Jackson's short novel about a non-biblically based impending Apocalypse, as foretold by Aunt Fanny through the spirit of her dead father.
The Sundial isn't for the novice Jackson reader; I had read in Private Demons that this book was disjointed, confusing, and with unlikeable characters, and I agree somewhat that Jackson's craft seems a little off in this work. However, there are still terrific passages of straight psychological terror that hint fantastically of what's to come soon, with the publication of the most brilliant piece of psychological horror writing ever, The Haunting of Hill House. Towards the end of the book is a particularly poignant passage between Fancy and Gloria that I love, which showcases Jackson's lifelong desire to return to an innocent time of childlike simplicity.
Jackson's carefully crafted characters, however, exist here; even if you hate them, they are still very well developed. I do find that I am quite fond of Mrs. Halloran's calm, powerful ruthlessness, though I confess I would not want to be in her clan at all, and can't deny that she is extremely unlikeable. The rest of the characters all possess irritating and eye-roll-inducing traits, but learning that this novel was Jackson's way of exorcising the animosity she felt from and towards her neighbors in VT, and reading it in that light, you see how bitter Jackson was against those people who would deny her her privacy and right to live unbothered and in her own way, without the meddling of neighbors who disagreed with her eccentric lifestyle.
There are times, however, when Jackson will abandon a character and then reintroduce them 50 pages later, which can be a little confusing. Aside from these small idiosyncrasies, another great work from an overlooked master, with the perfectly, wonderfully frustrating ending in which Jackson will leave you asking, "what happened next?!" and leave you to make that up on your own.
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