Sorrowland 

By. Rivers Solomon 

P. 368 

Format: eArc 

Rating: ****1/2 

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I received an e-arc from @Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

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Rivers Solomon write my favorite book of 2020 - An Unkindness of Ghosts. Sorrowland is very different. Sorrowland is an urban fantasy book about a young individual who grows up in a cult for African Americans and decides to leave. They discover that there is more to the home that they have called home, and that their is more too themselves. 

 

Sorrowland is a story that has a lot to unpack with you read it. The story has never left my mind since I read it. After a while I plan on picking it up and reading it again. The story itself is dark, but buried in that darkness is a sense of hope. It is a fantasy, but it is also very very real. 

 

If this all sounds vague, that is because to say anything about the plot would be to give something away. There is a lot going on, and it will take you a bit to even ground yourself enough to figure out where you are. However, you will not leave the story with everything tied up in a neat little bow. No this is speculative fiction at it’s best, it will leave you thinking about everything. 

 

My favorite and least favorite aspect of the book are the twins. They are my least favorite, because they are written to old. They were not believable. They were as mature in the start of the story at 18 months old as they were at the end when they were five(ish). I get the difficulty of moving along the narration of when there is only one adult and two children, but they were too old too young. However, the twins were also my favorite aspect. The way they were described is brilliant. The way you see them through their mother’s eyes and the way you get glimpses as to how others see them is remarkable. I loved it.