A review by cassiecollins
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • 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

4.5

I picked this up at a used book store on a whim, and I'm very glad I did! Solomon is great at using lush prose to describe the brutal and grotesque. There's certainly a lot of social commentary here, but I never felt that it reached soap-box-levels of proselytizing—just calling it as it is in relation to the narrative at hand. A lot of complex and interesting female and/or queer characters also really fleshed out the piece. The ending felt a bit too fast and abrupt, but I think it served its purpose well enough. Definitely would recommend this!