I couldn't put this book down. Each chapter focusses on a different person's thoughts, experiences and history, so the mystery of Torran's disappearance, and the repercussions, all gently unfold. The use of different perspectives allows the book a kindness and empathy, even as people make mistakes and hurt each other. The questions of responsibilities and expectations, for ourselves and for others, is laced throughout utterly evocative descriptions of landscapes and people, from the Hebrides to the Himalayas.

Though beautifully written, I found this to be a slow read with very little plot development. This is a book which explores relationships and character development against the most stunning settings which are evocatively described.

Anne and Robert’s son has gone missing whilst travelling, and the book starts seven years after this event with Anne living in India and pursuing every avenue to find out what has happened to her son.

Her relationship with Liam is rather unexpected and abrupt. I am not sure what to make of this, except to perhaps show Anne starting to let go of everything in her past? Liam appears to have secrets of his own which would not make for a happy ending.

Anne seems to be deeply introverted and never truly says what she really thinks. Her relationship with Esther (her niece by marriage) is complex, so it is surprising that it is Esther that brings the news which will take Anne closest to her son, Torran.

The ending is ambiguous, and this is definitely a book which I will return to. A heart-breaking scenario for any parent, which is delicately handled. I want to describe this as a coming-of-age book, though Anne is too old, really, for that kind of revelation; however, the experience of losing Torran and the strain on her relationship with Robert, certainly makes her rethink her priorities and what she wants from life.

I'm left feeling incredibly moved by Sunbirds.  What a debut!  

The story was a page turner, and the chapters alter whose perspective the story is told from.  This gives the reader the gift of understanding and empathy, allowing us to engage deeply with their individual stories amongst the overarching story of what happened to Torran when he went missing in the Himalayas. 

The Indian landscape is also beautifully contrasted with the family's 'home' on Jura, Scotland.  Both are breathtaking but completely different, further illustrating the distance between Anne, Robert, Torran, and Esther.

Essentially, the story explores family love and expectation, how it can be painful, but how we might begin to heal and set others free.  This story is going to remain in my thoughts, and I'm going to give my babies some deeper, longer hugs today.

Interesting read but it didn't feel like it went anywhere, I wanted to know where she went and what happened to torran

An atmospheric journey into landscape, families and selfhood

In this elusive and meandering novel, Slocombe has crafted a book that is not about what it appears to be—the mysterious vanishing of a nice young man on his first trip to India—but about how individuals are connected to their landscapes and their families. with every character travelling from urban to rural, form 'civilised' to wild, from London to a remote Scottish island, everyone is displaced from their origin, by choice and supported by the trappings of Western suburbia. Even the freest and most off-the-grid characters are shown to be intimately connected to middle-class (or higher) wealth, Until the missing boy vanishes, with nothing to his name, with no clues to where he's gone. His is the missing voice in this, except for one revelation, and it's up to everyone he leaves behind to make sense of their part in that story.

Only, it's not their reactions to his disappearance that make up the substance of this book: it's the what that makes each character who they are, the places they've been, the places where they are, the families that they leave, the families that they discover. Whatever the soul might unknowingly lack can only be found by entering liminal and increasingly more unknown spaces, where something familiar is a doorway to something utterly strange. but true, like the sunbirds of the title, almost like a blackbird, but not quite, not quite.

The writing is interesting, but I would have liked to have had one resolution, rather than intimations of further stories for every single character: three and half stars, rounded up to four.

'Sunbirds' by Penelope Slocombe will stay with me: the story, the writing, the atmosphere. Evocative and absorbing, the pace and tempo - like Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ - relentless in its grip, binding me until the last word. The explorations of family issues, hurts and unfulfilled promise, intertwined with loss and the desperation for resolution made engrossing reading. The descriptions of Scotland and India were simply wonderful. I shall have to read it again … Thank you to Netgalley and John Murray Press for the chance to enjoy this ARC in return for an honest review. I genuinely loved this book.

This was a really good debut a lovely story my only criticism is I found things a bit rushed towards the end and I would have liked to have heard a bit more about Liam and his story I still really enjoyed it though and would recommend

How long would you look for your eighteen year old son if he went missing? Anne’s son Torran has disappeared in India. He has been gone now for seven years and Anne and her husband have been searching for him. When her husband returns home to Scotland, she is joined by her niece Esther and they travel together to try to find Torran. The beautiful descriptions of India, its bustling cities and amazing rural scenery, that make this book a joy to read.

I read thisin one day as it was so enthralling. From the start I ket wondering whether they would find their son and eventually get closure on the 7 years worry. The descriptions of the scenery were so vivid and brought back memories of my times in India and the places that i visited and those that I still want to see. I felt the emotions for the parents of loss, abandonment and love above all. The story bought a new understanding to the number of people that go to places like India to find themselves, to find enlightenment and to just escape the real world and the familie that are left behind not knowing where they are. Throughout the story the number of children missing is emphasised but also the fact that for them to find spirituality means that the folks back home can only see it the as being selfish to go on a journey of self discovery and not let the families know somehow that they are alive and well still.

The lure of India, its many faces, the beauty and the poverty are at the heart of this debut novel. Based on the disappearance of western travellers in an area where people have died in suspicious circumstances, or on a spiritual journey of discovery, we meet a mother who has gone to find a missing son. She has made a life there, constantly searching, and full of doubts about the past. The richness of description, and depth of spiritual awareness, overflow into an understanding of how those looking for a meaning in their lives have stayed, never wanting to leave.
Conversely, we hear how these spoilt westerners are perceived to be so much less important than the overwhelming problems of a country steeped in poverty and abandonment. There are parallels with the tiny Scottish island where Ann has left a husband resigned to his son’s death, the birds holding an importance in both places, signifying freedom and joy. The complications of the parent/ child relationship are also echoed in the niece who has shared their lives, and has problems of her own.
I found it a very compelling novel, although the conclusion is not surprising, it tackles issues of parental bonds, or the lack of, which we can all relate to on some level, but was also very beautiful in the telling.

Sunbirds is a slow meandering novel focussing more on an emotional journey than a mystery plot. Anne and Robert Carmichael bade farewell to their son Torran in 1997 as he set off on a trip to India. He didn’t return as expected. Anne and Robert went to India many times to try and find him with no joy.

It’s now 2004 and Anne has been in India for the last three years trying to find what happened to Torran. Robert has stayed behind in Scotland and is convinced that Torran is dead. Esther, a niece of Anne and Robert, had just gone to live with them, aged nine, as Anne was newly pregnant with Torran as Esther's family life had fallen apart. Esther and Anne had a rocky relationship and Esther left when she was fourteen to go and live with, and essentially care for, her alcoholic father. Esther has not been in touch with her aunt and uncle for years so is surprised to find that Anne, now aged fifty, has been in India for three years when she drops in on them in Scotland. There’s been a big row a few years before as Esther, now a journalist, had written a less than complementary article about Torran’s disappearance placing a lot of the reason for it on Anne. Esther decides to travel to India to help Anne in her search and most of the book is about the various leads they follow up and journey around the Himalayas in search of Torran.

I enjoyed the author’s writings of the Himalaya region which brought it to life. I was disappointed with the overall story as things moved quickly towards the end but in a way that made me feel this should have been the first of two books.

Among many unresolved things for me was Liam, a close male friend of Anne’s in India. We learned that Liam was married with a wife and dog in New Zealand. It felt like they were going to be a bigger part of the story but were only mentioned in passing with no resolution for the Liam character. There were other characters such as Fiona, Torran’s girlfriend in Scotland, and Evie Sinclair who met Torran in India, who were not fleshed out well either.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. With thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Press for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and John Murray Press for this eCopy to review

I really wanted to enjoy Sunbirds, as I love books set in other countries and found the description intriguing. Unfortunately, I found the story quite drawn out and the main characters were too introspective, I did not really feel or connect with any of them. I would have loved a happier ending

I found this book quite slow,although very well written . I expected the pace to pick up but sadly it didn’t and for me I struggled to keep reading it. For readers who enjoy a slow melodic pace this will be perfect.

I liked the premise of this novel and setting was well described. However, the slow narrative and the characters meant I felt disconnected from the story.

This book is built around the premise that in the 1990s Western travellers disappeared from the area of Manali in the Parvaty Valley, India. This part of the world is known for its idyllic scenery of sweeping green valleys and snowcapped mountains, but also for its drug culture and lure into an off-the-grid lifestyle. When Torran goes missing there, it sends his parents into a downward spiral searching for him and ultimately also for the meaning of their own lives.

The main driver behind the plot are reflections about parenthood culminating in the one question: Where did we / I go wrong? The simple answer the book offers is that it is not just one thing but everything and nothing - a child’s actions may not even be based on anything their parents did or said. The story explores the complex mix of feelings that come with any such crisis, that are familiar to every parent: suffocating responsibility, guilt, sacrifice, resentment, disappointment and always the feeling that nothing is ever quite enough.

The credo of this book is aptly summed up in its epigraph: Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. The question of when and how to let go of them is central to the book and carries the narrative in this well told story.

I am grateful to NetGalley and John Murray Press / Hodder&Staughton Ltd for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley and John Murray Press for the ARC.

I was really excited for this book. Unfortunately, it was really disappointing. The pacing was slow and I wasn't interested in any of the relationships.

Although this is a story of a mother searching for her missing son, it is also a journey of self discovery for the mother. Torren walked out of his hotel room 7 years prior to the story starting, leaving practically everything behind him, shoes, passport, money etc. His mother Anne never gives up hope that he is still alive and after several trips to try to find him stays in India for over 3 years searching. Her husband Robert believes that he has died and stays in Scotland. Eventually her niece Ester arrives with new information and they continue to search together.
Having never been to India I am not sure if the sights and sounds documented reflect India accurately. I found it a slow moving book full of hope and introspection. Not really for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray Press for the advance copy of this book.

I was asked by NetGalley to review this beautiful book

Having been to India several times, I found I was transported back there asd I followed the journey that Anne was taking to find her son who had gone missing seven years previously. I could smell the smoke of fires, visualise people selling by road sides and this was really visual.

The author writes so well and the pace was just perfect.

So recommended and will look out for this author in future.

This is a beautiful and amazing debut that filled my head with so many pictures as I followed the journey of Anne who was trying to find her son who had gone missing in India seven years ago. It’s a book that captivated me from the beginning the descriptions of beautiful scenery, the people and the emotions just filled my head it really was a stunning story and one that I shall always cherish.
The writing was perfect as was the pacing and as the book came to end I gave a large sigh, I knew it had to end but it left me feeling sad as I would miss the places and people I had been reading about but it also left me feeling wonderfully uplifted and for me that is all that I would ask for in reading a book and it’s really a read not to be missed.
Many, many thanks to Penelope Slocombe for this superb 5 star read I loved it.
My thanks also to NetGalley and John Murray Press for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I went into this expecting something else. I found instead a very slow paced book on loss and relationships. But the pacing was far too slow for me. I felt I was reading a 500 page book not a 300 page one.