Come into the woods with the Book Squad and special guest Leah Rachel von Essen to discuss Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon. We talk about the book’s pacing, Vern’s characterization, gender identity and sexuality, the mistreatment of Black people by white America, and of course, mushrooms. Next, Emily interviews Catriona Ward, author of the novel The Last House on Needless Street. You don’t want to miss this fun interview! After that, we dig into some listener feedback on Klara and the Sun, Harrow the Ninth (the sequel to Gideon the Ninth), and The Final Girl Support Group. Join us and Tirzah Price for our next Othersode on the Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers, based on the novel by Liane Moriarty, on October 18th. Read along for our next Bookpisode on November 1 when we discuss Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters. Send feedback to thesquad@booksquad.com or DM us on Instagram!

TOC
:30–Welcome, Leah! Spoiler warning and intro q
10:55–Book intro
12:00–How the book is divided into sections
27:37–Cult stuff
37:22–Stolen land, Indigenous presence
50:27–The body
55:50–Gender identity
1:10:19–Ratings!
1:19:52–Interview with Catriona Ward
1:56:12–feedback
2:05:26–what’s on the blog? What’s up next?

Find Leah at: https://whilereadingandwalking.com

Links:
https://whilereadingandwalking.com/post/650390706536448000/river-solomon-talks-sorrowland-with-sarah-gailey