Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

46 reviews

brennerson's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Self harm, Blood, Chronic illness, Rape, and Violence

cateyeschloe's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

My main praise of this book is that it had a really excellent twist ending. The twist, while not wholly surprising, was deeply disturbing in its reveal, and I really enjoyed that aspect. 

The writing is interesting; however, the word “fine” jumps to mind more than any other in regard to the writing style. That being said, the story is definitely compelling. There’s a great mystery and the characters are complex and intriguing. 

Hands down, the thing I grappled with the most about this book is the rampant misogyny throughout, especially internalized in the main character. I feel like tackling misogyny and the way society treats women as a whole is a big part of Gillian Flynn’s writing, in general, but I definitely struggled with it here. 

I think one of the most compelling quotes in the entire book, to me, though is when someone asks:

“Besides, why would a woman do something like that?”

and the response given is:

“Why would a man do something like that?”

The book shines a light on the idea that women can only (and should only) be feminine, soft, vulnerable, submissive, etc. 

Wind Gap has instilled in its citizens that woman are one dimensional creatures who serve their purpose as wife and mother and sister and daughter. Even the main character carries the scars of these ideals with her. 

“… Wind Gap, a town that demands utmost femininity in its fairer sex…”

“‘I don’t mean this to sound cruel… but it seems like a part of your heart can never work if you don’t have kids. Like it will always be shut off.’”

“‘…I mean there’s all this talk these days of God versus science, but it seems like, with babies, both sides agree. The Bible says be fruitful and multiply, and science, well, when it all boils down, that’s what women were made for, right? To bear children.’”

At one point, after a schoolgirl has been forced to do something sexually she did not want to do, a teacher makes her apologize, citing:

“‘Young ladies must be in control of their bodies because boys are not.’”

Everyone in town (including the main character) insists a man must be the killer, that women aren’t often killers, and they seem to imply that this is because women are too physically weak and mentally soft for such things. 

“Women didn’t kill this way, they just didn’t. You could count the list of female serial killers on one hand, and their victims were almost always male…”

Camille is the only character in the book that I truly struggled with. Her internalized misogyny is so prevalent and her version of feminism is so wildly misplaced that it circles all the way back around to putting women down, to the point when she rails:

“‘You’re sexiest. I’m so sick of liberal lefty men practicing sexual discrimination under the guise of protecting women against sexual discrimination…

“‘… And sometimes drunk women aren’t raped; they just make stupid choices - and to say we deserve special treatment when we’re drunk because we’re women, to say we need to be looked after, I find offensive.’”

I could be missing something and be glossing over the bigger picture, but often I find my expectations in a setting such as this to be that the main character, at minimum, has enough character growth to counter statements and ideals such as these by the end of the book. 

Camille doesn’t really make it there, and I find it difficult to hold up a main character  as a beacon of feminism or overcoming the plague of misogyny when she consistently has so many bad, dangerous, and self-deprecating takes. 

And maybe that was never the author’s intention. Maybe Camille isn’t supposed to represent growth to us, maybe she just has to take the beating of misogyny and be an example to us of what can (and does) happen under its influence. 

If that’s the case, then I understand that and can say that writing choice simply wasn’t for me. 

And despite my nit-picky criticisms and overanalyzing, I definitely did enjoy the story and thought it had a very satisfying twist at the end. 

I’d like to give this one another read at some point and digest a little more of its perspective. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Grief, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, and Drug use

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, and Suicide

There are many graphic displays of active self harm and the effects self harm leave behind. It is integral to the plot and prevalent throughout.

There is a side character who commits suicide while in a hospital for their mental state.

Child abuse from a parent is prevalent throughout and very disturbing.

mickraine's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Self harm, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gaslighting, Drug use, Child abuse, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Death, Chronic illness, Child death, Blood, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Bullying

Moderate: Body shaming, Suicide, Animal death, and Cursing

tkatt20's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This book contains very descriptive and serious topics and content, please proceed with caution and look up a full list of TWs for this book, I also have a list at the end of my reveiw of some I took note of.

This was a ride. The premise it's was good, it felt like reading a Criminal Minds episode for the first 100 or so pages, but then we entered into the second half where things dragged and got weirder and more off-putting, and not in a good way, more of a "why is this thirty+ year old taking drugs from a 13 year old" way. I did genuinely like the main plots of the book, but once the MC has a few vastly inappropriate interactions with underage characters I was a little checked out. 
I did keep reading for the mystery though. I was so certain I knew who the killer was but was quickly proven wrong at the end. I thought the characters were very interesting, mostly unlikable, but interesting nonetheless, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how they all responded to the crimes going on in their little town. If you're looking for a multi-layered, macabre mystery, then this will be perfect for you, otherwise I would go looking for something a little lighter and to preserve a little bit of the innocence you may have left.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Alcoholism, Vomit, Mental illness, Bullying, and Child death

Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Classism, Lesbophobia, Cancer, and Cannibalism

littlelines's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Self harm, and Mental illness

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

ahopper7's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Body horror, Death, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Murder, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Addiction, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Chronic illness, and Mental illness

Moderate: Drug use, Cursing, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Animal death, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

cinthiaurora's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.0

Every woman in a Gillian Flynn novel is just The Worst. And I love that for them. 
I think she’s a very talented writer but in some instances throughout this book the way she presents new info felt a little off. 

  For example, the cutting.
For something that Flynn really emphasized plagues Camille’s every waking thought and influences every aspect of how she interacts with others, it just felt funny to “reveal” it half way through the novel. A novel being narrated by Camille no less. 
Same thing with Adora’s violent tendencies. Up until Camille recalls the cheek biting incident, Adora was just presented to be a slightly overbearing, distant but possibly well-meaning mother. For being such a core memory you would think she would have brought this up, just, like, a little bit sooner. I understand the way to build suspense and all the strategies authors use to “leave breadcrumbs” in a story all the way up until the final climax. I understand the reason why these things couldn’t all be brought up at once. But sometimes it just felt like Camille had this selective amnesia until it was convenient for the narrative. 
It felt funny, that’s all. But that’s just me being nitpicky.
Another thing that felt weird was the way Richard and Camille just, never spoke again immediately after the climax. I’m not saying it’s not realistic or that I craved any further “romance” between them, it just felt like a loose end Flynn didn’t know how to tie up so it was dropped altogether. 

Anyways, those are just some of my thoughts. Great novel overall. Very twisted (in a good way) exploration of the  dynamic between mother and daughter- which was rightfully the center focus of the book. Everything beyond that isn’t worth nitpicking too much. (Unless you’re like me and you like nitpicking :)) 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Self harm, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Grief, Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Rape, Child death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Vomit

Minor: Animal death, Classism, Sexism, and Misogyny

booknerdbetty's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Drug use, Gaslighting, Sexism, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Self harm, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Homophobia, and Rape

Moderate: Animal cruelty

becktothefuture's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Grief, Suicide, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Torture, Misogyny, Vomit, Child abuse, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Medical content, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and Child death

sofipitch's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This book was really amazing and un-put downable. Flynn did an excellent job creating that gothic atmosphere of dread, even from the beginning before you even understand why Camille dislikes her mother. She also captures the gothic genre's over the top drama in the way the story resolves very nicely as well. The only parts of this book were the way sex is emphasized, especially with teen characters, like the way Camille describes her younger sister and her friends, but I also agree with the Richard in that she grew up in a super misogynistic society so Camille potentially didn't know better/ think it was wrong. Bug it just made my skin crawl reading it, which again may be the intention but it happened A LOT.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Drug use, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Grief

Minor: Addiction and Pedophilia