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Fantasy review: Sorrowland


I'm not sure that Sorrowland can be called reviewed as fantasy, since I believe technically it's shelved as a horror novel. I've never read horror before. 

I think that's why I struggled with this book. Usually I love everything by Rivers Solomon. I dove into Sorrowland wanting to be in love. Instead, the narrative didn't quite fit into the genre conventions I expected. 

To be honest, I'm not sure what I wanted--fantasy, but darker? The stomach-clenching fear of a thriller? This was neither of those experiences. Sorrowland has the world-building of fantasy, the slow, steady release of information, the steady realization that someone, somewhere, is a monster--but I never quite settled into knowing what I was reading, or what to expect next. Fear never came, nor the usual structure of commercial fantasy. 

The narrative built in a way I wasn't used to, and the truth shifted in a way I didn't expect. Maybe that's the point of horror--I don't know yet. 

By the end, I was excited by the book. I practically ran to my partner to tell him about what happened, and what surprised me. The way this fits in with other media we've consumed. Body horror, colonialism, the animal truth of living. 

I think I might like this more on the second read, knowing what to expect. Part of what my control-freak heart loves about genre fiction is knowing the signposts, and while reading this book I was in the dark. It was fascinating. From a craft perspective, it makes me curious--what are the sign posts to horror? And how is it different from fantasy? I need to gather more data points in order to be able to answer that question. 

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