mixtercharlie's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Ableism, Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Torture, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Animal death, Child death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Death of parent, Genocide, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Self harm
lpdx's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Alcohol, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Confinement, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Cancer and Medical content
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Spoiler
This story is about the medical horrors that Black folks have gone through at the hands of the United States government.I think the horror elements of this book were mainly based on body horror and psychological horror, and generational trauma and those worked well within the book. This was a beautifully told story, I love the way the author writes. This story was also really unique so I want to give the author props for that.
Overall I enjoyed this read, though because of the slowness, I don't see myself reading this again.
I give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars
Graphic: Self harm, Stalking, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Rape, Emotional abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Body horror, Car accident, Gore, Sexual content, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Animal death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry
kirtreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The characters do feel a little flat though. They aren’t fleshed out totally and the main character makes some choices that felt a little out of character. It isn’t enough that you are totally taken out of the story but it does make you pause a second.
Overall it is a really good book, and you won’t go wrong reading it!
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Violence
martinatan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Some works of media that I felt this story lives in kinship with:
- Beloved by Toni Morrison, for its part-tender, part-visceral prose and handling of generational trauma and haunting
- The art of Firelei Baez and Wangechi Mutu, for their beautiful blend of human and inhuman, exploring symbiotic and antagonistic relationships between humans and the natural world
- Jordan Peele’s film Nope, in that it provides a uniquely Black perspective on the American attraction to spectacle and exploitation, and for the horror/sci-fi elements
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, for themes of hindsight and memory of an institution after you’ve escaped it
Of course, this is not to say that Sorrowland borrows too much from other works—on the contrary, it is a masterpiece of its own that will make you think differently not just about our country’s history of medical exploitation of Black people, but also the boundaries between different genres, the capabilities of the body under immense pressure, and our relationship to nature and society.
I would be so excited to analyze this book in a university setting and I hope it can be regarded as a rich and provocative text for a variety of disciplines: Race and Colonialism Studies, Gender and Sexuality, History, Creative Fiction, etc.
Graphic: Body horror and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Stalking, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Pregnancy, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Confinement, and Gun violence
city_girl_writer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Body horror, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Self harm, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Animal death
Minor: Sexual violence
loristoudenmier's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Addiction, Confinement, Suicide, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Blood, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Animal death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Self harm
penofpossibilities's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
absolute fucking masterpiece
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cursing, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, Sexual content, Slavery, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Self harm, Stalking, and Torture
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Vomit, Trafficking, Rape, Excrement, and Medical content
Minor: Suicide, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Cancer
graphic: cultatalea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Homophobia, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Death, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Suicide
ecn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Biphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Confinement, Death, Body horror, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail