was this real? A dream? A metaphor for survival? Or just the story closing in on itself?

But through all of it, the sisters felt real. The relationship between them was what grounded the book. You could feel their bond shifting under pressure, love, resentment, grief, and silence, but also the deep loyalty underneath it. The emotional connection stayed strong, even when the plot leaned abstract.

And that’s what I appreciated most: these were ordinary people placed in an impossible situation and they stayed ordinary. They didn’t become heroes or philosophers. They just did what they could with what they had. And that was enough.

Would I Recommend It?

Yes, especially for readers who like literary speculative fiction that leans surreal but stays emotionally grounded. If you’re looking for a fast plot or clear explanations, this probably isn’t it. But if you’re okay with lingering questions, quiet relationships, and beautifully strange writing, Sunbirth delivers.

Thank you to Grove Press and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to read this early.

Sunbirth will be released August 5, 2025

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