"Sorrowland" by Rivers Solomon (BR)

[Silvana]

This is one of the most anticipated new release in 2021, because of, well, Rivers Solomon. Their stories, whether you like them or not, are always deeply imaginative. Come and join Kaa and I to read Sorrowland on its publication date ;p

Side note: Funny how most of my BRs now are about genre-bending books.

[Emmett]

I have an e-ARC of this one so am definitely interested. I will try to hold off reading until closer to the date so it is fresh in my mind when you guys discuss. Looking forward to it 😊

[Silvana]

Emmett wrote: "I have an e-ARC of this one so am definitely interested. I will try to hold off reading until closer to the date so it is fresh in my mind when you guys discuss. Looking forward to it 😊"

Feel to free post your thoughts here before it starts :)

[Emmett]

I just started this one earlier today. I love the prose and I am really curious to see where the story goes.

[Emmett]

That was a wild ride! I am certainly impressed and will definitely have to check out Solomon's other novels.

my thoughts

[Silvana]

Good to know it's good!

[Musings on Living]

I loved this book, so interested in hearing everyone's thoughts!

[DivaDiane]

I will definitely be reading this one this month, but it may be a couple of weeks.

[Silvana]

I hope I can start next week

[Joelle.P.S]

I'm in Australia but I'm setting an alarm to wake up and hear Sarah Gaily talk to Rivers Solomon about this book! (Event is approx 17 hours after this comment.) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rivers-s...

[Gabi]

I'm still hoping it will turn up on storytel ... ^^'

[DivaDiane]

I wish I could watch that. Solomon’s writing has a quality about it that reminds me of LeGuin.

[Musings on Living]

Thank you Joelle!

[Silvana]

Starting today!

[Bonnie]

Through Chapter 4.
Wondering,
(view spoiler)[-Who or what is this fiend, a monster or a person? It can't be the judge, how could a judge live in the woods. Or does Vern not know enough to know that?
-Why does the fiend sometimes express interest in her but mostly not?
-Why have the Cain people not searched for and captured her?
-How can you make linen, wool pullovers or knee socks out in the woods?
(hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Bonnie wrote: "Through Chapter 4.
Wondering,
"

(view spoiler)[-Who or what is this fiend, a monster or a person? It can't be the judge, how could a judge live in the woods. Or does Vern not know enough to know that? surely somebody from the sect. but a twist when she's just imagining stuff would be interesting too.
-Why does the fiend sometimes express interest in her but mostly not? she camouflaged well enough?
-Why have the Cain people not searched for and captured her? not that important? or she's just good at escaping. girl seems to have some survival skills already.
-How can you make linen, wool pullovers or knee socks out in the woods? yeah I was wondering about it too. maybe she stole it along the way. (hide spoiler)]

20% in and I gotta say this is really bleak I feel I need to take a break once in a while. Yet the atmospheric writing keeps you glued to the pages. For me it has better flow than An Unkindness of Ghosts.

[Emmett]

Bonnie wrote: "Through Chapter 4.
Wondering..."

That last question on your list made me chuckle. Good point, never thought of that.

You'll get the other questions answered soon enough though!

[Bonnie]

Silvana wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "Through Chapter 4.
Wondering,
(view spoiler)[
-How can you make linen, wool pullovers or knee socks out in the woods?
yeah I was wondering about it too. maybe she stole it along the way.

Chapter 3 says:

Vern lived. She made gear. Hats to fit her babies’ fat yam heads, a linen gown, two wool pullovers and two pairs of knee socks, leggings made of rabbit furs for winter.

(hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

I missed that! She is even more awesome than The Revenant guy.

[Silvana]

Just realize I made a wrong chapter reference earlier. So in Chapter 7 what do you all think about (view spoiler)[Ollie being the fiend? It is rather a sophisticated spy stuff for religious sect or not? So she is like professionally hired just to hunt an escapee for years? That's a lot of commitment too. (hide spoiler)]

[Emmett]

My thoughts on it are (view spoiler)[ that it was one of the best twists I have ever read! I was not expecting that at all and was honestly really impressed.

Can't comment more than that as I have already finished the book, haha. (hide spoiler)]

[Bonnie]

Silvana wrote: So in Chapter 7 what do you all think about
(view spoiler)[ Ollie being the fiend?
Debbie Downer here, sorry.
It was a surprising twist (creepy with the trunk) but I did not find it believable. Why.
1. Vern had had multiple run-ins with the fiend. She had seen him, heard him whistling, heard his voice, smelled him, and possibly he licked her ear in Chapter 1. She had been close enough to sink a knife into his thigh. (Did a thigh scar ever come up in the Vern+Ollie scenes?) So I can't bring myself to believe that V would not recognize the fiend in Ollie.
2. Once Ollie knew and cared about Vern, yes, then I can buy that she would deceive her employers, but not at the beginning. During the first year, why not just capture V as she was hired to do? Or go back to Cain and report that V had been found? Or quit the job?
3. The disparity between an evil twisted baby animal killer and the amiable red-haired chips & salsa Ollie we saw seems *too* far apart.
(hide spoiler)]

[Bonnie]

Chapter 7, a thought about Ollie
(view spoiler)[This made me think that Ollie knew about Vern's transformation, what she was turning into -- or even that Ollie was the same kind of creature. Ollie's speed has come in:

“If this is how you want to do it—fine. I see your strength has come in, but I don’t think your speed has.” Before Vern fully processed Ollie’s words, the fiend dashed out the apartment. Vern chased after her down the concrete steps to the main door of the small complex.

How would Ollie know about that, though? She wasn't from Cain, just a hired person. Well, if she did know, it didn't inform us bc she soon left the story!
(hide spoiler)]

[Bonnie]

Through Chapter 19
(view spoiler)[Vern is fortunate to have befriended two people willing to provide her with free lodging, food, and medical care. The same two also enjoy spending time with two feral four-year-olds, providing preschool education and free child care. Pretty sweet!

The carapace metamorphosis and the hauntings just don't interest me that much. Maybe if it were telepathy, or a preface to a reunion with Lucy? But it is seemingly actual ghosts, not all people Vern knew/knows, just ghosts haunting her. Like in a ghost story or horror movie. (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Bonnie wrote: "Through Chapter 19
"

Speaking of fortunate (view spoiler)[Idk why but I got a bit irked that there's a romance between her and Gogo - I mean, why? does it add anything to the story? I long for more friendship stories and having main characters entangled in romance with every major other character is boring, no matter what their sexual preference are. (hide spoiler)]

About the other thing (view spoiler)[I've been reading fungi-themed books last year and one of them reminded me of this - have you read Mexican Gothic?

I am glad they put this weird hauntings - it made the book more SFF LOL I like the idea of mycelial connection among living things (and dead) and also the transformation. Wonder what kind of actual experiment really going on and why, and how it affect Vern's children (awfully smart for four year olds) (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Finished.

some thoughts
(view spoiler)[There's always something in the way Rivers Solomon writes their characters and creates atmospheric feelings that I really treasure. The Deep and An Unkindness of Ghosts, while I might forget the exact plot lines and whatnots, I won't forget the way the story and its characters gave me. Sorrowland is another one that has an imprint. Yet it also suffers from the same setbacks like in the above mentioned books - I became disoriented in the middle or 2/3 part and impatient towards the ending until I feel like wanting it to be over asap and reached a conclusion and revelations and all, which might or might not have been too satisfying.

I could not really pinpoint why, but it would have something to do with the plot and the writing. Yet, I truly, really, deeply enjoyed the first half of this book. It was magnificent and emotionally aesthetic. (hide spoiler)]

I see you also share my rating, Bonnie.

[Bonnie]

Silvana wrote: "Finished.
...
I see you also share my rating, Bonnie"

I've had a low-grade suspicion all year that I was being generous. Upon re-reading it now, with it the group Fantasy pick, I verified that and subtracted a star
:-(
"It was OK"

[DivaDiane]

DivaDiane wrote: "I will definitely be reading this one this month, but it may be a couple of weeks."

LOL. I have an ARC, which I am now finally read due to the fact that it's now an official SFFBC group read and we are discussing it in Virtual Book Club (24th April 2022). I'm at about 60%. She's in (view spoiler)[the cabin with Gogo (hide spoiler)]

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

This has become a group book, official threads are here:

First impressions | Final thoughts