Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Sharp Objects

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

70 reviews

rachelpcook's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is the first of Gillian Flynn’s books that I’ve read, and I’ll certainly be picking up her others.

Sharp Objects is an unsavory story, to say the least, but I can appreciate a protagonist that I truly cannot stand behind the actions or thoughts of. Partying with 13 year olds and essentially sexualizing their bodies, particularly in the case of Camille’s 13 year old sister, Amma, is difficult to stomach, not to mention her proclivity for drunk driving, which is a particularly personal subject matter for me.

However, I came into this book expecting a somewhat gruesome plot, and it delivered just that.
I think it captures Adora’s torture in a way that shapes the characters significantly throughout the novel, and it illustrates how Camille and Amma separately cope with being their mother’s daughters. Their feelings towards their mother are extremely complicated, craving the security that her affection provided them, while wanting to be as far away from her as possible at the same time.
“This should be miserable, I murmured as I grabbed a tumbler. But underneath that, a thought: time alone with her! A leftover rattle from childhood. Get that fixed.”

I thought I saw the ending of this book coming from an early point in the book, which I was only slightly right about. Gillian Flynn successfully built my sympathy towards Amma, leaving me to believe that Camille and her younger sister would rebuild a healthier life their mother had stolen from them, but the twist truly did have me surprised. While I did not enjoy Amma’s character in many tangible ways, I began to believe that her cruelness was simply a facade.

Despite the gritty nature of the book, I could not put it down, and I’m looking forward to reading Gillian Flynn’s other works.

Content Warnings

virtuadoll's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

Content Warnings

readingloris's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A bit of a tough read. The characters aren’t likable, it’s on the slower side, and there’s some tough content to get through.

Content Warnings

yma08's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

cozmicdotcom's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

2.0

UGH. No. If it engaged me maybe I could’ve gotten to 3, but this was mostly a waste of time. I hated the characters, I hated the useless sex scenes, I hated the dialogue. I hated it. Flynn does write some beautiful lines that I did, I do admit, enjoy. But this is not a good story, it is not a good thriller, it is not a good mystery, and it is not a good book. Yuck.

Content Warnings

horizonous's review against another edition

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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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The story holds up even after the third time reading it. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the audiobook though.

Content Warnings

mariaisabelad's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious 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

I had trouble getting into Sharp Objects. For the first 50-70 pages, I found Camille deeply unpleasant and I struggled to get invested in the story due to the time it takes for the story to reveal itself. I put it down for a couple months and was debating abandoning it entirely until I began watching the HBO adaptation.

Watching the world of Sharp Object be brought to light encouraged me to revisit the story and reminded me of the elements I was enjoying prior to putting the novel down. Once I got back into it knowing what kind of tone and pace to expect, I was able to stay on-board until the end. I would recommend anyone who reads the book checks trigger warnings and goes in understanding that it will be a slow burn thriller with a set of characters that are often unlikable or cold and hard to decipher.

I don't dislike this character direction for Gillian Flynn. In some ways, I find Camille to be an interesting exploration of the damaged/nihilistic detective archetype in many crime novels and films. Her darkness and abrasive personality plays directly into themes in the story that make it crucial to events and how they unfold. She's unwilling to let you in, even as you're experiencing the world through her eyes. I also loved the characterization of Wind Gap as a town. There are so many painstaking details woven into the setting that make it feel lived in and sell the horror of later events effectively.

I have issues with the third act post-climax due to mostly to how fast the story ends after a big reveal, but I overall recommend it.

Content Warnings