Kendra Winchester is a Contributing Editor for Book Riot where she writes about audiobooks and disability literature. She is also the Founder of Read Appalachia, which celebrates Appalachian literature and writing. Previously, Kendra co-founded and served as Executive Director for Reading Women, a podcast that gained an international following over its six-season run. In her off hours, you can find her writing on her Substack, Winchester Ave, and posting photos of her Corgis on Instagram and Twitter @kdwinchester.
Sometimes, I just want to pick up a delightfully strange novel with a quirky premise and great characters. When that mood strikes, An Yu is the perfect choice. Her latest novel is a fresh take on the end-of-the-world novel that centers interpersonal relationships even in the direst of times.
Sunbirth by An Yu
On an ordinary day twelve years ago, a slice of the sun disappeared. In the tiny village of Five Poems Lake, the townspeople learned to get on with life, finding a new normal as the sun slowly disappeared. Our unnamed narrator works at a pharmacy that used to belong to her grandfather. Her sister, Dong Ji, works at a health spa across town where people are still willing to pay good money for her treatments, despite the imminent end of the world. As the world continues to dim, the town faces colder temperatures and dwindling resources.
When they were still girls, the sisters’ father died. They thought they knew everything about that time in his life—his job as a policeman, the struggles to make it as a single dad—but when they discover a new photo, they begin to suspect their father died with secrets clutched close to his chest.
The world of Five Poems Lake is engrossing. Hundreds of people face the end of the world, but it’s their interactions with each other that stand out. A young disabled woman feels smothered by her mother’s efforts to control her life. A middle-aged woman is forced to confront the reality of her husband’s infidelity. A young woman is expecting a baby she worries will never grow up to find their place in the world.
An Yu’s stories often have strange premises and mysterious happenings, but it’s the characters that make her writing shine. Yu is able to write scenes that use the quiet comings and goings of the everyday to reveal the details of the characters’ lives. As the sisters investigate their father’s death and discover his secrets, they begin to better understand him as a person, not just as their father. There’s something engaging about their dialogue that draws readers into these everyday conversations. Their discussions always circle back around to their family and the relationships that have bound them together. Even at the end of the world, they are drawn together by their shared past.
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One book recommendation to help you cut through the noise
Sunbirth is engrossing and strange in the best possible ways. It highlights the bigger-than-life feeling that it’s our relationships that make the biggest impact on our lives, even as the future of the human race is uncertain. If you love character-driven science fiction, then Sunbirth is a must-read novel of 2025.
You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave or over on Instagram @kdwinchester. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy Reading, Friends!
~ Kendra
English (US) · 