Sorrowland is a 2021 gothic science-fiction novel by American writer Rivers Solomon.[1][2]
 | |
| Author | Rivers Solomon |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Published | 4 May 2021 |
| Publisher | MCD Books (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) |
| Pages | 355 (Hardcover) |
| ISBN | 0374266778 |
Plot
editVern Riley grows up in the Blessed Gardens of Cain, a Black separatist cult. At the Blessed Gardens, or Cainland, she is forced to marry the cult’s leader, Reverend Sherman. Members of Cainland frequently experience “hauntings”; Vern believes that Sherman is drugging the congregation.
Vern escapes and gives birth to twins in the woods. During this time, she develops increased strength and healing abilities, as well as a bony tumor on her back. Despite being away from Cainland, she experiences continued hauntings. She is stalked by a figure called “the fiend”. Vern meets a biker named Ollie and begins a relationship with her. Vern learns that Ollie is the fiend, attacks her, and leaves her for dead. Vern decides to leave the woods and track down Lucy, a childhood friend who was also able to escape Cainland.
Vern and her children meet Bridget, Lucy’s aunt, as well as Gogo, an EMT. Vern realizes that the hauntings are actually fragments of other people’s memories rather than drug-induced hallucinations. Gogo discovers that Vern’s symptoms are caused by a newly discovered fungal infection. They theorize that the Cainland cult is a psyop designed to research the fungus and its effects on humans. Vern begins a relationship with Gogo. Vern sees a haunting of Reverend Sherman, who states he has been dead for three months. He tells Vern that the fungus absorbs the memories of the infected dead, creating the hauntings.
Ollie, who survived Vern’s attack, breaks into Bridget’s house. She uses Queen, a woman infected by the fungus, as a weapon. After a brief escape, Gogo is shot and Vern is captured. Ollie reveals that the government has been using Cainland to try to develop supersoldiers, which is difficult because most infected humans do not gain the superhuman strength of Queen and Ollie. Vern rips out Ollie’s throat, killing her. Distraught over Ollie’s death, Queen dies by suicide. Vern uses her fungal powers to heal Gogo. They rush to Cainland, but find that the government has killed everyone in a coverup. Vern uses her fungal powers to resurrect the dead.
Publication history
editThe book was announced by Tor.com in October 2019 as an acquisition by the MCD Books division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. It was published in May 2021, Solomon's third novel.[3]
Reception
editHephzibah Anderson of The Guardian described the book as "a gothic techno-thriller" whose conviction overcame a shaky plot, adding that it was about "escape, self-acceptance and queer love. It's about genocide and the exploitation of black bodies, self-delusion and endemic corruption, motherhood and inheritance."[4] Christina Orlando of the Los Angeles Review of Books stated that the book was "filled with sentences so exquisite, so crushing that I found myself rereading them over and over again" but that "I'm not sure I ever felt a sense of dread or hopelessness that typically characterizes Gothic horror fiction."[5] Julia Lindsay of the SFRA Review stated that the book "uses gothic and fantastic conventions that are particularly associated with Southern and African American literature" and that Solomon forged "a unique and fruitful link between the novel's queer and posthumanist themes."[6]
Kirkus Reviews stated that there was "perhaps too much" going on in the book.[7] Danny Lore of NPR stated that Solomon wrote "about Black pain in its rawest form, and we feel Vern's raw, vulnerable state throughout all of Sorrowland," but that the book ultimately placed too much emphasis on atmosphere instead of story.[8]
Sorrowland was a finalist for the 2021 Ray Bradbury Prize.[9][10]
References
edit- ^ "Paula Guran Reviews Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon". Locus. June 24, 2021. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ "Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon". Publishers Weekly. May 4, 2021. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ "Announcing Sorrowland, a New Work of Gothic Fiction from Rivers Solomon". Tor.com. October 3, 2019. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ "Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon review – an electrifying gothic techno-thriller". The Guardian. May 18, 2021.
- ^ "Feral Monstrosity: On Rivers Solomon's "Sorrowland"". Los Angeles Review of Books. July 24, 2021. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ^ "Review of Sorrowland". SFRA Review. October 29, 2021. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ "SORROWLAND | Kirkus Reviews". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2022-04-01. Retrieved 2022-04-01.
- ^ Lore, Danny (May 14, 2021). "In 'Sorrowland,' The Story Gets Lost in the Forest". NPR. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ Templeton, Molly (2022-02-23). "The Los Angeles Times Announces the Finalists for the Ray Bradbury Prize". Reactor. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
- ^ "2022 Ray Bradbury Prize Finalists". Locus Online. 2022-02-23. Archived from the original on 2023-02-07. Retrieved 2024-05-29.