Sorrowland A Novel

Sorrowland A Novel by Rivers Solomon, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux on May 4, 2021, is a 368-page work that explores themes of escape and transformation. The story follows Vern, a pregnant woman who flees a strict religious compound to seek refuge in the woods. As she gives birth to twins, she grapples with the challenges of raising them away from societal influences while confronting the violent community she left behind.
Readers will find a narrative that intertwines elements of Gothic fiction and science fiction, delving into Vern’s struggle against her past and the uncanny changes she experiences. The book examines the complexities of identity and history, revealing how personal and collective traumas shape individuals. Sorrowland presents a unique perspective on the intersection of race, gender, and societal expectations, inviting readers to reflect on the broader implications of Vern’s journey.
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A TIME 100 Must-Read Book of 2021
A New York Times Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of 2021
The Stonewall Book Award winner of 2022
Named a Best Book of 2021 by NPR, The New York Public Library, Publishers Weekly and more!
A triumphant, genre-bending breakout novel from one of the boldest new voices in contemporary fiction.
Vern—seven months pregnant and desperate to escape the strict religious compound where she was raised—flees for the shelter of the woods. There, she gives birth to twins, and plans to raise them far from the influence of the outside world.
But even in the forest, Vern is a hunted woman. Forced to fight back against the community that refuses to let her go, she unleashes incredible brutality far beyond what a person should be capable of, her body wracked by inexplicable and uncanny changes.
To understand her metamorphosis and to protect her small family, Vern has to face the past, and more troublingly, the future—outside the woods. Finding the truth will mean uncovering the secrets of the compound she fled but also the violent history in America that produced it.
Rivers Solomon’s Sorrowland is a genre-bending work of Gothic fiction. Here, monsters aren’t just individuals, but entire nations. It is a searing, seminal book that marks the arrival of a bold, unignorable voice in American fiction.
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