Scan barcode
emwoodley's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sarahboudereads's review against another edition
5.0
Been obsessed with The Deep for years and was disappointed by An Unkindness of Ghosts... Sorrowland, on the other hand, was everything I wanted and more. Riveting, thought provoking, it felt like a beautiful wonderful ethereal fever dream and I'm not sure I'm ready to say goodbye to its characters. Solomon managed to craft my favourite "cult" book and some of my favourite characters of the year in the same story. If I thought at one point that I had guessed what would happen, I was mistaken and it was the best feeling in the world to watch the story unfold.
Rivers Solomon solidifies faer hold on me as a writer for sure - I will read EVERYTHING fae come out with.
Rivers Solomon solidifies faer hold on me as a writer for sure - I will read EVERYTHING fae come out with.
timinbc's review against another edition
3.0
There's so MUCH here, so much justified anger at so many things. So much that even I, an older white male, can see how it would be hard to contain in one story. And for me, it did burst out of its container.
Early on, I struggled with the infeasibility of living in the woods with newborn twins. Somehow, as more fantastic elements got added they became easier to accept than the more ordinary stuff.
Vern's development from totally broken is remarkable, and this book deserves praise just for that.
I admired the presentation of deeply crazed people sincerely believing that the ghastly stuff they were doing was GOOD. Relates to Canada's treatment of its indigenous peoples.
As a regular SF/F reader I had no trouble at all with the whole fungus plot., It was well handled.
The pause with Ruthanne just before the climax didn't work for me, perhaps because the "climax" somehow felt as if I watched it all through the wrong end of a telescope. I put the book down not at all clear about exactly how it all ended.
But gosh, still a major work with a huge idea.
Early on, I struggled with the infeasibility of living in the woods with newborn twins. Somehow, as more fantastic elements got added they became easier to accept than the more ordinary stuff.
Vern's development from totally broken is remarkable, and this book deserves praise just for that.
I admired the presentation of deeply crazed people sincerely believing that the ghastly stuff they were doing was GOOD. Relates to Canada's treatment of its indigenous peoples.
As a regular SF/F reader I had no trouble at all with the whole fungus plot., It was well handled.
The pause with Ruthanne just before the climax didn't work for me, perhaps because the "climax" somehow felt as if I watched it all through the wrong end of a telescope. I put the book down not at all clear about exactly how it all ended.
But gosh, still a major work with a huge idea.
acbrummitt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
annastasia_will's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
aethermoss's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
larachism's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mdelao630's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mirrorofneptune's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I think this is objectively a very good book. It weaves together themes of race, gender, generational trauma related to both of the aforementioned topics, body horror, sexuality, transformation, and systemic abuse of power. I appreciated the running theme of the body and how it relates to the self, and I thought the plot had good elements of sci-fi and horror.
I only had a couple “valid” (in my words) problems with the book, chief among them being the ending– it felt rather deus ex machina to me and while I can understand it thematically, I think if the author had decided toleave everyone dead that also could have worked thematically. I also went into this book expecting a greater emphasis on the cult aspect and the nuances of how belief can be abused, and there was definitely some of that, but it felt somewhat overshadowed by the other themes, especially because the cult leaders turn out to be government plants in the end . Finally, some of this dialogue felt awkward to me, but I also think it’s hard to write any kind of dialogue where characters express political opinions and not have it sound a bit soapbox-y. So that’s not the author’s fault.
My completely-subjective (invalid) reason for rating this book so low is that I did not like the writing style at all. As in, I knew by the end of the first paragraph that I would not vibe with the book solely due to the writing style. I still powered through because the premise was interesting and I’m glad I did, but my opinion on the writing style has not changed. I think it aims to be poetic but to me it felt overwritten. Again this is a purely subjective opinion and doesn’t speak to the author’s ability at all, but it also did in essence ruin the experience of reading the book for me :(
I only had a couple “valid” (in my words) problems with the book, chief among them being the ending– it felt rather deus ex machina to me and while I can understand it thematically, I think if the author had decided to
My completely-subjective (invalid) reason for rating this book so low is that I did not like the writing style at all. As in, I knew by the end of the first paragraph that I would not vibe with the book solely due to the writing style. I still powered through because the premise was interesting and I’m glad I did, but my opinion on the writing style has not changed. I think it aims to be poetic but to me it felt overwritten. Again this is a purely subjective opinion and doesn’t speak to the author’s ability at all, but it also did in essence ruin the experience of reading the book for me :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Racism, Body horror, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Murder, Child abuse, and Child death