Intensely felt story as we’re drawn into the unsettled lives of the main characters. Each carries with them a sense of not having been enough despite their best intentions and having to try to come to terms with accepting that this doesn’t make them less of a person. Unanswered questions at the end simply reflect that this is what real life is like.

This novel transported me to India and the overwhelming culture shock that awaits any western visitor - the noise, the colour, the sheer strangeness of it all.

This is a novel filled with tension between the characters. The background story is gradually revealed as each character is developed in short chapters that left me wanting to know more.

For me the strongest theme of the book was Anne's insecurity as a mother, her conflicting emotions and her feeling that she was not good enough.

For me the most engrossing part of the book is the trek through the mountains by Anne and Esther, accompanied by their Indian guide. The Himalaya comes alive on the page, the trek is arduous and Anne and Esther are physically and emotionally challenged at every step.

Lots of loose threads remain, but that is no bad thing. The reader, the author and indeed the characters themselves could not predict where life will take them, so we are left to imagine.

A stunning debut. I devoured Sunbirds in two sittings and was completely drawn into the world that Penelope Slocombe described so vividly. The characters are so real and the setting so vivid I was completely blown away. I've never been to India yet the places in the novel came to life for me and not in the usual way we see in films but more authentically. The author writes with so much meaning it felt like I had known the characters for years. The insights into motherhood resonated with me and also that feeling of other relationships and of owing things to people of perhaps not being as free as we think we are. I look forward to reading the author's future works!