Sunbirth is the story of Five Poems Lake and its inhabitants as the sun begins to disappear, leaving two sisters to wonder what will happen when the sun is gone and whether an old photograph of their late father holds the key to the mysterious beacons who begin to appear.

Sunbirth is a strange, surreal novel that explores the bonds of family along with trying to come to terms with death of self, family and world.

I found this book quite fascinating although the end seems to tail off into ambiguity and I wasn't clear on what message (other than family and home are important) I was supposed to glean from it.

The writing is good and it certainly kept my interest for most of the novel. The characters are all quite sympathetic, drawn with a very light touch.

It felt, by the end, that you were simply left to make your own mind up about what each significant event meant.

An interesting novel that would appeal to fans of Murakami or Kawakami.

Thanks to Netgalley and Vintage Digital for the advance review copy.

Really interesting and unique concept, but not fully executed in the way I had hoped! While the plot was compelling, and An Yu's writing gives you just the right amount of info to keep you hooked, the ending felt like it fell a bit short. This gave me heavy Murakami vibes, specifically Hard-Boiled Wonderland & the End of the World.

Thank you Grove Atlantic & NetGalley for the arc.

While trying to survive in a world where humans turn into beacons and the sun is slowly disappearing turning the world into complete and utter darkness — two sisters are also on verge of finding out what truely happened to their father. Do they fight it and try to escape or just succumb to the inevitable.

Incredible. Atmospheric. I still don’t understand the ending but I loved it!!! I will read anything An Yu writes!

This is my second read from An Yu, so I knew going into this that the book would be a bit strange & written beautifully. I was not disappointed and the premise of the sun slowly disappearing was a really cool concept. We follow a young pharmacist & the people she knows as they are facing the quickly departing sun. After twelve years the sun finally seems set to disappear completely and we see the various reactions of the people that are living in this isolated desert community. It can be a bit dark sometimes (literally & figuratively). Some people go on like normal, distract themselves best they can, or others give up entirely (definitely big trigger warning for suicide in this one).
So much of this book is about what we try and do for each other when everything is so unknown. It definitely gave me major The Memory Police vibes but without the authoritarian government element. Instead everyone, including the police, have to adapt to the ever changing environment as the sun disappears.
I do wish that characters had been individually developed a bit more. The Su siblings, for instance, felt a bit pushed into the story at the end which could have been more emotional if we'd known them better. I also wish we could have gotten even more from the past, as I felt a little unsure why the police officer did what he did (kept vague for spoilers). Overall, though, a good meditation on how humanity responds to crisis. Fear & kindness & anger & love.

Very beautifully written, definitely more character driven although there were definite tense plot moments. Some plot points that were presented were lacking or underdeveloped in my opinion. I think maybe it would not have been as much of a disappointment towards the end for me if there wasn't so much tense escalating build up that disenchantingly to me, then fell short in the follow through. Definite strong themes of sibling relationships throughout the book, the importance of home and family, and the questioning of individualism vs socialism and our obligations to not just ourselves but to each other.

Will.post full reviews on social media soon!

"The sun was half bright, half warm, half full."
Sunbirth is a surreal and compelling read. An Yu delivers a genre-bendind mash-up of magical realism, dystopian and speculative fiction. Sunbirth tells the story of two sisters whose town spirals into disarray amidst the sun's fading light. I recommend this read especially for those who enjoy unique reads and stories of sisterhood.

I thought the premise of this one sounded like something I'd love but for some reason I just couldn't get into it. Ended up DNFing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the e-ARC in exchange for honest review.

The premise of this book sounded right up my alley, but I did not find it engaging. The characters were not well developed and the story was not interesting enough to hold my interest.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the book was very lacking in world-building, despite the intriguing concept of a disappearing sun and city surrounded by sand.

Overall, I cannot recommend this one, despite its intriguing premise.

I am such a big fan of An Yu's writing and I will keep reading her stuff until the sun goes dark (lol am i right)

Sunbirth was the dreamy dystopian novel I've been waiting for. Yu writes in a way where you get sucked right into her worlds, and while she doesn't answer all the questions you have she doesn't leave you frustrated to no end either. I appreciated the pacing and compelling nature of this book, and as long as Yu keeps writing, I will keep reading.

Rating: 5/5 stars

‘Sometimes,’ I said, ‘goodbye isn’t something you say out loud.’

An Yu cemented her place in my list of official favourite authors with her third novel: a brilliantly lyrical, magical realist story of the lives of an isolated village community in the dimming light of a vanishing sun. Part quiet apocalypse, part deeply personal exploration of grief and longing; all together a masterpiece that I adored.

The Story:
“Of everything that had vanished over the past twelve years, I did not miss much. Five Poems Lake had been in decay long before the sun began to disappear.”
In Five Poems Lake, a small village surrounded by impenetrable deserts, the sun is slowly disappearing overhead. It started slowly, 12 years ago; a dragged-out apocalypse that has grown into disastrous shape incrementally. 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. Together with her last living relative -her sister-, she grieves the loss of her dad, who disappeared mysteriously twelve years ago. Their stories of grief and desire for illumination and enlightenment, join with those of the other town-inhabitants, against the backdrop of an ever-darkening world.

What I loved:
An Yu is a master of magical realism and quietly melancholic atmosphere. The small town of Five Poems, lit by the light of a dying sun, forms such a visceral backdrop to the personal stories that play out beneath it. Although this is by no means a horror-story, or even your typical apocalyptic tale, the image of this isolated twilight-town haunted by people spilling light from their open mouths is absolutely haunting in itself.
I have to admit that it took me a little bit to grasp what the author was going for with the metaphors, but once it clicked it felt its effects in my bones. When it comes to the true meaning: Yu leaves much up to interpretation, yet not for a lack of clarity on her part. Rather, she weaves so many themes into her narrative that all tie into each other, and make for a valid interpretation for the reader to pick from. She balances themes of grief, desire, generational secrets, the desire for answers and understanding (regardless of the pain to yourself and others this might cause), and a desperate search for legacy and the divine at the end of the world.
It creates a nesting-doll of small, intertwining apocalypses; the end of a life, the end of a community, and the ultimate isolation that brings, even when all of it is happening at the same time.

I want to highlight a single line, that to me perfectly encapsulates the meaning of the Beacons, and how they tie in to overwhelming grief and fear. It’s this line that made a lot of the story click for me, because I’ve felt this feeling before.
“In a way, I thought, our bodies are just containers. I’d always assumed that we have the capacity to absorb the world, to endlessly store everything that we come across. But as we sat there in silence, I began to question whether there were, in fact, things that could overflow from us. Is that what the Beacons were: people who had become too full?”
I just had to sit with that one for a little bit…

I can see how some readers might be frustrated by the ending. If you’re primarily focused on the mystery aspect (which clearly is there, but takes the backseat), you might not come away fully satisfied. Although some answers are found, there’s no clear climax or resolution to the things that truly matter. The story flickers out like a candle, not with a bang, but with a whimper. And frankly, I feel that’s the only way a story like this could have ended.
I highly recommend this book, specifically for fans of Emily St. John Mandel or An Yu’s previous works. Expect this one to make an reappearance on my favourites-list at the end of the year.

Many thanks to Grove Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was a very interesting read. Its been a while since I read it, and I didnt review it on time, but I know I love the atmosphere and the writing. Will get a physical copy to do a proper reread!

In the middle of the desert, in the desolate and indiscriminate town of Five Poems Lake, live two sisters of Chinese ancestry. Surrounded by sand and without roads out, the local people fear the looming threat of their sun’s complete disappearance. The first sliver vanished 12 years ago, and the residents do their best to continue resiliently living their normal lives, maybe to a fault.

But the younger sister, the unnamed main character narrating the novel (let’s call her 妹妹), recognizes the untenable belief that their future, livelihood, and perception of reality itself should not warrant more attention. Perhaps 妹妹, who runs her family’s pharmacy, demonstrates a particular care about the sun’s absence because the girls also mourn their Ba’s absence. Soon after the sun began to lose its wholeness, Dong Yiyao died unexpectedly, and his fellow police officers couldn’t figure out the cause (efficient cause) of his death in the lake. 10 at the time, 妹妹 remains inquisitive towards her respectable Ba’s and the sun’s life.

One evening, Driver Hua catches 妹妹 on the street and begins disputing with her. She’s trapped, and he’s over-served. When he intends to assault her, 妹妹 witnesses the most curious phenomenon: light pours out of Driver Hua, alighting his face, and his head becomes a sun. At first a random occurrence, soon more townsfolk transform into Beacons. Together, 妹妹, Dong Ji, and their long-time friend, Gao Shuang, try to solve the case concerning Dong Yiyao’s untimely death and how it’s linked to the Beacon activity. However, time may not be on their side; the increase in Beacons causes (material? final?) the sun’s decrease.

The gang eventually discovers that Dong Yiyao witnessed an emotionally distraught man and a girl seeking freedom transform into beacons 12 years ago. To protect his family and his people from this fate, Ba drowns in the lake with the beacon girl. But when 妹妹 and Dong Ji find the buried photograph Ba took of the beacon man, the idea resurfaces as well, and reality follows.

Sunbirth is a sci-fi, mysterious, and maybe dystopian sister story with perhaps more themes than I’ve been able to puzzle out. I limit my listed ruminations: (1) What does the sun (whole and partial) symbolize? (2) What’s the significance of one’s ties to home in the story (i.e., no roads out, no one who leaves returns)? (3) Are the ideas of transcendence and reincarnation in this world? (4) Does the author critique (a) our (the reader’s) stewardship of the environment or (b) how society can look away from dire circumstances?

I may have more questions than answers, even after finishing and sitting with the novel. But I appreciate the lingering uncertainty that Yu uses to keep readers’ attention. And, to keep the story approachable, the author smartly creates a likable character in 妹妹. The chapters written to give Dong Yiyao’s perspective caught me off guard; I wondered if there could’ve been a smoother way to insert the needed information he offers, such as through YeYe instead. I haven’t decided if the town’s arid setting stifles in a welcome way or not. I rate Sunbirth 3.5 stars.

My thanks to Grove Press and NetGalley for an ARC.

Pensive, philosophical, and surreal. Sunbirth asks us: what would you do at the end of the world?

This has the weird literary feel of lots of translated works, the most obvious being Haruki Murakami and Sayaka Murata, but I got heavy vibes of I Who Have Never Known Men and also kind of a little Olga Tokarczuk? Sparse, affectless prose that creates a liminal, suspended atmosphere.

In Sunbirth, the prose fits in well with the setting, taking place in the middle of a desert in a small village by the lake. The unnamed main character's narration has an almost observational tone, and even in tense moments, characters are rather restrained. An Yu's writing seamlessly blends in magical realism in a way that feels naturally ingrained. From the beginning, you get a sense of the state of the world and how the people in it are coping and surviving.

I appreciated the dynamic between the main character and her sister, Dong Yi. They act as perfect foils of each other, drawn together by a sisterly bond and an almost filial duty to each other despite being nothing alike.

The main character has a sense of optimistic nihilism, giving up the illusion of control and instead choosing to focus on the routine of caring for the things that matter to her. Dong Yi is her opposite, reeling for control and investigating deeper for answers even when it hurts her. Their relationship unfolds organically and their love for each other is clear in every moment.

The restrained prose creates distance; it’s more intellectually engaging than emotionally resonant. An Yu really wants you to reflect, especially on the characters and how they deal with the psychological torture of living at the end of times.

What the book attempts to explore can be applied pretty obviously to the modern era, especially with the concept of rising climate change, but really with any unprecedented time. People cope in every way imaginable: religion and superstition, empiricism, willful ignorance, nihilistic hedonism. An Yu, through the voice of her main character, never positions any reaction as morally good or bad. Instead, she asks the reader to empathize with people coping through fear, and to reflect on their own worldview.

While the pace is slow, you don't really have time to question anything, because you have no choice but to go along with it just as the characters do.

That quiet philosophical pull--accepting uncertainty and pressing on--is what carries you through the book’s desolation.

I liked author An Yu's book "Ghost Music" quite a bit, and I really enjoyed this one, too. It was very strange, just the right amount of weird. Yu didn’t explain everything, but she also didn’t leave me frustrated and wanting answers at the end, either. The basic gist of the story is that for the last twelve years, the Sun has gradually been disappearing. Recently, this phenomenon has started to accelerate. The days are growing darker and colder. No one knows why, and now some people are turning into Beacons, meaning that their heads are replaced by balls of light. The description of how this transformation happened was pretty unsettling.

There were some pretty long chapters, but I didn't mind that since the writing was good. I was invested in the story and the mysteries that unfolded, and I loved the relationship between the two sisters. Yu writes excellent dialogue and beautiful prose. Reading this felt dreamlike and oddly cozy even though the actual story was kind of bleak and had some depressing moments. I thought it was so intriguing! I know this review is short, but I don't have a whole lot to say other than I liked it and I plan to read Yu's "Braised Pork" soon.

A few lovely passages:

“The familiarity of his voice was like the comfort of an orange light at night.”

“What a paradoxical state of existence we’re in, where our minds can stretch across dimensions, deep into reality and far into fiction, assign meaning to everything, yet our bodies are so small and limited that I can’t touch the roof of my room. Even a marble could kill us if it hit the right spot.”

“Perhaps we can only be whole when we can stop feeling responsible for another person’s happiness. Until then, we will continue to rip ourselves into shreds and give those shreds away in the name of love.”

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and all quotes could have changed between my copy and the book's release. 

4.5 stars. Just published on 8/5!

Biggest TW: Death of Family Member, Stalking/Harrassment, Suicide

Sunbirth by An Yu was weird but wicked in its premise.

This sci fi / dystopian novel has a truly original concept that was unlike other books of the same genre. While I loved the potential of this book at some points I felt the execution was slightly off in the pacing and writing.

Overall it was a good book and I would read future novels by Yu.

Thanks NetGalley for the eArc of Sunbirth!

I adored Yu’s “Ghost Music” a couple of years ago so when I saw Sunbirth on NetGalley, I knew I had to read it! While it didn’t hit quite as heard as Ghost Music for me, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. Yu has a knack for giving you just the right amount of information to keep you reading and it gives the story an eerie quality that I truly appreciate. She also does a great job showcasing the different ways in which people experience grief. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys slow paced, atmospheric, and character centered stories.

A very odd story but strangely compelling. I wasn’t sure if I overly liked the plot, but was drawn back by the prose and characters.

I wish there was a bit more world building and history. It seems kind of like a future earth with a large self sustaining community cut off from the world by desert surrounding the Lake District.

We never find out if there are others beyond the wasteland, and as the story progresses, it isn’t clear why the sun is disappearing, or why the Beacons are appearing.

By the end, I was still left with a lot of questions, but the mysteries kind of added to the story I suppose.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Grove Atlantic for a copy!

Five Poems Lake is a small city surrounded by unending desert with no outside world to speak of. The sun is disappearing in slices--it started 12 years ago, but has dimmed in unpredictable percentages since. Then there are the Beacons who seem to have made their own suns, burning in the place of their heads. Two sisters contemplate the changing world and attempt to connect their father's disappearance which happened around the same time the sun began to disappear. More than anything, it is about these two sisters and how they face the knowledge of an inevitable end.

Yu's writing will stop you in your place. Don't expect explanations though--who ever gets one anyway?

I’m a sucker for speculative fiction with a sci-fi twist, and Sunbirth’s concept immediately hooked me. A world where the sun is slowly disappearing? Yep right up my alley.

An Yu absolutely nailed the atmospheric world-building here. Five Poems Lake becomes this haunting, almost living thing throughout the story. The sun, the mysterious Beacons, they all felt more real and interesting than the actual human characters, which is both impressive and kind of a problem.

Where this book lost me was in making me care about the people living through this whole situation. Despite the story focusing a lot on the two sisters and their family mystery, I just wasn’t that invested in it.

The pacing felt on and off, and while the book set up some really intriguing mysteries, the payoff didn’t quite hit the spot for me.

That said, the atmosphere alone is worth it. If you’re more into mood and concept than getting emotionally attached to characters, this will probably work way better for you than it did for me. Sometimes a really well-crafted world can carry a story even when the people in it don’t quite work.

**Sunbirth - An Yu - 4.5/5**

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the digital ARC of Sunbirth. All opinions are my own.

The book explores many themes that I appreciated : *grief* and how it affects the ones left behind, *home* and what makes it home, *family* and what someone is ready to do to protect their loved ones in uncertain times. I also greatly appreciated how sisterhood is depicted in the book, especially the dynamic between older and younger sister.

I appreciate the way the book is structured and how it’s paced. I had many questions from the start and I could feel the story crawling slowly towards the answers. I couldn’t help but to read the next chapter immediately to get answers. The book was great at keeping my attention all throughout the story.

An Yu’s writing is pleasant to read. I found her writing to be vivid and evocative. She did a great job at bringing to life a a world I never experienced, one without a sun. She also handles complex themes and emotions with care.

Some of my questions were left unanswered, but it didn’t bother me much. I would of loved and I expected to get answers to those questions. However, I understand that the book focused on other aspects and as the book emphasized, you can’t have answers to all of your questions.

I also want to add that I am a big fan of the cover. It grabbed my attention as soon as I saw it.

—> Release date : August 5th 2025