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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
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
Sorrowland made me feel both powerless and empowered. This is Solomon's debut novel, and it does read as such, with my main qualms being the ties and pacing between the three parts. But the creativity and the heart are undeniable. While this was my first book from Rivers Solomon, it certainly won't be my last.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Colonisation
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief
Minor: Genocide, Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy
Raised on a Black separatist cult compound, Vern longs to be physically, mentally and emotionally free, preferring the wilder corners of society where her abusive ex-husband can't find her. She gives birth to her twins, Howling and Feral, in the woods and raises them in the wild, but when a curious and almost unearthly illness begins to overtake her, she heads into civilization in search of the one person she's sure has ever escaped the cult they were raised in, her best friend Lucy.
Sorrowland has a lot of moving parts, rich with experience and nuance, but it's difficult to know how many of these veins truly pay off in the story itself. It's as if the book's three parts operate under a roving searchlight, spotlighting bits and pieces without lingering for long. A third of the book is spent on Vern and her children's time in the wild, when it's just the three of them on the run from a slave catcher-esque man she believes will capture them and return them to Cainland to meet their fate. She wants to raise her children in actualized freedom, free from the gender norms, ableism, capitalistic ideals and the reality of woe that plagued her own upbringing. The second part brings her, physically ailing, to the doorstep of her childhood best friend's aunt, where she falls in love and explores a life of domesticity with her children and a new partner. It's here that Vern learns a considerable amount about herself, her personal history and the elements of the book that earned it the "SciFi" genre, but the third act moves so quickly that there's no time to process, invest or even comprehend pieces of information that are vital to the plot. The third act of the book goes from 0 to 60 so quickly that it feels confusing and, ultimately, a bit disappointing that the reader didn't get to stay in that world longer when we spent so much time in the first act reading about so much of the minutiae of the woods.
I would be interested to read more from Rivers Solomon, as their voice is unique and compelling, and the bones of the story are strong, but I didn't walk away from this story with any desire to recommend or reread it.
Sorrowland has a lot of moving parts, rich with experience and nuance, but it's difficult to know how many of these veins truly pay off in the story itself. It's as if the book's three parts operate under a roving searchlight, spotlighting bits and pieces without lingering for long. A third of the book is spent on Vern and her children's time in the wild, when it's just the three of them on the run from a slave catcher-esque man she believes will capture them and return them to Cainland to meet their fate. She wants to raise her children in actualized freedom, free from the gender norms, ableism, capitalistic ideals and the reality of woe that plagued her own upbringing. The second part brings her, physically ailing, to the doorstep of her childhood best friend's aunt, where she falls in love and explores a life of domesticity with her children and a new partner. It's here that Vern learns a considerable amount about herself, her personal history and the elements of the book that earned it the "SciFi" genre, but the third act moves so quickly that there's no time to process, invest or even comprehend pieces of information that are vital to the plot. The third act of the book goes from 0 to 60 so quickly that it feels confusing and, ultimately, a bit disappointing that the reader didn't get to stay in that world longer when we spent so much time in the first act reading about so much of the minutiae of the woods.
I would be interested to read more from Rivers Solomon, as their voice is unique and compelling, and the bones of the story are strong, but I didn't walk away from this story with any desire to recommend or reread it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
While at points extremely difficult to get through, Sorrowland is a meditation on human resiliency, unconditional love, and learning self-acceptance. It's an incredible blend of fantasy, horror, and sci-fi and Solomon uses these genres to her advantage to tell of religious bigotry, corruption, and power. Heed the trigger warnings if you need to, because shit gets heavy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Police brutality
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Almost didn't read this because it sounded a lot heavier than what I usually like to read [and I would say it definitely is] but I ended up really enjoying it so I'm glad I gave it a chance. I think for the most part it did a really good job of blending the horror elements with the social commentary elements. The only part I got kind of bored was with the more like extended stopgap domestic romancey parts towards the end which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 but it really is an excellent book that has a little bit of everything.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
I’m absolutely kicking myself for sleeping on this book for so long!