Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Sharp Objects

This is the first of Flynn's books that I've read, and it's the first of her books to be published. It was good, I just wasn't able to emotionally connect to the characters for some reason. In general, the mystery kept me interested more than the characters. To me, this book reminded me of Stephen King and Shirley Jackson, but it didn't have whatever secret sauce Jackson and King have that pushes the writing and the characters into top-tier. That disconnect makes some of the "disturbing small town details" come off a little forced, despite the fact that I'm well aware of and familiar with disturbing small-town details. I find them believable, but they're missing... something... that integrates them fully into the story; so instead, IMHO, they give a Hostel-style "violence for violence's sake" vibe.

I have a couple more of Flynn's books on hold from the library, so it will be interesting to see how she grows as a writer and if she can clear whatever this je ne sais quoi hurdle is.

Also, this isn't a real make-or-break thing, but how flexible is Camille

that there's only one spot on her back missing the words? How good at writing backwards while looking in a mirror can she be?

Content Warnings

courtnyklly's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-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

3.0

this was my first gillian flynn novel and i absolutely tore through it. her writing style is incredibly easy to read and the no-nonsense way she describes things makes the chapters fly by. i did however predict the ending from about a quarter of the way through the book (maybe just under halfway) and spent the whole rest of the book trying to piece together how it could be someone else as the culprit as a way to redeem the predictability - which obviously didn’t happen. i felt like some of the characters were quite 2 dimensional and the main character’s trauma causing her to self harm would’ve been one thing but the extent to which it was used and described in this just felt like shock factor rather than anything else. i also didn’t like how we never got an explanation for what her condition was and were just palmed off with a generic overview.

the mother’s MBP condition was a nice touch though and very different to see in books as it isn’t much discussed in media

i would’ve liked this book more if the plot hadn’t been so predictable and if the characters had a bit more depth. i also felt like the victims in this got washed out amongst all of the family drama, which i know is the main focus of the book but it would’ve been nice for there to be some circling back round to that and their families etc. i also didn’t like the fact that the MC had sex with someone who had *just* turned 18, as a 30 year old. it just made me extremely uncomfortable. the moral greyness of her character for me was just tipped over the edge by that act and it became unnecessary almost just to prove a point that she didn’t care about the “rules” or something.

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