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A review by liteartha
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
i've absolutely never read a thing like sorrowland. it's an ambitious, bizarre, beast of a novel that left me both thoroughly enthralled and thoroughly horrified in turn.
we follow vern — young, pregnant, and fleeing the abusive cult in which she was raised — as she escapes into the woods to make a new life away from the clutches of cainland and her husband, the cult’s leader. she’s pursued, haunted, and leads a life of constant survival with her twin babies, whom she names howling and feral. as time passes, vern finds the bizarre lingering effects of her time in cainland aren’t fading, and even stranger still, she herself seems to be changing in some terrifying and inexplicable way.
set in contemporary america, sorrowland paints an unflinching portrait of exactly what brutality the nation is built on and how that legacy of violence carries on today, particularly in its treatment of Black and Indigenous peoples.
solomon’s writing is gorgeous and the tale at its centre is deeply unsettling. it's a gothic, fantastical, ride packed with social commentary and critique. there's also a wealth of varied representation and exploration of identity in terms of race, sexuality, gender, and disability, all within a very small cast of characters.
the pacing did lull somewhat in parts, there were some side characters that didn't feel fully realised and some smaller ones that seemed as good as forgotten on page (possibly an arc issue), and the last few chapters felt rather rushed, leaving me with a number of questions in the end, but on the whole this book was brilliant and i'd happily purchase a finished copy to reread, ponder over, and quote the living hell out of.
thank you to netgalley and mcd for providing this advance copy in exchange for an honest review
tw:racism/colonialism, ableism, cults, childbirth, blood, gore, animal cruelty and killing, pedophilia, homophobia/internalized homophobia, death/child death, drowning, self harm, medical trauma, body horror, medical trauma, child abuse, domestic abuse, slurs, mutilation, cannibalism, suicide, rape, AIDS, mention of cancer, drug/alcohol abuse
we follow vern — young, pregnant, and fleeing the abusive cult in which she was raised — as she escapes into the woods to make a new life away from the clutches of cainland and her husband, the cult’s leader. she’s pursued, haunted, and leads a life of constant survival with her twin babies, whom she names howling and feral. as time passes, vern finds the bizarre lingering effects of her time in cainland aren’t fading, and even stranger still, she herself seems to be changing in some terrifying and inexplicable way.
set in contemporary america, sorrowland paints an unflinching portrait of exactly what brutality the nation is built on and how that legacy of violence carries on today, particularly in its treatment of Black and Indigenous peoples.
solomon’s writing is gorgeous and the tale at its centre is deeply unsettling. it's a gothic, fantastical, ride packed with social commentary and critique. there's also a wealth of varied representation and exploration of identity in terms of race, sexuality, gender, and disability, all within a very small cast of characters.
the pacing did lull somewhat in parts, there were some side characters that didn't feel fully realised and some smaller ones that seemed as good as forgotten on page (possibly an arc issue), and the last few chapters felt rather rushed, leaving me with a number of questions in the end, but on the whole this book was brilliant and i'd happily purchase a finished copy to reread, ponder over, and quote the living hell out of.
thank you to netgalley and mcd for providing this advance copy in exchange for an honest review
tw:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicide, and Cannibalism
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Racial slurs