Description

“A wonderland of fantastical and frightening, magical and real.” Marlon James
“A fantastical, fierce reckoning… Sorrowland is gorgeous.” Roxanne Gay
“Dark, magical and incredibly satisfying.” Independent
“An exhilarating journey to the outer limits of science fiction.” Guardian.

—

Vern, a hunted woman alone in the woods, gives birth to twins and raises them
away from the influence of the outside world. But something is wrong – not with
them, but with her own body. It’s changing, it’s itching, it’s stronger, it’s… not
normal.

To understand her body’s metamorphosis, Vern must investigate not just the
secluded religious compound she fled but the violent history of dehumanization,
medical experimentation, and genocide that produced it. In the course of
reclaiming her own darkness, Vern learns that monsters aren’t just individuals,
but entire histories, systems, and nations.

Sorrowland is a memorable work of Gothic fiction that wrestles with the tangled
history of racism in America and the marginalisation of society’s undesirables. It
is a searing, seminal book that marks the arrival of a bold, unignorable voice in
American fiction.

Publisher Review

A fantastical, fierce reckoning ... Sorrowland is gorgeous, and the writing, the storytelling, are magnificent. This country has a dark history of what it's willing to do to black bodies, and Rivers Solomon lays that truth bare in a most unexpected, absolutely brilliant way. -- Roxane Gay Sorrowland is a wonderland of fantastical and frightening, magical and real. At the centre of this world and leaping off the page is Vern: unstoppable, unforgettable, and unlike anyone you have ever seen before. -- Marlon James, Booker Prize-winning author Dark, magical, and incredibly satisfying, Sorrowland is a fantastical tale that grapples with America's history of racism and marginalised communities ... This gripping gender-bending yarn from UK-based American author Rivers Solomon is yet another fine offering from Stormzy's #Merky Books. -- Emily Pennink * Independent * An exhilarating journey to the outer limits of science fiction, steeped in the southern gothic tradition and grounded in the physical and social realities of being poor, powerless, black and female in America ... A furious, justified anger drives this novel, drawing on the US history of racial oppression, but it's also joyful and wildly entertaining. * Guardian * Vivid and gut-wrenching * SFX *