Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

8 reviews

illgiveyouahint's review against another edition

challenging dark funny medium-paced

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

3.5

First finished vacation read!
I wil lsay I'm not much of a crime thriller reader. It's not really my thing.
However the first 3/4 of the book were great. I enjoyed the switching between now and then. I thought the three narrators had all distinct voices. Ben was so beautifully stupid and teenagery. I occasionally found it funny even.
But I gotta be honest the ending really disappointed me. After all this build up I expected a bit more. It felt like the resolution/reveal came out of nowhere and it was all tied up with a bow all too neatly in my honest opinion. Like it was such a let down after such a build up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Alcohol, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Blood, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Grief, Violence, Vomit, Bullying, and Child abuse

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Homophobia, Cancer, Incest, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Ableism, Abortion, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide

kingcrookback's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

This is my second Gillian Flynn after Sharp Objects, and while I rank Dark Places below Sharp Objects, I did enjoy this. It's well-paced and Flynn maintains the tension and intrigue throughout. I wasn't entirely surprised by the ending, largely because the hints were seeded throughout the story well enough that the reveal felt like it fell into place in a way that made sense - which is honestly more satisfying than twist ending geared toward pure shock. I think this might make for a decent reread for that reason. I also enjoyed the exploration of the unglamorous, more unsavory aspects of grief and trauma - Libby's anger, the sluggishness of her depression, her desire to isolate. Like Sharp Objects, this is great source material for a miniseries, in the right hands and with a good cast; shame the 2015 adaptation wasn't well-received.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Gore, Child death, Death of parent, Animal death, and Murder

Moderate: Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Vomit, Pedophilia, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

alidathealien's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

This should be called Yucky Places because Gillian Flynn is very talented in the art of describing a scene that makes me want to take a shower. I liked this a lot more than Sharp Objects. The plot was fast paced and engaging and I certainly didn't figure out what happened before it was explained! I loved how little things mentioned at the beginning come back in a significant way just as you were starting to forget about them. The way the different character perspectives tend to refer to the same things but with very different contexts would be very funny if not for how serious the book is. Just that aspect reminded me a lot of Arrested Development humor. Can we get another mini series starring Amy Adams please?

cammiem8's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.25

This books is very difficult for me to review. Living up to its title, Dark Places is certainly the darkest, most misanthropic, most viscerally disgusting book Gillian Flynn has written to date. It is not a pleasant read, yet her prose so expertly invokes feelings of dread and repulsion. And it is repulsive, not even the gore of the murders, but the nasty, offputting details in the everyday of the characters. Not one character is likeable. While Libby isn’t as pathetic as Camille, nor as cunningly cruel and calculating as Amy, she’s the most easily hated of Flynn’s trouble women protagonists. It’s the most seething condemnation of true crime fans (deservedly so) I’ve ever seen, and this coming from the woman who wrote the introduction to I’ll Be Gone In the Dark as a fan of the genre herself. A very interesting read, it certainly not enjoyable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Classism, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Pedophilia, and Violence

Moderate: Pregnancy and Body shaming

Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, and Racism

girl_interrupted's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Murder, and Child death

Minor: Racism and Homophobia

lamplight's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I don't know why I always end a Gillian Flynn story surprised that I love it because she's one of my favorite writers but. I loved this skdkgkg

She's just SO GOOD at writing stories about women for women. I always love to think about her article, "I was not a nice little girl", and the quote at the end that women's dark sides should be "nurtured like nasty black orchids." Like pop off queen!!!

I also don't know why I was surprised at the end that Deandra was involved, because it's always the women isn't it!!! There is no woman in this book that takes a background role and even though the murder is obviously grisly and horrible idk I just like that she does it. Women's evil is something that can be so personal

Also I love the hyperrealism of men being absolutely USELESS! In solving crimes, in contributing to the family, in pretty much every aspect of this story skfkfmt too many mystery / detective stories feature super smart men aware of their surroundings and... it's just not realistic. A man contributing? Doesn't sit right with me.

Anyway, loved this, thoroughly enjoyed her writing, and I'll probably keep thinking about it all next week because just... wow. Gillian Flynn knows how to write thrillers and mysteries and that's that on that. Would recommend if you're feeling miserable and feel like a grim Kansas farmtown would be a cathartic release for the misery

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia

m4rin's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Homophobia

ashleycmms's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Self harm, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Homophobia

Minor: Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Incest