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A review by anna_23
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
5.0
From the first sentence onwards, "THE CHILD GUSHED out from twixt Vern’s legs ragged and smelling of salt" I was glued to the pages of Sorrowland. Following Vern, who just escaped a place where she experienced abuse and neglect for years, the so-called Cainland, being by herself running away from someone she named The Fiend while she has to ensure that her only second-old babies survive. The story unravels from there, showing us how Vern tries to survive the wilderness with her children and the realisations she makes about what has really been going on in Cainland and what these visions, "the Hauntings' ' actually mean.
The book explores the deep rooted violence Black people have been experiencing for centuries in the USA and what effects it has on Vern and the people around her. And showing ways how Vern is grappling as to how to resist all the systems, that have been set into place and heal from the pain that has been inflicted on her and other Black people. Also showing, how some people in marginalized groups will use their power they have over other people in the communities that might be part of several marginalized groups, to harm them instead of using it to fight against the oppressor.
The Good:
1) My favorite part of this novel was probably the characters. I just loved how real they felt to me, like they truly exist somewhere. Rivers Solomon was mostly able to tell a story with quite a lot of drama (drama could mean different things, but I mean that it had quite a bit of tragic/sad scenes + inter- and intrapersonal conflict) without ever really going into the melodramatic. While melodrama works in some stories, soap operas or rom coms for instance, in others it might make you feel distanced from the characters.
Solomon gave a detailed look at their characters, always taking time to show us exactly how the characters are reacting to the situation, showing their good and bad sides. It's clear throughout the whole novel but to give an example, towards the end, Vern watches her children read and feels jealous that they are able to read better than her- she wasn't taught how to read- and even feeling joyous when she is able to read a word that they can't. I just loved how Solomon took something like learning to read and showing us all the realistic feelings Vern has and how it affects her relationships. This kind of careful exploration of the characters' situations was just wonderful to read.
And by the way, the relationships between the characters are just as complex as the characters themselves. Vern and her relationship with her children, was one of the most interesting children/parent relationships, I have read.
With faers great character work, they were able to, just let their characters drive the plot, choosing the characters' complexities over an easy answer to move the plot along easily.
I think the way Solomon explored gender was also fantastic, probably one of the most interesting explorations I ever read. Exploring how they feel about their own gender and how the outside world affects those feelings, especially when completely seperated from the rest of society and ending the story in a place where the characters chose how to express their gender in a way that is right for them, not letting themselves be defined by our cis focused/heteronormativ world.
2) I love when fantastic aspects are used to explore the feelings of the characters, which was the case here. I won't go into detail as to what the fantastic aspects are because they are slowly and wonderfully revealed throughout the novel, but I loved how on one hand Solomon used them to showcase what a huge impact trauma has on someone and how hard it is to deal with the pains in your past and find a way to healing sometimes.
And on the other hand those aspects were used to explore the themes that I mentioned at the beginning. A theme, I feel like Solomon really 'enjoys' to explore in their novels, is the idea of a collective memory and burden, which was a theme that was well done through the way fae used the fantastical aspects.
3) And finally, the writing is soooo good. Every sentence is drenched with darkness, but also allowing softness into the text.
Here are some passages that just show how great the writing is:
"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."
"Loving, worshipping, and bowing down to folks who harmed you was written into the genes of all animal creatures. To be alive meant to lust after connection, and better to have one with the enemy than with no one at all. A baby's fingers and mouth grasp on instinct."
'It was summer, and the world was as bright as a lightning flash. Blue sky. Red dirt. Everything was set alight. Vern tried to cherish it, to turn toward the sun the way bluebells did, but Vern still lusted after the dark of the woods, where she was born, where her true self had been made."
The Bad
I honestly don't have much bad to say, but one thing I did not enjoy was how the action was written towards the end. In the earlier parts of the novel the action was written in a quiet, dark and gritty way but towards the end it felt more like James Bond/ Marvel like action scenes. While there is nothing wrong with that, and the scenes were well written, in my opinion, it did not fit in well with the rest of the novel and it started to pull me out of the story.
The Conclusion
Please, if you can deal with the more serious aspects of the novel, read this one. From its incredible writing to it's unique characters to the interesting plot, all of it was worth reading. There are even more great things to be said about this one, but I will leave it here for now. And I'm now so excited to read faer's other work and they for sure have the potential to be one of my favorite writers.
If you can and want to, I would also highly recommend the audiobook, read by Karen Chilton. They truly brought the story to life. The audiobook does not include the short Author's Note at the beginning, so I would recommend looking this one up, if possible.
Here are the trigger warnings the author provided themselves: "Note discussion and instances of racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicidality, and homophobia, inclusion of animal death and explicit violence, and references to sexual violence that have taken place off the page."
I love to hear if somebody has read this book and your thoughts and maybe recommendations of books that are similar!
And if you comment on the book, please use the right pronouns for the author which are fae/faer and they/them!
The book explores the deep rooted violence Black people have been experiencing for centuries in the USA and what effects it has on Vern and the people around her. And showing ways how Vern is grappling as to how to resist all the systems, that have been set into place and heal from the pain that has been inflicted on her and other Black people. Also showing, how some people in marginalized groups will use their power they have over other people in the communities that might be part of several marginalized groups, to harm them instead of using it to fight against the oppressor.
The Good:
1) My favorite part of this novel was probably the characters. I just loved how real they felt to me, like they truly exist somewhere. Rivers Solomon was mostly able to tell a story with quite a lot of drama (drama could mean different things, but I mean that it had quite a bit of tragic/sad scenes + inter- and intrapersonal conflict) without ever really going into the melodramatic. While melodrama works in some stories, soap operas or rom coms for instance, in others it might make you feel distanced from the characters.
Solomon gave a detailed look at their characters, always taking time to show us exactly how the characters are reacting to the situation, showing their good and bad sides. It's clear throughout the whole novel but to give an example, towards the end, Vern watches her children read and feels jealous that they are able to read better than her- she wasn't taught how to read- and even feeling joyous when she is able to read a word that they can't. I just loved how Solomon took something like learning to read and showing us all the realistic feelings Vern has and how it affects her relationships. This kind of careful exploration of the characters' situations was just wonderful to read.
And by the way, the relationships between the characters are just as complex as the characters themselves. Vern and her relationship with her children, was one of the most interesting children/parent relationships, I have read.
With faers great character work, they were able to, just let their characters drive the plot, choosing the characters' complexities over an easy answer to move the plot along easily.
I think the way Solomon explored gender was also fantastic, probably one of the most interesting explorations I ever read. Exploring how they feel about their own gender and how the outside world affects those feelings, especially when completely seperated from the rest of society and ending the story in a place where the characters chose how to express their gender in a way that is right for them, not letting themselves be defined by our cis focused/heteronormativ world.
2) I love when fantastic aspects are used to explore the feelings of the characters, which was the case here. I won't go into detail as to what the fantastic aspects are because they are slowly and wonderfully revealed throughout the novel, but I loved how on one hand Solomon used them to showcase what a huge impact trauma has on someone and how hard it is to deal with the pains in your past and find a way to healing sometimes.
And on the other hand those aspects were used to explore the themes that I mentioned at the beginning. A theme, I feel like Solomon really 'enjoys' to explore in their novels, is the idea of a collective memory and burden, which was a theme that was well done through the way fae used the fantastical aspects.
3) And finally, the writing is soooo good. Every sentence is drenched with darkness, but also allowing softness into the text.
Here are some passages that just show how great the writing is:
"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."
"Loving, worshipping, and bowing down to folks who harmed you was written into the genes of all animal creatures. To be alive meant to lust after connection, and better to have one with the enemy than with no one at all. A baby's fingers and mouth grasp on instinct."
'It was summer, and the world was as bright as a lightning flash. Blue sky. Red dirt. Everything was set alight. Vern tried to cherish it, to turn toward the sun the way bluebells did, but Vern still lusted after the dark of the woods, where she was born, where her true self had been made."
The Bad
I honestly don't have much bad to say, but one thing I did not enjoy was how the action was written towards the end. In the earlier parts of the novel the action was written in a quiet, dark and gritty way but towards the end it felt more like James Bond/ Marvel like action scenes. While there is nothing wrong with that, and the scenes were well written, in my opinion, it did not fit in well with the rest of the novel and it started to pull me out of the story.
The Conclusion
Please, if you can deal with the more serious aspects of the novel, read this one. From its incredible writing to it's unique characters to the interesting plot, all of it was worth reading. There are even more great things to be said about this one, but I will leave it here for now. And I'm now so excited to read faer's other work and they for sure have the potential to be one of my favorite writers.
If you can and want to, I would also highly recommend the audiobook, read by Karen Chilton. They truly brought the story to life. The audiobook does not include the short Author's Note at the beginning, so I would recommend looking this one up, if possible.
Here are the trigger warnings the author provided themselves: "Note discussion and instances of racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicidality, and homophobia, inclusion of animal death and explicit violence, and references to sexual violence that have taken place off the page."
I love to hear if somebody has read this book and your thoughts and maybe recommendations of books that are similar!
And if you comment on the book, please use the right pronouns for the author which are fae/faer and they/them!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Animal death, and Violence
Minor: Sexual violence