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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
There is a lot to enjoy about this book. It is a story of strength both individual and communal, betrayal and an allegory for the wrongs committed to BIPOC people at the hands of white imperialists not limited to unethical medical testing, rape, abuse, murder, etc. I rather liked how this book didn't just tackle one aspect of injustice and social justice, it took a more intersectional approach to its philosophy showing that an injustice against one is a problem for all to solve. I was overjoyed when one of the main side characters was a queer trans indigenous woman. Yay!
I did find the ongoing body horror to be a bit much, not enough to turn me off of the book but enough to make me squeamish which is not something I am used to feeling. So if body horror is something that weirds you out, perhaps this isn't the bok for you.
In retrospect, maybe this book is also an allegory on growing up trans and understanding the discomfort of watching and feeling your body change in ways that you don't want or quite understand. The reframing of going through the change as something that is not wholly negative but also a source of strength is powerful. But I am writing this review a bit after the fact so my recollection might not be perfect.
Side note, the use of mycelium as a plot tool is either becoming the hit new thing, looking at you Star Trek and a Desolation Called Peace, or I am just beginning to notice it more.
I did find the ongoing body horror to be a bit much, not enough to turn me off of the book but enough to make me squeamish which is not something I am used to feeling. So if body horror is something that weirds you out, perhaps this isn't the bok for you.
In retrospect, maybe this book is also an allegory on growing up trans and understanding the discomfort of watching and feeling your body change in ways that you don't want or quite understand. The reframing of going through the change as something that is not wholly negative but also a source of strength is powerful. But I am writing this review a bit after the fact so my recollection might not be perfect.
Side note, the use of mycelium as a plot tool is either becoming the hit new thing, looking at you Star Trek and a Desolation Called Peace, or I am just beginning to notice it more.
adventurous
dark
sad
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:
No
This became much more fantastical the further I got into it, and when I went to log it on Goodreads, noticed it was listed as a fantasy book, which I'm glad I didn't really know that before, or else I might not have read it.
It was really good. Just a tiny amount of smut. Felt mostly YA level smut. Which I'm not mad about. The main character, Vern, was written phenomenally.
It was really good. Just a tiny amount of smut. Felt mostly YA level smut. Which I'm not mad about. The main character, Vern, was written phenomenally.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
This book might not be for everyone, but it sure was for me!!! Rivers Solomon writes for themself first and I love and respect that.
This is my third book by them, and I love seeing the common threads within each story, within the characters. I love how absolutely unapologetically queer and Black the books are.
If you can handle heavy themes, body horror, and grief in your literature, I recommend highly.
BOOK SPECIFIC REVIEW v v
Vern is a new character to add to my favorites list. She is strong in various ways, some quite obvious, some less, maybe. Her strength, though fantastical at times, is very believable in this story. Her growth and successes are hard-won, but in a satisfying way, and her losses are deeply felt as a reader.
I also loved getting to know her children as characters. They were very well-written. Sometimes writing children can come off as exaggerated or purposefully vague in a narrative, but their depiction was impressive.
Also, 10/10 on the body horror of it all. You want to treat people like animals? Like monsters? You’ll get a goddamn monster.
(POSSIBLE SPOILER)
The relationship between Vern and Gogo is so tender, but also so fiery. I don’t find that a romance always enhances a story, but theirs certainly added to this one. The depiction of Gogo working through the hauntings with Vern will forever be a favorite of mine.
This is my third book by them, and I love seeing the common threads within each story, within the characters. I love how absolutely unapologetically queer and Black the books are.
If you can handle heavy themes, body horror, and grief in your literature, I recommend highly.
BOOK SPECIFIC REVIEW v v
Vern is a new character to add to my favorites list. She is strong in various ways, some quite obvious, some less, maybe. Her strength, though fantastical at times, is very believable in this story. Her growth and successes are hard-won, but in a satisfying way, and her losses are deeply felt as a reader.
I also loved getting to know her children as characters. They were very well-written. Sometimes writing children can come off as exaggerated or purposefully vague in a narrative, but their depiction was impressive.
Also, 10/10 on the body horror of it all. You want to treat people like animals? Like monsters? You’ll get a goddamn monster.
(POSSIBLE SPOILER)
The relationship between Vern and Gogo is so tender, but also so fiery. I don’t find that a romance always enhances a story, but theirs certainly added to this one. The depiction of Gogo working through the hauntings with Vern will forever be a favorite of mine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Alcohol
Minor: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Police brutality, Grief, Fire/Fire injury
4.5
Okay, I loved this book!! It’s super weird, in a nutshell it’s a cult/horror/sci-fi, lgbtq, and a black female lead story with soooo many twists and turns. By the end of the book you’ll think back to the beginning and be shocked at where the story lead you.
Okay, I loved this book!! It’s super weird, in a nutshell it’s a cult/horror/sci-fi, lgbtq, and a black female lead story with soooo many twists and turns. By the end of the book you’ll think back to the beginning and be shocked at where the story lead you.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Sorrowland is a well written story about Vern who has escaped an extremist religious cult. The story unfolds as we discover more about Vern and her twin children plus more about this cult that has a strange element to it. On the surface this peaked my appeal however the story fell flat to me.
First, Vern is an unlikable character, more than unlikable I strongly hated her. I don’t mind hating a character if I understand the reason behind their actions. She was always defiant and angry towards everyone, no matter if they helped her or not. I get her being naive in beginning but she never grew or had an understanding of the world. I wish she would’ve grown as she discovered more of the answers about what happened to her.
I enjoyed the weird MK Ultra vibes this book gave but it still did not answer much about the actual testing and the powers given. I enjoyed that part and felt like it was lacking. Though I felt this book was a great example of the experimentation done on innocent individuals to try and improve a drug. I wish we got more of that.
First, Vern is an unlikable character, more than unlikable I strongly hated her. I don’t mind hating a character if I understand the reason behind their actions. She was always defiant and angry towards everyone, no matter if they helped her or not. I get her being naive in beginning but she never grew or had an understanding of the world. I wish she would’ve grown as she discovered more of the answers about what happened to her.
I enjoyed the weird MK Ultra vibes this book gave but it still did not answer much about the actual testing and the powers given. I enjoyed that part and felt like it was lacking. Though I felt this book was a great example of the experimentation done on innocent individuals to try and improve a drug. I wish we got more of that.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
I really enjoyed this one, it was beautifully written and weird enough to keep my attention.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Vern didn't know what she wanted. She was a girl made of aches and she flung her body at the world in the hopes that something, anything, might soothe the tendernesses.
I’m writing this review about a month after reading this book, and as someone with an absolutely horrible memory, at this point I’m mostly going off of vibes.
Generally, I have said that I will love anything Rivers Solomon writes. This is true of Sorrowland as well, for the most part.
The writing is lush and beautiful, as always. Solomon’s descriptions are some of my absolute favorites. Vern is a complex character, even before her physical changes start to change her. She’s strong but also young and impulsive at the beginning. She makes bad choices and she makes mistakes and she does the best she knows how to do.
Her relationship with her sexuality, her guilt and shame regarding her attraction to women, are extreme but certainly ring true even for those who weren’t raised in a cult.
Cainland and its symbolism for the atrocities that the US has committed (and still commits) against minority communities, particularly Black communities, is a blunt object beating the reader over the head - but maybe we need that. Clearly, being subtle isn’t getting through to people.
Fungus-horror is apparently my favorite sub-genre these days, and Sorrowland is certainly no exception.
I do want to mention that I was VERY upset by the graphic sex scene with the spirits of two AIDS victims - it felt unnecessary, gratuitous, and in bad taste. I am absolutely willing to admit that maybe I missed something here, but I actively was extremely upset with this scene. I love this author, but I took off .5 points for this scene alone.
In the end, I feel that this book is so important and hauntingly beautiful and I would recommend it, with a caveat for the above scene.
Rules, most of the time, favored not what was right, but what was convenient or preferable to those in charge.