Sun House

A Novel

By: David James Duncan

Narrated by: Robb Moreira, Barrie Kreinik, Elena Rey, Henry Leyva, Mark Bedard, L.J. Ganser, Jenn Lee, Joseph Discher

An epic comedy about love, spirit, and the quest for transcendence in an anything-but-transcendent America, from the author of the perennial cult bestsellers The River Why and The Brothers K.

A random bolt from a DC-8 falls from the sky, killing a child and throwing the faith of a young Jesuit Jesuit into crisis. A boy’s mother dies on his fifth birthday, sparking a lifetime of repressed anger that he unleashes once a year in reckless duels with the Fate, God, or Power who let the coincidence happen. A young woman on a run in Seattle experiences a shooting star moment that pierces her with a love that will eventually help heal the Jesuit, the angry young man, and innumerable others.

The journeys of this unintentional menagerie carry them to the healing lands of Montana and a newly founded community—where nothing tastes better than Maker's Mark mixed with glacier ice, and nothing seems less likely than the soul-filling delight a troupe of spiritual refugees, urban sophisticates, road-weary musicians, and local cowboys begin to find in each other's company.

With Sun House, David James Duncan continues exploring the American search for meaning and love that he began in his acclaimed novels The River Why and The Brothers K. This stunning novel, set amid the gorgeous landscapes of the American West, illuminates the contemporary world through the prisms of Eastern wisdom, cast-off ecstatic religious ideals, and the unpredictable, expansive yearnings of the human heart.

©2023 David James Duncan (P)2023 Little, Brown & Company

Critic reviews

“Like all truly extraordinary novels, the luminous Sun House is not a mere book, but a singular world in which the reader comes to reside, and to feel more alive. Told in rollicking prose laced with ab-tightening humor and high-lonesome lyricism, this immersive, sweeping tale locates the grand in the smallest particulars, and reaches its heights only after traversing the wild and sometimes steep country of the heart. To open the door to Duncan’s long-awaited masterwork is to be flooded with light and loss, and to find, ultimately, hard-won hope.”—CHRIS DOMBROWSKI, author of The River You Touch

“There are books that make you a happy insomniac and Sun House is absolutely one of them, like Quixote or Moby or Copperfield, the kind when you wake at three in the morning you remember that beside the bed is a thousand-room mansion of a novel, where every door opens to unexpected weather and a keen sense of appetite. Here is the best part: while these characters come in all shades of funny and searching and rueful and indignant, they are all right there and as wide awake as you are. A new big book from David James Duncan? This is a lucky time to be a reader.”—LEIF ENGER, author of Peace Like a River

"Jim Harrison meets Robert M. Pirsig, Timothy Leary, and the Dalai Lama in Duncan’s long-awaited follow-up to The River Why (1983) and The Brothers K (1992)...arch and bookish (Gary Snyder makes a cameo appearance), [Sun House] will prove captivating to those who enjoy novels of ideas—in this case, one that modernizes the Western by injecting it with ethnic diversity and doses of philosophy (and LSD, even)...a book by a first-rate writer and one to be savored."—Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

Much anticipated…

This amazing epic novel falls short of expectations… seems still in draft form, in need of some ruthless editing. The story is truly wonderful, but often goes on longer than necessary. The narrators are too often over the top, painfully dramatic, distracting & disturbing to listen, truly ruined the storytelling for me. Overall so disappointing since I’m such an admirer of this author.

Beautiful Universalising Faith

I loved the multiple voices telling the multiple storylines. The comprehensive understanding of Spirit by Duncan is nourishing!

I didn’t want it to end.

I loved everything about this book. The characters and the actors who brought them to life.

What stands out the most:

I have loved DJD books, and while longer and more rambling, this also fits the bill. Readers of Tom Robbins will also enjoy.

However, it is a real shame that nobody checked the Portland-area reader’s pronunciation of “Willamette.” Every time he says “Willa- met” it pops me out of the story. I really hope Couch St factors not at all into this story.

A mystics paradise

For one who loves all things, mystic, and yet grounded. There’s a book hits every note for me. It will be proudly placed on the shelf next to my favorite books all the time. Thanks again DJD

Too saccharine to finish

I wanted to like it. Warning: it is very long—too long. And the absence of believable characters and dialogue, and the over abundance of earnest monologues and fortuitous coincidences defies belief.

Im over 20 hours invested in this story, with 9 to go. I. Just. Cant. Anymore.

Oh yeah, the narrator butchers the word “Willamette” everytime it comes up in this hyper local story centered in Portland, OR. I wish the editors in stories like this would make sure narrators pronounce proper names correctly. they ring like a cracked bell everytime its repeated (which is often in this tale).

Devastatingly beautiful

Wow, what a story. I love the complexity, I love the inter-weaving, lifelines of the characters, and the way the author takes his time building. Each one into a multi faceted structure you can feel, and almost holding your hand.
I wonder if this book would have the same impact if one was not a spiritual seeker, a Devotie of some type? I can’t know that, but from my heart that is hungry for God in all forms of this book, so deeply to me.
A powerful book, and one not to be missed.

Beautiful story

This book will open your heart if you let it. There are some cringe moments that will poke at your inner cynic, but overall, I came to love all the characters in this book.

Excellent writing.

I quit listening and decided to read the book because of the repeated mispronounced names of northwest locations. Otherwise, the reader was good.

Ignore the Negative Reviews!

Excellent story, I felt as if I knew all the characters well. The voice acting was exceptional. I was actually shocked to see so many negative reviews. Without sounding too pretentious, I think those readers did not understand what they were reading; Duncan is exceptionally bright, and the story holds many things that might be new to readers. What I found redeeming in his story was that even though I have no interest in Sanskrit I did not need prior knowledge to appreciate its place in this novel. What was easy to understand was the drive of his characters to understand this complicated and diverse world . His obvious appreciation of mountains, nature and different human experiences with everything from death to choice of diet to working in a group was only surpassed by his ability to bring it to life on the pages of this work. Nearly a whole chapter is dedicated to a mother stopping to breastfeed her 7 m old, and to write that well was precious. Go into it with an open mind; you will find yourself relating to all the characters, in one way or another. BTW the voice actor who voiced Gervais was a joy to hear!