Sorrowland

This book was provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

Wow - Just Wow!

While it's not fair to compare, I was a bit concerned because while I loved An Unkindness of Ghosts, I really wasn't a fan of The Deep - even though it had a great premise and execution

I wasn't disappointed - Solomon's story takes us to a world that eerily mimics our own with an eye for its natural beauty and its human shortcomings. This is a fantastical tale rooted in reality borrowing from humanity's shameful past with non-consensual medical experimentation, segregation, and an examination of the influence and abuse of a socio-political-nationalist-religious cult. There are also subtle challenges to conventional thoughts on gender and sexuality; exploring aspects of Native American cultural beliefs surrounding the topics. A personal favorite touch were the homages to Baldwin, Hughes, Le Guin and other literary greats.

At its core is a young mother who escapes from a guarded compound into the surrounding forest to birth and raise her children. We witness her struggle with past/generational traumas (her own and others) via recurring hallucinations that are breathtakingly real. She also struggles with an unknown debilitating physical transformation amid a fight for survival from a beast who is both hunting and haunting her. The journey and resolution regarding her quest for answers surrounding the cult, its leaders, her friends, and family was truly a page-turning experience.