Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

188 reviews

izaklights's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense

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

4.75

“I have returned to my childhood, the scene of the crime.” 

So I hated gone girl. I read it when I was 17 and found the characters insufferable. For that reason, I never picked up another one of Gillian Flynn’s books until now.

Sharp Objects is a fantastic mystery, a raw look at what it’s like to grow up female and have a horrible relationship with your mother. It’s fucked up, but in a way that makes you keep reading. It took me until the last moment to figure out the twist, which had me thinking “oh shit, of course!”.

Very good, would absolutely recommend if you enjoy fucked up mysteries. Probably could’ve done without repeatedly describing a 13yo’s breasts, though.

I would also recommend reading the trigger warnings before touching this book as some of the descriptions of self harm are quite graphic. Stay safe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Drug use, Self harm, Child death, Animal cruelty, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicide, Pedophilia, and Toxic friendship

kaaaaaaaa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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?

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Mental illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Murder, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Incest, Self harm, Addiction, Death, Classism, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Body horror, Rape, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Vomit and Infidelity

Minor: Eating disorder, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, and Fatphobia

ohno_judy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Suicide

leckner_library's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Self harm, Child death, Murder, Bullying, Body shaming, and Drug use

Moderate: Animal cruelty

inneraman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is dark and mysterious. It will make you reflect on the actions of the characters, a lot. I found myself trying to find way to ‘root for’ the main character but through some of their actions, I couldn’t decide. The main character is broken, flawed and emotionally unstable because of her upbringing and her toxic mother/environment. I found the book engaging and well written. I will be reading other books by Gillian Flynn. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a mysterious and dark story with troublesome characters who are beyond help. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Child death, Drug abuse, Murder, Addiction, Body horror, Death, Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Self harm

Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Blood, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Rape

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Animal cruelty, and Pregnancy

neiwly's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Vomit

runefactories's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Child death, Drug use, Murder, Self harm, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Bullying, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal cruelty

lvosler21's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Alcohol, Blood, Addiction, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Body horror, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Kidnapping, Torture, Infidelity, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Self harm, Sexual violence, Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Terminal illness, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty

auggiebug's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Murder, Misogyny, Infertility, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Pedophilia, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

this book is HEAVY! don't read without checking the trigger warnings first!

ceallaighsbooks's review

dark tense medium-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

”Sometimes I think illness sits inside every woman, waiting for the right moment to bloom. I have known so many sick women all my life. Women with chronic pain, with ever-gestating diseases. Women with conditions. Men, sure, they have bone snaps, they have backaches, they have a surgery or two, yank out a tonsil, insert a shiny plastic hip. Women get consumed.”

TITLE—Sharp Objects

AUTHOR—Gillian Flynn

PUBLISHED—2006

PUBLISHER—Shaye Areheart Books

GENRE—thriller / horror

SETTING—Wind Gap, Missouri

MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—midwest (/tryna be southern) gothic, newspaper reporter MC, serial killer murder mystery, creepy small town america, scary society women, sinister children, meat factory farm, teeth, gender roles as implications of guilt or deserts, fairy tale themes & symbolism, mental illness & psychosis, childhood trauma, motherhood

WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️

CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️

STORY/PLOT—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BONUS ELEMENT/S—All the connections and allusions to fairy tales throughout the story were a pleasant surprise!

PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️

PREMISE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

EXECUTION—⭐️⭐️⭐️

”’…what's your favorite color, your favorite ice cream flavor, and your favorite season?’
‘Blue, coffee, and winter.’
‘Winter. No one likes winter.’
‘It gets dark early, I like that.’
‘Why?’
Because that means the day has ended. I like checking days off a calendar—151 days crossed and nothing truly horrible has happened. 152 and the world isn't ruined. 153 and I haven't destroyed anyone. 154 and no one really hates me. Sometimes I think I won't ever feel safe until I can count my last days on one hand. Three more days to get through until I don't have to worry about life anymore.”

My thoughts:

I read this book for writing research. It was interesting to see how Flynn handled some of her character development, and the treatment of certain themes, and the plotting—especially with where and how she set her clues—but, ultimately I was a little underwhelmed by the story as a whole. It was surprisingly predictable and all of the characters were very trope-y. Obviously this is a piece of genre fiction but I was under the impression for some reason that it was meant to be more literary than thrillers tend to be but I didn’t really find that to be true unfortunately.

However, at the risk of entirely contradicting myself and misleading y’all 😂, I would also say that I think this book was in some ways more subversive of usual thriller genre expectations than it seemed at first. For example I couldn’t figure out why, even though the author and MC are women, that all of the female characters are described as if through a male gaze. I thought it might just be a construct of the genre but it turned out to be an important element in the character arc of the MC.

There were also some interesting discussions vis a vis the meat factory industry (TWs galore!), motherhood & parenting, why smalltown white american midwest communities produce SO much violence, the responsibility of society to children & the sick & abused, and gender roles! Really really (possibly—depending on how you choose to read it) perceptive discussion of the severely distorting harm that the imposition of the gender binary fallacy and heteronormativity on people’s sense of self and their place in community can actually cause. Not sure if Flynn intended for that but that’s kind of how I read it and I thought it was pretty insightful.

Still not sure I’d really recommend this one though. Although perhaps the more I think about it the more my opinion will change so we’ll see how it marinates!

“A child weaned on poison considers harm a comfort.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️

CW // child abduction & murder, self harm (cutting, graphic), sexual content, a lot of fatphobia & casual (esp. internalized) misogyny, *nightmarishly* graphic animal cruelty & abuse (pig factory-farm stuff 👀), suicidal ideation, racism, drug use (Please feel free to DM me for more specifics!)

Further Reading—

• GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn
• A HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES, by T Kingfisher
• THE SUNDIAL, by Shirley Jackson
• CROOKED HOUSE, by Agatha Christie
• “Is This You?” short story by Kathryn Harlan in FRUITING BODIES

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Self harm, Addiction, Child death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, and Murder

INCREDIBLY graphic animal cruelty on a pig factory farm!!