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soft_goth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
d1shax's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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
3.5
the entire book is so creepy, horrifying and nightmarish. i have seen some people having issues with the fact that this book has three different povs, but it worked really well for me and i genuinely enjoyed reading the past povs, especially patty's.
ben's pov was the worst for me. while they were extremely well written and flynn did a wonderful showing his violent thoughts increase as he's pushed to his limits, trey and diondra made it impossible for me to enjoy them. i dont need characters to be likeable to enjoy a novel, but trey and diondra were too fucking annoying. im sure that if there was a book with their pov, I would treat them with the same complexity I treated libby with, but in the book , these two characters come off as one dimensional.
patty is someone i rooted for through out the novel. the more I read her chapters, the more I felt for her and the impossible situation she was in. her povs were so miserable and sad that it makes sense to me why she did what she did. i realized she had something to do with the murders (even thought I didn't know what) after i read a few of her chapters, so for me, it was like witnessing her reaching her breaking point and how this would lead to a tragedy.
the main character, libby was really unlikeable at the start (just like the author intended) but she grew on me extremely fast. her povs were the most entertaining. idk what to think about ben and his gf tho. while i was feeling really sad for him at the beginning, finding out that he just stood by while his weird satanic gf murdered his baby sister (the little menace) just rubbed me the wrong way.
the ending was low-key annoying. while it makes sense, the impact would have been more if it was someone we knew (like trey or krissi's dad or runner). even ben and his satanic baby mama being the killers of all the family members would have had a larger impact than the actual ending.
I know two-three people who think the ending was really great and I understand their perspective , but a random man we only heard of once in the entire novel being the killer just made me go "uh... okay. maybe Len could have been the killer instead?"
over all, I really enjoyed reading this book, and im planning on reading sharp objects next. gillian flynn is a wonderful author.
ben's pov was the worst for me. while they were extremely well written and flynn did a wonderful showing his violent thoughts increase as he's pushed to his limits, trey and diondra made it impossible for me to enjoy them. i dont need characters to be likeable to enjoy a novel, but trey and diondra were too fucking annoying. im sure that if there was a book with their pov, I would treat them with the same complexity I treated libby with, but in the book , these two characters come off as one dimensional.
patty is someone i rooted for through out the novel. the more I read her chapters, the more I felt for her and the impossible situation she was in. her povs were so miserable and sad that it makes sense to me why she did what she did. i realized she had something to do with the murders (even thought I didn't know what) after i read a few of her chapters, so for me, it was like witnessing her reaching her breaking point and how this would lead to a tragedy.
the main character, libby was really unlikeable at the start (just like the author intended) but she grew on me extremely fast. her povs were the most entertaining. idk what to think about ben and his gf tho. while i was feeling really sad for him at the beginning, finding out that he just stood by while his weird satanic gf murdered his baby sister (the little menace) just rubbed me the wrong way.
the ending was low-key annoying. while it makes sense, the impact would have been more if it was someone we knew (like trey or krissi's dad or runner). even ben and his satanic baby mama being the killers of all the family members would have had a larger impact than the actual ending.
I know two-three people who think the ending was really great and I understand their perspective , but a random man we only heard of once in the entire novel being the killer just made me go "uh... okay. maybe Len could have been the killer instead?"
over all, I really enjoyed reading this book, and im planning on reading sharp objects next. gillian flynn is a wonderful author.
400iux's review against another edition
5.0
ok i saw everyone saying that the ending was horrible so i was prepared to be disappointed but as i got to the last 20 pages of the book i thought it was amazingggg and i was like how can you hate this book. but then i got to the last ten pages and now im mad AS FUCK!!! how dare she write such a good book and then end it like this like be fucking for real.
thinkertales's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
salgalruns's review against another edition
5.0
So, consider me a Gillian Flynn über fan. I am totally and completely in awe of how she can take the most psychologically twisted souls and wrap them up neatly inside of people who seem to be so totally normal.
This story revolves around a family murder in 1985, in which the youngest child, Libby, escapes and in which the oldest sibling, Ben, is accused and convicted of killing his other two sisters and mother in a bloody, Satanic rage. Flynn unravels the story through alternating POV chapters, switching from Libby's present day scenarios to 1985 retellings of both Ben or his mom, Patty.
Libby is trying to piece together what really happened. When the murders took place, she was 7, and was a very inconsistent, coached witness. After meeting with a group of people in a "Kill Club," she starts to explore other options, and is led to determine the real story, and whether her memories have any merit. Throw in some child molestation and teenage promiscuity with drugs, sex, and violence? It all adds to a very complex storyline making it difficult to predict anything with accuracy.
Flynn is a genius at twisting my hypotheses. Every time I feel I am on the right track to determining the outcome, I am thwarted. This time, I even changed my beliefs multiple times to have her do it again. Of course, by the end, I was irritated since she DID give me all the clues in advance. Argh. Twisted.
Definitely a must read for the genre. Easily added to my favorites without hesitation.
This story revolves around a family murder in 1985, in which the youngest child, Libby, escapes and in which the oldest sibling, Ben, is accused and convicted of killing his other two sisters and mother in a bloody, Satanic rage. Flynn unravels the story through alternating POV chapters, switching from Libby's present day scenarios to 1985 retellings of both Ben or his mom, Patty.
Libby is trying to piece together what really happened. When the murders took place, she was 7, and was a very inconsistent, coached witness. After meeting with a group of people in a "Kill Club," she starts to explore other options, and is led to determine the real story, and whether her memories have any merit. Throw in some child molestation and teenage promiscuity with drugs, sex, and violence? It all adds to a very complex storyline making it difficult to predict anything with accuracy.
Flynn is a genius at twisting my hypotheses. Every time I feel I am on the right track to determining the outcome, I am thwarted. This time, I even changed my beliefs multiple times to have her do it again. Of course, by the end, I was irritated since she DID give me all the clues in advance. Argh. Twisted.
Definitely a must read for the genre. Easily added to my favorites without hesitation.
veraann's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first book from Flynn that I have read. I did not want to put this book down. Read through it in about a day.
It is not a book for the lighthearted. It is pretty dark, disturbing, even depressing and Flynn does a great job of writing that. The mystery aspect of the book was done very well. There were times I thought I would figure something out and then there was more information that just didn't fit what I thought. Flynn just sucked me in from the beginning.
The book didn't necessarily have me locking all my doors and windows, but it did make me think wow what goes on in this authors head?
It is not a book for the lighthearted. It is pretty dark, disturbing, even depressing and Flynn does a great job of writing that. The mystery aspect of the book was done very well. There were times I thought I would figure something out and then there was more information that just didn't fit what I thought. Flynn just sucked me in from the beginning.
The book didn't necessarily have me locking all my doors and windows, but it did make me think wow what goes on in this authors head?
emmapolkadots's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Death, Pedophilia, Child death, Addiction, Suicide, Violence, Racism, Gore, Domestic abuse, and Animal cruelty
starlightandcoffee's review against another edition
Boring. Cannot get interested in. Very unlikable main character.