The Sundial (Penguin Classics)
Before there was Hill House, there was the Halloran mansion of Jackson’s stunningly creepy fourth novel, The Sundial
When the Halloran clan gathers at the family home for a funeral, no one is surprised when the somewhat peculiar Aunt Fanny wanders off into the secret garden. But then she returns to report an astonishing vision of an apocalypse from which only the Hallorans and their hangers-on will be spared, and the family finds itself engulfed in growing madness, fear, and violence as they prepare for a terrible new world.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Community Reviews
* The first 50 pages of The Sundial went so slow for me, but I'm incredibly glad I stuck it out. It's now one of my favorite books (and my first go at gothic)
1. Like many classic novels, it's about a wealthy family. However, the Hallorans are unlikeable, selfish, and stuck up to a hilarious degree. They've received a premonition that the apocalypse is coming, and happily they will be the only ones to survive — granted they stay in the Halloran mansion. All throughout the book, Jackson shows us an enduring theme: the wealthy are cloistered; their propriety and snobbery makes them want to live far far away from the masses.
2. Another theme is longing: Every major character gets their time in the sun, in which Jackson demonstrates their inner desires
3. It really helps to dog-ear or note every time the sundial is mentioned! Its positioning on the lawn, its inscription, every cryptic mention. Towards the end, the narrator writes "The sundial shows no hours at night".
The Sundial was a slow burn for me — by the end, it became a masterclass in how to write gothic humor.
