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Melanie Caldicott (6 KP) rated Sorrowland in Books

Apr 29, 2021  
Sorrowland
Sorrowland
Rivers Solomon | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
You can also read my review at my blog - https://roamingthroughbooks.wordpress.com

Sorrowland is a genre-bending book which is like nothing I have ever read before and probably ever will again!

The story centres around Fern, an albino black teenage girl who gives birth to twins, Howling and Feral in the woods after escaping from a cult called Cainland. What follows is a mindboggling adventure surrounding her survival.

This is a coming of age story like no other – part sci-fi, part horror, part dystopian, part magical realism, this book defies genre. But amongst all the myriad of twists and turns this novel takes, what lies at the heart of it is a story about a girl who comes to understand her identity and rises above what has been spoken over her in her past.

During Fern’s journey of self-discovery the book examines themes such as racism, indoctrination, abuse and misogyny. There are many challenges in reading this book as we encounter a dystopian world that is disturbingly similar to our own exploring those who live on the fringe of society due to white domination. This not only includes Cainland, the cult set up by black people originally to challenge the white belief system, but also native American characters who quietly hold onto their truth in a far less bigoted and twisted way.

I love the big questions this book asks and the twisted paths it takes in asking them leading you into such unknown territories through the plot that you meet these issues head on in such different ways that you confront them anew and reexamine how you really feel about them and the impact that they have on our world.

Sorrowland is compelling and, although this would never be a genre I would normally read, I enjoyed the enigmatic nature of the evolving fantastical storyline and the constant surprises Rivers Solomon weaves into the plot. It is extremely well-written, with powerful characterisation, rich with poetic descriptions and intelligent themes.

However, the aims of the book seem to get a little muddled at times and I became confused about what Solomon wanted me to get out of the book. The story becomes so fast-paced and dense at times that this prevented me from taking a step back and truly immersing myself in the deeper themes of the novel.

This is a hard book to review. As I said, not something I would normally read, but the quality of the writing won me over. That said, I did not come away from the book feeling a sense of enjoyment, but instead, unsettled and disturbed by encountering a story of brutality with wild, savage characters and a frightening world where nothing is as it seems.

I would recommend this book – purely because you will be changed by it and this is one of the most powerful gifts of literature – but it is not a comfortable read and would not suit everyone.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARe-copy in exchange for this honest review.