Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

55 reviews

k_mimmsy's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, and Racism

Moderate: Domestic abuse

niyou's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Alcoholism and Gun violence

Minor: Slavery

solenekeleroux's review

dark informative mysterious reflective tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, Animal death, Gore, Self harm, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

emily_koopmann's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexism, Homophobia, and Domestic abuse

bybookandbone's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 I'm reeling from the beauty of Sorrowland. I expected to enjoy it but did not think it would be so visceral a story. The imagery evoked by Rivers Solomon is powerful and unrestrained.

"Vern, a hunted woman alone in the woods, gives birth to twins and raises them away from the influence of the outside world." - Vern is actually a 15 year old girl, forcefully married to a much older man by 14, raped and impregnated. I think that's important to know before starting this book as this is some how one of the least triggering traumas depicted within Sorrowland. This is not a complaint by any means, I just feel it important to acknowledge.
Vern's growth to adulthood, her motherhood and sexuality, is haunting, poignant and very passionately written. I adored her two children (and loved her names for them). Vern herself can be difficult to like at times but her snappishness and social awkward behavior is understandable.

I highly recommend this book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Racism, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

mischka's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Stalking

Minor: Ableism

uss_mary_shelley's review

adventurous dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective 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

5.0

This book is enchanting and bursting with thrill, danger and love. I’ll try not to spoil too much, nor talk in detail about the many cw topics. But it is a book, about racism, about fear, about dehumanisation and metamorphosis, about power and abuse, and about the state all the same. But it is also about love, love without conditions, love that spans generations, communities and people. When I started reading, the first thing I said to my other half was “It starts with a land acknowledgement!” and although that is not the main thing I will take away, it underlies the whole story. This book is rooted in human connections and human experience, all the way through to Vern’s view of the world. We are taken with her, and it is not a story I will forget. Rivers Solomon has captured so much, so well. Reading the sex scenes felt respectful, knowing and genuine. When reading the violent scenes, the turbulence and decisions made sense, and the difference between violence coming down and violence going up was weighted and realised. I definitely be reading more from Rivers Solomon, although I want to sit with this for a day or so.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Racism, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Sexual violence and Domestic abuse

The authors note at the start highlights the cws and themes throughout

kiandrareadsbooks's review

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Transphobia, and Self harm

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Rape

storieswithbee's review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-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

2.5

Genre: adult fiction, paranormal, horror, LGBT, Sci-Fi, Gothic, Speculative fiction, dark fiction

Age range: 18+

Overall: 2.5/5

Characters: 4/5 

Plot: 2/5

Writing and Setting: 4/5

Content warning: *sex scenes, adult language, racism, violence, gore, sexual abuse, religious cults, forced institutionalisation, self-harm, plus many many more.

The gist of my review:  

This book... my god. I don’t know how we went from a girl fighting the cult and government that imprisoned her to becoming a super human due to a fungus that had morphed with her body, but it happened. And if I’m being honest, I’m disappointed that it did happen. 

This book has a very extensive list of trigger warning so please be cautious when considering reading this book. 

In my opinion, this book would have been perfect if it stayed on the same path it initially started on. We have a cast of strong and diverse characters from different cultures and sexual orientations, the representation is phenomenal, but the Science Fiction element totally encompassed the initial storyline and swept it off into a very strange and often confronting direction. 

I think there is definitely an audience for this book, however, I can understand why people stop reading it at the 20% mark. This is clearly displayed by the polarising ratings and reviews. 

All together, the writing is very challenging, the characters individually are astounding,  but there wasn’t any content warning provided at the start of the book so readers are entering into some very pressing and troubling scenes blind. In addition, as I mentioned, the book took on a very strange direction when I don’t believe it needed to. My review will be very polarising considering I have given the book a rather low rating, but I think the best way I can describe it is that the book is quite literally unforgettable, but for both good and bad reasons. 

Characters: 4/5

There are a few distinct characters in this book but I’m only going to talk about the ones that are most prominent. When I mention race, it’s because it very important to the plot of the book, I apologise in advance if I offended anyone.

Vern:

Vern is a very unique main character. To begin with, she is a albino black young women who has grown up in a very oppressive black person’s cult. She rebels against just about every rule and social construct, not only while in the cult, but also after she escapes. 

Throughout the story we discover that she is bisexual and she is open to exploring her sexuality and seeking out her own pleasure. She has offhanded sex with a fair few people (and... beings), and develops a deep relationship with two women. 

In addition, Vern is a teen mother to twins, however her parenting isn’t socially conventional considering she raises her children in the wilderness when leaving the cult. Her children, Howling and Feral, are products of her free spirited nature, and their behaviours are often reflections of the previous traits and actions we’ve seen from Vern throughout the book.

The way that Vern was written was phenomenal. In short, the only way I can accurately describe her is that she reminds me of a fierce Lioness. She is an incredibly diverse women who is a marvel both due to what happens to her throughout the book, but also just plainly as a character. I haven’t come across a character written in this way in all my years of reading and I found her totally fascinating. I think it will be a long time before I forget Vern.

Gogo:

Gogo is a character we’re introduced to after that 20% mark in the book and I’m thankful that I read further to be introduced to her. 

Gogo is a strong, opinionated and incredibly intelligent lesbian black women. She knows what she wants and she battles tooth and nail to achieve her goals. Gogo has a medical degree and is the person the local community look towards when they can’t go seek conventional medical treatments due to stigma and costs. 

Gogo is one of the two intimate relationships that Vern experiences throughout the book. In comparison to all of Vern other sexual partners, the partnership with Gogo comes across as one that shares a very deep understanding and passion for one another. Gogo provides Vern with a sense of solace, especially when Vern’s body and mind take on a supernatural turn. The two are very compatible and they reflect on each other incredibly well. 

Plot: 2/5

I’ve mentioned it a few times now, but I really detested the supernatural/ paranormal / science fiction element to Vern’s story. I think the book could have been a very fascinating read if it had gone down the path of fighting the cult and the government as a ‘human’. Obviously this would have changed a large proportion of the story but (not trying to give away spoilers so I’m being purposefully vague), but an exoskeleton...? Spurs...? Mind control...? Really...? *rolls eyes* It was just too much. 

Writing and Setting: 4/5

The writing is in 3rd person, which normally I don’t enjoy as much as first person, but with Solomon’s writing style, it was a really fascinating way to digest this story. The writing itself was incredibly complex and it requires the reader to be very engaged at all times. 

The settings throughout the book are very unique in a multitude of different ways. In each different location, which was beautifully written, we see different levels and new developments in Vern, her ‘condition’, and her family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Blood, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality

podanotherjessi's review

adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

4.75

Wow. That's it. That's the best thing I can say.
This book has so much right with it, and I loved it, but I don't want to say too much in a review because this feels like a book everyone needs to experience for themselves. And I do mean EVERYONE. Just trust me on this.
Fair warning that it's a graphic book. Specifically in terms of body horror and sexual content.

Characters: 10
Plot: 9
Setting: 9
General appeal: 10
Writing style: 10
Originality: 10
Ending: 7

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts