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Sorrowland

Book by Rivers Solomon · 12 quotes · Life, Loss, Aching

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All Life Loss Aching Arguing Books Change Childhood Complexity Conflict Content Warnings Contesting Crisis Death Deception Domestic Violence Escalating Fearlessness Freedom Gullibility Heroes

Sorrowland Quotes

“There was no church, no philosophy, no school of thought, no nothing that could be trusted in full. To believe too much in anything was to sacrifice your faculties. The only way forward was to embrace the tussle of it all. Born with a seething righteousness, Vern looked down on anyone les willing or able to put up a fight than she was.”

Trust Complexity Righteousness Skepticism Trusting

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland

“Vern didn't know what she wanted. She was a girl made of aches and she flung her body at the world in the hopes that something, anything, might soothe the tendernesses.”

World Life Passion Tenderness Aching

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland

“In the woods, it had been so easy to assert herself fearlessly, but it was impossible to be a free woman among people. Society demanded a certain level of lying about oneself.”

Lying Freedom Society Deception Self Deception Fearlessness

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland

“I hope that even as Sorrrowland delves into the pain these colonial states have wrought, one might see the joy, triumph, and humor of those who resist, resist, resist. That said, there is no mincing words about some of the darker themes in this book. Note discussion and instances of racism, misogyny, self-harm, suicidality, and homophobia, inclusion of animal death and explicit violence, and references to sexual violence that have taken place off the page. I hope you find in this book whatever it is you need right this moment.”

Joy Content Warnings

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland

“No. Not when I think about it. Not at all," Vern said, thrust into despair at the depth of human gullibility. Perhaps it was a necessity of the species. To be bent toward believing. For in the wild, a child who did not take to the heart the words of its caregivers would easily perish.”

Humanity Human Beings Survival Safety Gullibility Necessity

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland

“It only ever took a moment for life to break apart at the seams.”

Life Change Trauma

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland

“Vern thought of how much less lonely her childhood might have been had she been able to read.”

Reading Childhood Loneliness

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland

“It was easy to make someone into a hero when they were gone, to ascribe to them infinite potential.”

Death Loss Potential Heroes

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland

“Loving, worshipping, and bowing down to folks who harmed you was written into the genes of all animal creatures. To be alive meant to lust after connection, and better to have one with the enemy than with no one at all. A baby's fingers and mouth grasp on instinct.”

Loss Domestic Violence

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland

“Vern stowed away the titles of books like morsels she might snack on later. She liked being reminded of the incomprehensibleness of the world. There was more to life than Cainland, more to earth than its collected sorrows. There was wonder and awe and the allure of nothingness. No one had figured everything out, but there were people who'd made their home in the searching. If they could dwell there, so could Vern.”

Knowledge Information Books Seeking Titles Incomprehensibility

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland

“Vern didn't believe Mam's adage about picking battles. Everything that could be contested needed contesting. She could wear opponents down by the sheer quantity of escalations.”

Arguing Escalating Contesting Picking Battles

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland

“...she was letting the crisis invigorate her. She was like Vern in that way, more at home in conflict than in peace. Tragedy sharpened you. It was the quickest way to turn yourself into an edge.”

Peace Conflict Tragedy Crisis Sharpness

Book:Sorrowland

Source: Sorrowland