Scan barcode
A review by root
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really wish I could have liked this more. I was expecting that I would enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Solomon's writing in An Unkindness of Ghosts. Honestly, because Sorrowland is a newer novel, I was anticipating an evolution and refinement of craft. Instead I just felt largely disappointed.
The main problem is the pacing. The story goes quickly in some respects, and in others it slows to a complete standstill. It felt all over the place as a result of the pacing, and at times it seemed like the "twists" in the story were forced suddenly just to get the story moving again.
It felt like Solomon didn't trust the readers to think through the social commentary, events, or interpersonal dynamics between characters, where everything had a spoonfed explanation of what this character meant by this phrase or that action and it's just unfortunate to tell and not show when I KNOW this author is capable of it. Or perhaps just trusting that the audience can figure out the connection between point A and point B without being bodily dragged between the two. There was also a lot of repetition of both the points and the explanations of the points, which just got frustrating.
During the ending, a lot of character exposition right after a charged action scene and of a character that we don't spend a lot of time on.
I also REALLY dislike empty deaths. If you're going to kill a character, I don't want them resurrected. If you want a character to live, then figure out some other way to get the impact you want. That's not to say no deaths occur in the story, but where they are emotional they are 99% undone. Especially in a story where the effect of death is already softened, it just is boring.
I really wish that Queen had been treated better by the story. It just feels like such a disservice to her, and feels oddly judgemental. Honestly a lot of the book and the narration feels judgemental of how other people survive, despite the fact that Vern occasionally stops and says something overtly about people doing what they need to to live. I will disclaimer this point by saying I'm very sensitive to people pitying survivors.
All that said, I really liked the body horror in it, and the suspense was well-sustained despite the pacing issues. The prose and descriptions were nice. The characters were mostly interesting, though they ranged from a little bit to mostly flat. Some of the scenes were nicely laid out, and all but one sex scene actually had a point to its inclusion in the story and what details were included. The themes of the novel are important and are often not things talked about outside of racial justice circles.
The main problem is the pacing. The story goes quickly in some respects, and in others it slows to a complete standstill. It felt all over the place as a result of the pacing, and at times it seemed like the "twists" in the story were forced suddenly just to get the story moving again.
It felt like Solomon didn't trust the readers to think through the social commentary, events, or interpersonal dynamics between characters, where everything had a spoonfed explanation of what this character meant by this phrase or that action and it's just unfortunate to tell and not show when I KNOW this author is capable of it. Or perhaps just trusting that the audience can figure out the connection between point A and point B without being bodily dragged between the two. There was also a lot of repetition of both the points and the explanations of the points, which just got frustrating.
During the ending, a lot of character exposition right after a charged action scene and of a character that we don't spend a lot of time on.
I also REALLY dislike empty deaths. If you're going to kill a character, I don't want them resurrected. If you want a character to live, then figure out some other way to get the impact you want. That's not to say no deaths occur in the story, but where they are emotional they are 99% undone. Especially in a story where the effect of death is already softened, it just is boring.
I really wish that Queen had been treated better by the story. It just feels like such a disservice to her, and feels oddly judgemental. Honestly a lot of the book and the narration feels judgemental of how other people survive, despite the fact that Vern occasionally stops and says something overtly about people doing what they need to to live. I will disclaimer this point by saying I'm very sensitive to people pitying survivors.
All that said, I really liked the body horror in it, and the suspense was well-sustained despite the pacing issues. The prose and descriptions were nice. The characters were mostly interesting, though they ranged from a little bit to mostly flat. Some of the scenes were nicely laid out, and all but one sex scene actually had a point to its inclusion in the story and what details were included. The themes of the novel are important and are often not things talked about outside of racial justice circles.