Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

81 reviews

cerilouisereads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Racism, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

errie's review against another edition

dark

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Violence, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Mass/school shootings

zombiezami's review against another edition

5.0

This was mesmerizing. The characters and the narrative were so amazing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Animal death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Body horror, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Death, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Stalking, Suicide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Torture, Self harm, Sexism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment

Minor: Colonisation, Racial slurs, and Slavery

Intersexism

twistmalchik's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Self harm, Pregnancy, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Confinement, Chronic illness, Rape, Body horror, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

katherineshawwrites's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is one of those books that stick with you. It's gritty and bleak, yet fascinating, surprising and powerful. Rivers Solomon doesn't hold back when laying bare the US' dark history of colonisation, corruption, racism and religious oppression, putting these themes at the forefront of this dark speculative story. There is mystery throughout, with the truth being bizarre and yet believable, leading us into a gripping, tragic and somehow hopeful finale.

It isn't an easy read - Vern is definitely a morally grey main character who can be unlikeable at times, but she's also incredibly sympathetic, and you are always rooting for her to finally achieve peace, both with herself and her situation.

All in all, an excellent book, and I will definitely pick up more of Solomon's work.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Racism, Murder, Blood, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Violence, Animal death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Colonisation, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Misogyny

e_len's review against another edition

How did this even get published? It would have profited from more editing, especially the developmental kind. Mostly it was between wtf is happening and meh.
-sometimes the author get's preachy
-casual racism: white toxicity, a white p ople kind of place (what does that even mean?). As a non-American reader, this casual racism is off-putting. Can you see it, if I say black toxicity or a black people kind of place (alsono idea what that would even look like)
-very unlikeable character, perpetually stuck in teenage rebellion. For example, she hates a little boy for reading well.
I quit when she left her 2 defenceless infants in the woods at night in September to go hook up. They are sleeping is not an excuse.
Positives: descriptions to make Baudelaire proud, LGBTQIA representation

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Religious bigotry

casdelvo's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Gore, Murder, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Racism, Animal death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, Self harm, Kidnapping, and Sexism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Trafficking, and Addiction

julieyael's review against another edition

I don’t know if the French translation was not good enough, or if it’s juste the book that doesn’t resonate with me. 

There was too much incoherence for my taste.

The pregnant person jumping from tree to tree, the « babies » surviving alone for days when they should barely be able to walk and so on…

Also the main character was not really loveable or relatable and I had a hard time understanding her reactions. 
There is a mystery and some fantasy, but it’s not worth (for me) the challenge of reading this until the end. 

And the content of the book has many hard subjects which I was not really expecting (I should have checked the content warnings before, because I was really uncomfortable with lots of things)

So, not for me, but maybe for someone else it’s a good book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Racism, and Child death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, and Stalking

ash_ton's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

3.75

i read this for the LGBTQIA+ book club i'm a part of! i don't normally gravitate towards science fiction so it's always nice to be pleasantly surprised. 
i was not expecting the turn the book took. like, at all. wild

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Homophobia, Blood, Stalking, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Sexism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexual content

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Suicide, Bullying, Cancer, and Cultural appropriation

hel_lothere's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

really really good. impactful and horrific

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Medical content, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Racism, Blood, Self harm, Rape, Pregnancy, Police brutality, and Physical abuse