Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

105 reviews

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

courtnyklly's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Violence, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Gaslighting

mellowreading's review

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

What an interesting little book. I was intrigued by the mystery, though I thought I’d guessed the killer several pages in. I guess in a way I did, but the last minute twist REALLY got me. The main character was awful, but in a way a human can be, not in a way so extreme that they seem like an unbelievable character or a villain. This made me swing between trying to sympathize with and understand her, and be disgusted by and judgemental of her. There’s also seems to be a strong commentary on women, relationships between women, societal expectations of women, awfulness in women, et cetera. I couldn’t quite get a grasp on what Flynn was intending to say, if anything, but maybe the intent was just to show and not tell. I’m curious what other people think of that aspect of the book. Looking back I think the ending was a bit rushed, but it was shocking enough to distract me from that. Overall an engaging but deeply uncomfortable time. It gets gross. 

big CW obviously for self harm, but also from gross sexualization of minors from a 30 year old woman, one of which is her little sister lmao, and victim blaming + internalized misogyny. The main character is gross. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Self harm, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Vomit, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, and Sexism

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Incest

alehsxsz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? It's complicated

2.75

Adoro livros do gênero, mas esse aqui não me conquistou. Objetivamente falando é um livro bom e até bem escrito, há muitas descrições e um desenvolvimento de enredo que ajuda a construir um "clima" perfeito pro auge da história, mas houve várias coisas que me incomodaram na história. Ao longo da história tive a impressão de que muita coisa ali tinha sido colocada com o intuito de chocar o leitor e particularmente não gosto disso, muita informação e muitos detalhes que só serviram pra me deixar com raiva e nada interessada na história. Odiei todos os personagens e todas as opiniões dadas no livro com exceção de uma pessoa. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

lignjahal's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

4.5/5.0

I decided to listen to the audiobook alongside watching the miniseries, which was a fun experience for someone rewatching the series.

I found the miniseries to be one of those rare adaptations that is better than the novel and improves the novel with its changes. That doesn’t mean that the novel was not good or unenjoyable, just that I think the extension of time and the passage of time since the novel’s release, have made it possible for the book to be improved.

As ever, Flynn’s prose is fantastic and I love how she writes female characters as unabashedly real, instead of the ridiculous version of “likable” that she has pushed against. Her writing style is really good at reflecting on trauma and the female experience of it, which is something I needed to read right now. 

The only ding to the score comes from the writing of Amma, who’s pattern of behaviors in the book make her a more obvious bad seed than the version in the miniseries (which I obviously prefer better).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Classism, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Self harm, Drug use, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Sexual violence

sarahmae531's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I needed a good thriller and this definitely satisfied that! I really enjoyed the twist of the book, right when I was rolling my eyes thinking I figured out the ending, it got switched on me, which kept me on my toes. 

Definitely lots of content warnings for this book, so that’s something to be aware of. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, Blood, Alcohol, and Addiction

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, and Fatphobia

Minor: Animal death

daisyrain98's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

Damn, started this because I love the show with all my heart and it was so amazing to read the source material, to get behind every scene in the show that I wanted more from. The book gave me all the dialogue I never knew I needed and had me so drawn in every time I sat down to read. Could read this again and again.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape, Self harm, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Murder, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Body horror, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexism, Suicide, and Vomit

mysbct's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Self harm, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol

trycerabel's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Immediately started the show after

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

princess_marie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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: Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Blood, and Mental illness

Moderate: Medical trauma, Drug use, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Pedophilia