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A review by centralia
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
5.0
Sorrowland was something of a delightful surprise for me. Rivers Solomon's books are always well written and uniquely imaginative, but I haven't enjoyed one so much or rated one so highly yet. Based on the premise of this book alone, I didn't actually expect to enjoy it (the kids were not as overbearing or annoying as I'd feared), and yet I thought the themes in this book were wildly interesting and very real too since the author drew so heavily from actual history to inform the worldbuilding. This book was so thoughtful, and I love it for that. It integrates various bits of history and expertly blends it with horror and speculative elements, as is characteristic of Solomon's writing. I didn't take many notes so I just can't remember all the fascinating details, but this book really impressed me.
I was also happily surprised by the queer romance elements and gender fuckery, but I really should have expected no less from Solomon. I especially like how they handled the main character Vern's shame around her sexuality, how that was navigated throughout the book. I think there was some really effective character development there because later in the story there's a sex scene that I think otherwise would have read as uncomfortably bizarre for me if the author hadn't already been building those themes.
Here are two quotes I saved that I think somewhat convey what I found enjoyable within this book:
"What order of events did Vern need to disrupt in the lives of the millions upon millions who woke up every morning proud to be Americans? What made someone love lies?" I personally think more could have been said on this point instead of leaving it entirely open-ended, but it does make sense coming from Vern's perspective.
"...not touch starved, precisely, but used to a particular type of emotional isolation that came after years of convincing yourself it was all right, better even, to be alone. As a defense mechanism, such self-delusion had its place, but once the farce faded, it was like your whole body transformed all its years of misbelieving into insatiable hunger for contact." Relatable as hell.
I was also happily surprised by the queer romance elements and gender fuckery, but I really should have expected no less from Solomon. I especially like how they handled the main character Vern's shame around her sexuality, how that was navigated throughout the book. I think there was some really effective character development there because later in the story there's a sex scene that I think otherwise would have read as uncomfortably bizarre for me if the author hadn't already been building those themes.
Here are two quotes I saved that I think somewhat convey what I found enjoyable within this book:
"What order of events did Vern need to disrupt in the lives of the millions upon millions who woke up every morning proud to be Americans? What made someone love lies?" I personally think more could have been said on this point instead of leaving it entirely open-ended, but it does make sense coming from Vern's perspective.
"...not touch starved, precisely, but used to a particular type of emotional isolation that came after years of convincing yourself it was all right, better even, to be alone. As a defense mechanism, such self-delusion had its place, but once the farce faded, it was like your whole body transformed all its years of misbelieving into insatiable hunger for contact." Relatable as hell.