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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I went in having been spoiled by movie reviews, but my memory was fuzzy so I didn't remember much beyond The Big Twist. As expected, it's a book about shitty people being monumentally shitty.
While it's kinda refreshing to see a female character so astoundingly, unapologetically awful, the fact that she is the epitome of every gross misogynistic imagining of shitty men takes away from that.
I finally had to see what all the hype was about. What an exhausting story! Flynn manipulates your allegiances over and over again, almost from chapter to chapter. That said, I did enjoy the originality of the detailed story.
great twists. read it before the movie. they always leave something important out a necessary piece to the puzzle.
Guys, this book is messed up. I rarely have to put books down because they “scare” me, but this one was incredibly unsettling. I really liked Gone Girl, which is why I initially picked this up, but I think this one freaked me out more because of the inclusion of young girls and how disturbed every single character in this book is. And Gillian Flynn has a way of writing that just feels wrong, and I mean that in the best way. Every word manages to get under your skin. I’m really excited for the HBO miniseries now because the cast is fantastic, and movies tend to stay with me for less time than books, so hopefully I won’t be too freaked out.
Read this book.
I love dark, twisted stories. I'm not always a fan of the first person perspective, but this was incredibly well done. Camille is a very complicated character, and is so well written that it's easy to identify with her, as screwed up as she is.
Camille's interactions with others are painted by her experience. It's interesting to see how she views herself, and what she thinks about her family and former friends in Wind Gap.
One thing I was a little confused with, is how the synopses questions her past, and how Camille is seeking to find out what really happened. There is quite a bit of thought given to Camille's past, but the focus really isn't on her trying to recover lost memories. She's trying to uncover what is currently happening to these little girls, while at the same time coping with the memories of Wind Gap.
Some parts of the book were a little hard to deal with - notably, Camille talking about cutting. If this is something that is triggering for you, be very wary of this book. While Camille is recovering, she is very frank and thinks frequently and graphically about her self-mutilation. Even though I knew about this content ahead of time, it was still jarring.
Overall, I loved this book. Once I started it, I actually stayed up until 3:30 am to finish it. It's twisted and fucked up, which is really refreshing to read from the perspective of a female narrator.
I love dark, twisted stories. I'm not always a fan of the first person perspective, but this was incredibly well done. Camille is a very complicated character, and is so well written that it's easy to identify with her, as screwed up as she is.
Camille's interactions with others are painted by her experience. It's interesting to see how she views herself, and what she thinks about her family and former friends in Wind Gap.
One thing I was a little confused with, is how the synopses questions her past, and how Camille is seeking to find out what really happened. There is quite a bit of thought given to Camille's past, but the focus really isn't on her trying to recover lost memories. She's trying to uncover what is currently happening to these little girls, while at the same time coping with the memories of Wind Gap.
Some parts of the book were a little hard to deal with - notably, Camille talking about cutting. If this is something that is triggering for you, be very wary of this book. While Camille is recovering, she is very frank and thinks frequently and graphically about her self-mutilation. Even though I knew about this content ahead of time, it was still jarring.
Overall, I loved this book. Once I started it, I actually stayed up until 3:30 am to finish it. It's twisted and fucked up, which is really refreshing to read from the perspective of a female narrator.
I can't remember when was the last time I read a book so quickly. Another great thriller from Flynn. Just impossible to put it down.
A strange book. the first half well written but the second half felt like it was rushed. A good holiday read.
Content warnings: Self-harm, parental abuse, mentions of rape, underage sex and recreational drugs
For this review, I thought it would be better to place the content warnings at the start since most of what will be discussed concerns those things. Sharp Objects is a murder mystery in genre, but it is also a complicated story about parental abuse. Camille, who is back in her hometown after a long time, is a reporter who is covering the latest murder with the possibility of being a serial. Her being back brings back a lot of uncomfortable memories and emotions, with her mother Adora being at the heart of it. From the start, it is evident that their relationship is strained and much of it being the death of Camille’s younger sister Marian, who died when she was in her teens. Now, there is another teenage daughter, Amma, who is good at being Adora’s little doll, and together this mother-daughter duo sets off all creep alarms.
While Camille is investigating the crime, she is also trying to stop herself from going back to old habits. Through clues, it becomes quite evident even before it is revealed, that she used to cut herself. More specifically, words, and some of them relate to what situation she is in. Coming back to the place which birthed the compulsion itself is not a good idea for Camille, who is mostly self-medicating with alcohol in hopes of keeping her demons at bay. She doesn’t engage in relationships out of shame for her past and her scars, but the officer sent to investigate takes an interest in her. Over the course of the investigation, they get closer, but Camille’s fear is that he might not understand. Meanwhile, she is also developing a sort-of relationship with her estranged younger sister, who she hasn’t seen for years and is equally mean and clingy to her. Amma is thirteen, but girl, she has a list of sins a mile long, starting with bullying.
What mostly stood out in the story for me is how often parental abuse can be much more insidious that just beating up the kid. There are parents who neglect, parents who hurt, and some that do both, but in different ways. Camille’s childhood was no picnic, with a mother who was more focused on the younger, sicker daughter, and a step-father who treated her cordially but without any love. Amma gets the attention that Camille was deprived, but the way it comes is enough to warp her, too. It also provides a commentary on how girls are expected to behave, and how they are not seen as capable of vicious things. It is overall, though, quite horrifying to read through, especially with the parts about self-harm. This book is definitely not for the faint-hearted, or for people for whom the content could be triggering.
For this review, I thought it would be better to place the content warnings at the start since most of what will be discussed concerns those things. Sharp Objects is a murder mystery in genre, but it is also a complicated story about parental abuse. Camille, who is back in her hometown after a long time, is a reporter who is covering the latest murder with the possibility of being a serial. Her being back brings back a lot of uncomfortable memories and emotions, with her mother Adora being at the heart of it. From the start, it is evident that their relationship is strained and much of it being the death of Camille’s younger sister Marian, who died when she was in her teens. Now, there is another teenage daughter, Amma, who is good at being Adora’s little doll, and together this mother-daughter duo sets off all creep alarms.
While Camille is investigating the crime, she is also trying to stop herself from going back to old habits. Through clues, it becomes quite evident even before it is revealed, that she used to cut herself. More specifically, words, and some of them relate to what situation she is in. Coming back to the place which birthed the compulsion itself is not a good idea for Camille, who is mostly self-medicating with alcohol in hopes of keeping her demons at bay. She doesn’t engage in relationships out of shame for her past and her scars, but the officer sent to investigate takes an interest in her. Over the course of the investigation, they get closer, but Camille’s fear is that he might not understand. Meanwhile, she is also developing a sort-of relationship with her estranged younger sister, who she hasn’t seen for years and is equally mean and clingy to her. Amma is thirteen, but girl, she has a list of sins a mile long, starting with bullying.
What mostly stood out in the story for me is how often parental abuse can be much more insidious that just beating up the kid. There are parents who neglect, parents who hurt, and some that do both, but in different ways. Camille’s childhood was no picnic, with a mother who was more focused on the younger, sicker daughter, and a step-father who treated her cordially but without any love. Amma gets the attention that Camille was deprived, but the way it comes is enough to warp her, too. It also provides a commentary on how girls are expected to behave, and how they are not seen as capable of vicious things. It is overall, though, quite horrifying to read through, especially with the parts about self-harm. This book is definitely not for the faint-hearted, or for people for whom the content could be triggering.