TW/CW: Teen pregnancy, childbirth, animal killings, self-harm, alcohol abuse, cult, gaslighting, pedophilia, blood, death, child death, drowning, rape, attempted forcing of medication, torture, hallucination, brainwash, body horror, non-consensual medical experimentation, and suicide.

Vern, a fifteen-year-old intersex Black girl with albinism, escapes to the woods fleeing the religious compound that she has grown up in called The Blessed Acres of Cain (also known as Cain Land.) Married against her will to the older reverend Sherman and seven months pregnant, Vern seeks freedom from the only home she has ever known. Shortly after entering the woods, Vern goes into labor giving birth to twin baby boys, Howling and Feral, while also being pursued by an entity called The Fiend who is employed by those at Cain Land.

Living in the woods, Vern, and Feral all flourish in their environment. The boys are precocious and adapt to new situations quickly. Still being hunted by the fiend after all the years, Vern never feels that she and her tiny sons are entirely safe in their forest home. Her body begins to change in frightening ways, leading her to take the boys and seek help from the outside world.

And her newfound family of Gogo and Bridget, Vern, and her children all thrive and flourish. Vern is free to test the limits imposed by the new changes to her body, while she and the boys are being cared for. Despite believing that she has long defeated The Fiend, Vern learns that Cain Land will not give up pursuing her and seeking to bring her back to their cult by any means necessary.

Sorrowland was a deeply engrossing read that tackles topics relevant today: disability, LGBTQIA rights, sexuality, motherhood, race, history, cults, and religion. I believe most of these topics would be even more relevant to those readers who are Black.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, however, the end of the book did feel like it was rushing toward a conclusion that does not feel like it fits the rest of the story. That being said, it is one of my top breeds of 2021.

4/5 Stars
Thank you to #NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for providing me with a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This novel shouldn't work. It is crazy, so outlandish that it should be impossible to pull off. But it is written by Rivers Solomon. They are one of the most creative, wondrous in-your face writers I have ever read. Vern is not an easy character. Strong but defensive and abrasive. Smart and powerful but afraid of being hurt—rightfully so. She is learning that when people who love each other work together it is far better and more effective than being and working alone.
I love Howling and Feral. They are not the product of what has been torturing and fabricating Vern; they are the result of Vern's love for them, even when it doesn't make much sense to be and do so. Gogo simply will not quit, no matter how hard Vern pushes her away. Together they inhabit a world almost impossible to hold in my mind but totally at home in my heart.
Rivers Solomon deals with the big issues—racism at its most pernicious, power at its most corrupt, hatred at its most brutal—and they do it within the person of Vern. It's a big story put on the page in the most intimate way.
I'm going to let it sit for a bit then read it again. I was scared of what might happen but, next time through I will just let myself inhabit—the woods, the wild, the physical, the joy.

This was heart-wrenching. I absolutely adore Rivers Solomon's writing. I can't wait to see what else they bring to the table. This was so effective at setting the scene, I was completely immersed.

This was my first time reading a Rivers Solomon's book and their writing it's beautiful. I didn't know what to expect of the story, except i knew the plot involved a cult but the way this story was told, the many things was saying while being a atmospheric page turner. I absolutely loved it and will definitely pick up Solomon's other works.

Beautifully written book, which goes into some dark and bizarre themes. Liked all the characters and they were really well developed. Parts of the book got me slightly worried for the main character and loved the diverse romance in the book. Will definitely be reading Rivers other works

It was hard for me to rate this book and this rating still doesn't really feel right. I would definetly recommend this book for everyone to read (if you can handle to read it though with the content warnings). I would recommend it much more than my typical three star read. I think the writing in this book was amazing and I'm definetly reading more from Rivers Solomon in the future. I also liked the overall story and this book had quite a lot of interesting and important things to say and I like how those things were integrated into the plot. However, I also feel like this book was just a little bit too slow. There were just a lot of moments where we weren't really doing or learning anything and those moments were a bit too much. It was just a bit too slow for me personally and it kept me from getting fully invested. I also think all the characters besides Vern were very one dimensional. Like we spent so much time with her kids but I don't really know anything about them and don't really feel like they have destinct personalities. So yeah, a three star seems the closest to how I felt reading this book but it's also not entirely correct. I don't know.

This is a tough one, it's a story that's worth reading and worth telling but it's so incredibly heart breaking. Vern is basically a child herself and has nobody, life is brutal, and she's pregnant by a man who forced her into marriage in her early teens. But when we get to meet her she's finally been able to escape her old life to try and find her best friend Lucy.

There's a lot more that I could say about this one but I'm having issues putting my feelings into words, so I think I'll ruminate on this one a bit and hopefully add more to this review in the future. This book was raw, powerful, and incredibly sad. Sometimes people can be so incredibly horrible to each other for no real reason at all other than the fact that they can be.

CW: sexual assault, homophobia, racism, body horror, torture, self-harm, cult/gaslighting, substance abuse, etc.

Sorrowland was a wild ride, and I'm not quite sure how to talk about it - or if indeed I should be the one to. This book pushed the boundaries of fiction; taking elements from a wide variety of genres to create an artful blend of storytelling.
The book starts off following an albino, black teenager as she escapes from a religious cult and gives birth to twins in the wood. From this starting point the story explores the life of Vern and her children for the next several years as she begins to realise the truth of the place she grew up.
Vern comes to understand her sexuality through her relationships with women and I found many of the conversations around sexuality, womanhood, and gender identity very compelling. Vern is intersex and one of the love interests is an Indigenous transwoman (winkte).

The prose was definitely the highlight of this book. While the story was sometimes hard to follow, it was so beautifully written with several passages that made me pause and re-read several times. The way Solomon is able to capture certain feelings and problems in words is truly remarkable. This book is raw and real.

Thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing an eARC via NetGalley

Genre: adult fiction, paranormal, horror, LGBT, Sci-Fi, Gothic, Speculative fiction, dark fiction
Age range: 18+

Overall: 2.5/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 2/5
Writing and Setting: 4/5

Content warning: *sex scenes, adult language, racism, violence, gore, sexual abuse, religious cults, forced institutionalisation, self-harm, plus many many more.

The gist of my review:

This book... my god. I don’t know how we went from a girl fighting the cult and government that imprisoned her to becoming a super human due to a fungus that had morphed with her body, but it happened. And if I’m being honest, I’m disappointed that it did happen.

This book has a very extensive list of trigger warning so please be cautious when considering reading this book.

In my opinion, this book would have been perfect if it stayed on the same path it initially started on. We have a cast of strong and diverse characters from different cultures and sexual orientations, the representation is phenomenal, but the Science Fiction element totally encompassed the initial storyline and swept it off into a very strange and often confronting direction.

I think there is definitely an audience for this book, however, I can understand why people stop reading it at the 20% mark. This is clearly displayed by the polarising ratings and reviews.

All together, the writing is very challenging, the characters individually are astounding, but there wasn’t any content warning provided at the start of the book so readers are entering into some very pressing and troubling scenes blind. In addition, as I mentioned, the book took on a very strange direction when I don’t believe it needed to. My review will be very polarising considering I have given the book a rather low rating, but I think the best way I can describe it is that the book is quite literally unforgettable, but for both good and bad reasons.

Characters: 4/5
There are a few distinct characters in this book but I’m only going to talk about the ones that are most prominent. When I mention race, it’s because it very important to the plot of the book, I apologise in advance if I offended anyone.

Vern:
Vern is a very unique main character. To begin with, she is a albino black young women who has grown up in a very oppressive black person’s cult. She rebels against just about every rule and social construct, not only while in the cult, but also after she escapes.

Throughout the story we discover that she is bisexual and she is open to exploring her sexuality and seeking out her own pleasure. She has offhanded sex with a fair few people (and... beings), and develops a deep relationship with two women.

In addition, Vern is a teen mother to twins, however her parenting isn’t socially conventional considering she raises her children in the wilderness when leaving the cult. Her children, Howling and Feral, are products of her free spirited nature, and their behaviours are often reflections of the previous traits and actions we’ve seen from Vern throughout the book.

The way that Vern was written was phenomenal. In short, the only way I can accurately describe her is that she reminds me of a fierce Lioness. She is an incredibly diverse women who is a marvel both due to what happens to her throughout the book, but also just plainly as a character. I haven’t come across a character written in this way in all my years of reading and I found her totally fascinating. I think it will be a long time before I forget Vern.

Gogo:
Gogo is a character we’re introduced to after that 20% mark in the book and I’m thankful that I read further to be introduced to her.

Gogo is a strong, opinionated and incredibly intelligent lesbian black women. She knows what she wants and she battles tooth and nail to achieve her goals. Gogo has a medical degree and is the person the local community look towards when they can’t go seek conventional medical treatments due to stigma and costs.

Gogo is one of the two intimate relationships that Vern experiences throughout the book. In comparison to all of Vern other sexual partners, the partnership with Gogo comes across as one that shares a very deep understanding and passion for one another. Gogo provides Vern with a sense of solace, especially when Vern’s body and mind take on a supernatural turn. The two are very compatible and they reflect on each other incredibly well.

Plot: 2/5
I’ve mentioned it a few times now, but I really detested the supernatural/ paranormal / science fiction element to Vern’s story. I think the book could have been a very fascinating read if it had gone down the path of fighting the cult and the government as a ‘human’. Obviously this would have changed a large proportion of the story but (not trying to give away spoilers so I’m being purposefully vague), but an exoskeleton...? Spurs...? Mind control...? Really...? *rolls eyes* It was just too much.

Writing and Setting: 4/5
The writing is in 3rd person, which normally I don’t enjoy as much as first person, but with Solomon’s writing style, it was a really fascinating way to digest this story. The writing itself was incredibly complex and it requires the reader to be very engaged at all times.

The settings throughout the book are very unique in a multitude of different ways. In each different location, which was beautifully written, we see different levels and new developments in Vern, her ‘condition’, and her family.

Absolutely exquisite! The writing pulled me in from the very first page and never let me go. I highly recommend this read!

I really struggled with how to rate this book. Some elements were fantastic and at times I couldn't put it down. But for me there were sections of the book that dragged out. Particularly whilst Vern was at the cabin. I'm not a huge sci-fi but this book explored a large selection of themes that held my interest.

Although I didn’t read An Unkindness of Ghosts or The Deep – the ebook previews didn’t convince me – I’ve been keeping an eye on Rivers Solomon’s work. Each of her concepts so far has sounded so unique, and the themes she explores are so important. When I saw Sorrowland on NetGalley, I thought it would be a good place to start.

I ended up deciding roughly halfway through reading this book that it wasn’t for me. It actually put me in a major reading slump, because I didn’t want to read anything else before I finished it but I could hardly convince myself to pick it up and read it. I finally decided to set it aside so I could move on.

Before I talk about what I didn’t like, I should mention that I thought Solomon’s writing style was haunting and evocative. It was easily the best part of the book, and it made me want to keep reading even though nothing else about the book was capturing my attention. I would never say that this is a bad book, even though I didn’t finish it, or that Solomon is a bad writer. Again, it just wasn’t for me.

What I disliked the most was the plot. By the halfway point of a novel, I should more or less have an idea of where a book is going in terms of plot, but this book took so many twists and turns and I never fully understood what was going on. I think I’ve mentioned in my reviews of other books that I don’t mind being kept in the dark – any book with a twist or mystery will do that – but I also don’t like being confused. There’s a fine line between the two, and Sorrowland was solidly in “confusing” territory.

If the characters in a book are strong enough, I don’t necessarily need a strong, compelling plot. But the central character in Sorrowland, Vern, wasn’t my cup of tea either. It was confusing, stressful, and frustrating to be inside her head. I think that might have been the point, but I wasn’t enjoying myself at all, and I couldn’t keep doing it. Her young children, Howling and Feral, also played major roles in the book, but I don’t usually like reading about young children and they were no exception.

This book explores themes of race, gender, motherhood, spirituality, nature, and more, and if I was the type of reader who could enjoy a book solely on the basis of how well it explores deep themes, I would probably love this book. But I’m not that type of reader. If you are, maybe you’ll have greater success than I did.

Rivers Solomon is a wonderfully talented author. There are some big topics here - racism, gender, feminism, identity, and <i>far</i> more, all wrapped in a soft but <i>weird</i> fantasy. Weird fiction has a great place in my heart and this is bizarre enough to have made this a great experience for me.

The concept of this was so fantastic, as was the atmosphere - of disdain and isolation, for example - was well described and visceral.

I wish that characters were more intricately described, and the physical changes Vern went through (and how it felt) had been more descriptive. The only major disappointment for me with Sorrowland was the ending, which did not seem plausible.

I also listened to the audiobook version before writing this review, which was wonderfully narrated by Karen Chilton - it is an absolutely amazing performance. An easy recommendation.

[This eARC was generously given to me via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

I was already a fan of Rivers Solomon's work, but nothing could have prepared me for how brilliant this book is, the world it made me envision, and all the things it made me feel. I don't know what else to say but that this is a visionary, epic, resonant piece of sci-fi that will stick with me forever.

Rivers Solomon is an author who crafts stories about those marginalised, those seeking a voice, and those who experience inequality and intolerance. The writing is poetic and edgy, as Rivers Solomon uses a style to add another dimension to a very unique story. I was really enthused from the outset of Sorrowland to embark on a journey into a challenging plot and a unique set of characters. Rivers Solomon takes the opportunity to layer the novel with several contemporary messages on black slavery, anti-US establishment and how powerful people can evade repercussion for criminal and unethical acts. These themes overlay a central plot where a young girl Vern escapes a cult to gain freedom and seek answers.

“Sherman preached that Cainland’s untouchability by the law was because of the God of Cain, but Vern was old enough now to know there was no God of Cain. Something else safeguarded the compound. Or someone else.”

Vern is fifteen years old living in, Cainland, where she is pregnant and married to the cult leader Reverend Sherman. Her nights are horrifying as she is strapped into bed and fed a concoction of drugs. Vern, however, manages to escape into the woods and ekes out an existence for four years trying to evade any search efforts to find her. The Fiend hunts her and torments her with objects letting her know she is being watched and hunted. She hears the wolves at night as they flush out the runaways.

Vern delivers twins, two boys called Howling and Feral, and she teaches them about the woods with their exuberant thirst for knowledge. There is endearing respect the boys have for nature and all living things, even if it is to be food. Gradually Vern experiences physical change and we wonder if these are a reaction to the drugs (or now lack of), maybe cancer taking root and spreading, a viral infection, or a metaphysical change. Coupled with her bodily changes, Vern experiences nightmares and hallucinations she calls ‘Hauntings’. The hauntings feel very real and she struggles to recognise reality from the otherworldly visions she inhabits.

Realising she can’t live like this forever and that she needs to consider her children, Vern takes the massive step of leaving the woods and tracking down her best friend Lucy, who left the compound many years before. On Vern’s travels, we see her as an unlikeable person, brash, selfish, thankless, while also fascinating and resourceful. While easy to dislike, she has been deeply damaged by the lifestyles she endured. When she finds Lucy’s home, she discovers Lucy is presumed dead but forms a close relationship with Gogo, a Native American, and Bridget who take her and her children in. As expected, she is eventually hunted down and the scope of the conspiracy starts to unfold.

At this point, I’m thinking – take it home Rivers. You’re onto a winner. Unfortunately for me, the wheels came off the story and it became confusing, bizarre, convenient in the plotting, irrelevant holes the story jumped into to somehow illustrate some of the issues the author is passionate about and delivered plot lines that seemed impractical and unrealistic. Major WTF moments ruined a beautiful thing.

In the first 60 % of the book, I was enthralled with an unparalleled storyline and underlying mystery. The last 40 % totally turned my opinion 180 degrees on what had been a very impressive novel. This was a Buddy read with my Buddy, Ceecee, and after being excited for the first half of the book and excited about our discussions, we both reached a realisation that a major shift had occurred, and the scenes were difficult to enjoy. Please read Ceecee’s review, for her thoughts.

Ceecee and I seem to be outliers with this one. I would like to thank Random House, Merky Books, Farrar Straus & Giroux, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in return for an honest review.

My thanks to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for a review file of the audiobook in exchange for review consideration.

First, I will say that Karen Chilton is a fantastic narrator. She doesn't do a lot of narrative differentiation, but she has a power about her vocal performance that is incredibly captivating.

Now for the text itself, this was a really fun, interesting read that felt much faster than the 12+ hour listening time. Solomon knows how to keep a plot clipping along while still creating an incredibly interesting and nuanced discussion. (This was the book I was looking for when I was disappointed by First, Become Ashes) The larger conversation of facing systemic and historical trauma that Solomon has across their work is present here and is handled in a really interesting way. Solomon also does a great job of including so many marginalized identities in their conversation.

I do think there is a little bit of the situational convenience typical in thrillers and action stories where something or someone shows up at just the right time. Also, the fact that no one was doing more about the change Verne is undergoing seems very unlikely. But this is all to be expected from the genre.

This would make a solid addition to your inclusive summer reading list.

Awesome, dark and emotional.

Sorrowland is a story that could ALMOST be true. It is the story of how American society sees Black bodies as less than and something to do with as they want without asking. Vern is an 8-month pregnant teen when she runs away from Cainland, the strict religious commune where she lives. There the residents live closed away from the rest of the world and are given regular dosages of mysterious drugs. Vern has a rebellious spirit and can't take the strange rules anymore, so escapes. She ends up giving birth to her twins in the woods and raises them there through their toddlerhood. Even in the woods, Vern is haunted by visions of others from Cainland. Meanwhile her body is also going through an inexplicable transformation giving her increasing strength.

This is a book was a melding of social commentary, fantasy and horror. In our real history we have seen cases of Black people being used and abused by society and the government. With their lyrical storytelling, Rivers Solomon brings to life a story that casts a strange, fantastical light on what could happen. I loved this book and all it had to say.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy!

There was something very satisfying about this even though I feel like it didn't live up to its full potential. Every bit was intriguing and driving, and the story hummed along as I read it. But while the world was well imagined and terrifying, the individual scenes and settings sometimes moved so quickly that it was hard to place yourself in them, and what should have been a series of climactic final showdowns felt more like denouements.

This is a book that centers around mistrust - both real and imagined - and draws heavily on the Black American/Native American experience, presupposing some specific historical context. But you're coming in as a newcomer, or someone who has only skirted the edges of non-textbook (whitewashed) history, the book loses some of its depth.

Vern a fifteen year old girl who is black albino. She leaves a compound where she has lived her entire life and gives birth to a set of twins in the forest. Vern is a rebel and definitely rough around the edges. I was so intrigued by her story and parts were very bizarre. This book has breathtaking passages, but it’s harsh subjects are also difficult to swallow. I loved the new found family she finds in freedom. It was not my typical read, but I enjoyed it. Thank you Netgalley and MCD for this ARC.

Sorrowland is a horror novel with fantastical elements that confronts the ways Black Americans have been/are still treated in our country and how that permeates and transforms our main character, Vern. Vern is a teenager who was raised in a cult and recently married to the leader who decides to make a run for it while heavily pregnant and we follow along on her incredible journey as she navigates the world. Along the way Vern gives birth to her twins, makes a home for her little family in the woods, fights off her enemies, meets new people, and undergoes a shocking and astounding transformation.

I was completely enthralled by this unique and impactful story. Vern is such a strong protagonist who I had an instant connection with. Besides being strong Vern is also wonderfully complex and flawed which made her feel realistic. This is a testament to Solomon’s writing since the things that happen to Vern are so outlandish it was hard for me to picture what exactly was happening to her. I also appreciated how Solomon challenges the ideas of sexuality and gender without taking away from the fantastical horror elements that this story is based on.

My only critique of this book is that there were times, especially at the end, where there was a lot of telling and not showing. Since this story is told all from Vern’s perspective it felt disjointed when we would have an omnipresent narrator tells us why things were happening. There is no way for Vern to know these events or reasons so I wasn’t really a fan of being told them. It also didn’t add much to the story since there were still some unanswered questions at the end. Although, the lingering questions don’t bother me since I enjoyed the relatively open ended way the story ended.

If you are looking for an eccentric horror novel that has a lot of important things to say then this book is perfect for you. If you aren’t sure you can handle horror, particularly body horror, then this might be one that you need to pass on. Rivers Solomon has such a distinctive way of writing where the characters and setting are fleshed out in a beautifully captivating way and I look forward to reading anything that they come out with in the future.