Reviews

Objetos Cortantes by Gillian Flynn

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emilysummer_'s review against another edition

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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? Yes

3.75

I love horrible women.

rosietakesonliterature's review against another edition

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4.0

*spoilers for Gone Girl, The Grownup, and Sharp Objects*
Whatever Flynn smokes, I hope I never come in contact with. Every book I read by this woman is progressively messed up; honestly, it's impressive. I gravitated toward Sharp Objects because I recently got my hands on a digital version of Flynn's catalog, and, being in a reading slump, picked the shortest one. I read Gone Girl at some point during my most impressionable years, around the same time when I was attracted to books like The Girl on the Train and such. Gone Girl is unsettling, sure, but there is reason buried somewhere within Amy Dunn's madness, with which we can emphasize, at least. The Grownup is a little more blurry, being a short story and having an open ending. Either way, messed up, sure, but both sides can be rationalized with enough effort. A mother who is hateful of a homewrecker; a son who finds the homewrecker. The kid is a psycho regardless, but we have no way to know if he is capable of murder. The narrator surely thinks so, but she is painfully unreliable. There is room for remedy there, I think.
And then we arrive at Sharp Objects... Flynn's debut, by the way. You wouldn't think that from just how fucked up this story is on all fronts. We have Camille, the alcoholic protagonist in self-harm recovery who mutilated her body in her late teens/young adulthood after the passing of her younger sister (we'll come back to that). Camille's relationship with Adora is strained at the very, least, as Camille was not a compliant child and has stayed out of sight for years since. Adora herself is a control freak with Munchausen BP who literally tried her best to medically abuse her firstborn, succeeded and killed her second child, and is in the process of killing the third. Speaking of the third, Amma might just be the most despicable one yet: a little girl with a triple life. A compliant little girl for her mother, a sexy promiscuous queen bee who pops pills like they are altoids for the town, a cold-blooded murderer for herself. The teeth? As tiles? Are you kidding me? “A child weaned on poison considers harm a comfort" and Amma seeks comfort everywhere she goes. The grandmother, the mother, the daughter, all the same. Camille says she's leaning towards kindness, but how does she speak of taking care of Amma? How reliable is she? I predicted Amma was the killer very early in the book, but towards the end, I held out hope. I saw some redemption for that girl, with her mother killing her in media res... As I said, whatever Flynn smokes, I fear. How deranged do you have to be to write this? She ate, I swallowed... Dark Places, see you soon.

_nijinska's review against another edition

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5.0

Até livros como este que provavelmente não ficarão para o cânone literário têm parágrafos brilhantes, enredos perturbadores e personagens cativantes.

agentbookly's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.75

allisonschoneschmetterling's review against another edition

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4.0

Couldn’t put it down. Even though it’s gruesome at times in discussing girlhood, there’s a lot of honesty there. How cruel girls can be and how the sickness of cruelty can spiral out of control. Also a lot of brutal honesty in mother - daughter relationships despite this obviously depicting something horribly toxic and abusive. There are aspects of every day truths despite the outlandish lifestyle of Amma (all those drugs and all that sex just at 13!) and it really grounds this story in its small-town horror. Really just a very good book. Was worried it would be too crime-procedural but it wasn’t at all. Was surprised at some of the more graphic sexual content. And the ending is fantastic, obviously (see: Gone Girl) Flynn is the queen of twists that feel raw and authentic. Nothing cheap, nothing out of nowhere. My only complaint is the ending (like last chapter or two) feels rushed even compared to the pretty quick pace of the rest of the story. I’d have loved some more time with Amma and Camille as everything came to an end.
***SPOILER AHEAD***

I also like that Richard was just a total dick in the end. If he had been a savior, “I love you despite your cuts and mental illness” it would have felt so cheap. The men in this book are so useless and Miss Flynn is so real for that