Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

50 reviews

wyabook234's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Self harm, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child death and Misogyny

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

---

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!

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.

---

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

majjuniejuli's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Misogyny, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Addiction, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, and Murder

brennerson's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Self harm, Blood, Chronic illness, Rape, and Violence

cateyeschloe's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.25

My main praise of this book is that it had a really excellent twist ending. The twist, while not wholly surprising, was deeply disturbing in its reveal, and I really enjoyed that aspect. 

The writing is interesting; however, the word “fine” jumps to mind more than any other in regard to the writing style. That being said, the story is definitely compelling. There’s a great mystery and the characters are complex and intriguing. 

Hands down, the thing I grappled with the most about this book is the rampant misogyny throughout, especially internalized in the main character. I feel like tackling misogyny and the way society treats women as a whole is a big part of Gillian Flynn’s writing, in general, but I definitely struggled with it here. 

I think one of the most compelling quotes in the entire book, to me, though is when someone asks:

“Besides, why would a woman do something like that?”

and the response given is:

“Why would a man do something like that?”

The book shines a light on the idea that women can only (and should only) be feminine, soft, vulnerable, submissive, etc. 

Wind Gap has instilled in its citizens that woman are one dimensional creatures who serve their purpose as wife and mother and sister and daughter. Even the main character carries the scars of these ideals with her. 

“… Wind Gap, a town that demands utmost femininity in its fairer sex…”

“‘I don’t mean this to sound cruel… but it seems like a part of your heart can never work if you don’t have kids. Like it will always be shut off.’”

“‘…I mean there’s all this talk these days of God versus science, but it seems like, with babies, both sides agree. The Bible says be fruitful and multiply, and science, well, when it all boils down, that’s what women were made for, right? To bear children.’”

At one point, after a schoolgirl has been forced to do something sexually she did not want to do, a teacher makes her apologize, citing:

“‘Young ladies must be in control of their bodies because boys are not.’”

Everyone in town (including the main character) insists a man must be the killer, that women aren’t often killers, and they seem to imply that this is because women are too physically weak and mentally soft for such things. 

“Women didn’t kill this way, they just didn’t. You could count the list of female serial killers on one hand, and their victims were almost always male…”

Camille is the only character in the book that I truly struggled with. Her internalized misogyny is so prevalent and her version of feminism is so wildly misplaced that it circles all the way back around to putting women down, to the point when she rails:

“‘You’re sexiest. I’m so sick of liberal lefty men practicing sexual discrimination under the guise of protecting women against sexual discrimination…

“‘… And sometimes drunk women aren’t raped; they just make stupid choices - and to say we deserve special treatment when we’re drunk because we’re women, to say we need to be looked after, I find offensive.’”

I could be missing something and be glossing over the bigger picture, but often I find my expectations in a setting such as this to be that the main character, at minimum, has enough character growth to counter statements and ideals such as these by the end of the book. 

Camille doesn’t really make it there, and I find it difficult to hold up a main character  as a beacon of feminism or overcoming the plague of misogyny when she consistently has so many bad, dangerous, and self-deprecating takes. 

And maybe that was never the author’s intention. Maybe Camille isn’t supposed to represent growth to us, maybe she just has to take the beating of misogyny and be an example to us of what can (and does) happen under its influence. 

If that’s the case, then I understand that and can say that writing choice simply wasn’t for me. 

And despite my nit-picky criticisms and overanalyzing, I definitely did enjoy the story and thought it had a very satisfying twist at the end. 

I’d like to give this one another read at some point and digest a little more of its perspective. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Grief, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, and Drug use

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, and Suicide

There are many graphic displays of active self harm and the effects self harm leave behind. It is integral to the plot and prevalent throughout.

There is a side character who commits suicide while in a hospital for their mental state.

Child abuse from a parent is prevalent throughout and very disturbing.

mickraine's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Self harm, Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Gaslighting, Drug use, Child abuse, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Death, Chronic illness, Child death, Blood, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Bullying

Moderate: Body shaming, Suicide, Animal death, and Cursing

tkatt20's review against another edition

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? No

3.5

This book contains very descriptive and serious topics and content, please proceed with caution and look up a full list of TWs for this book, I also have a list at the end of my reveiw of some I took note of.

This was a ride. The premise it's was good, it felt like reading a Criminal Minds episode for the first 100 or so pages, but then we entered into the second half where things dragged and got weirder and more off-putting, and not in a good way, more of a "why is this thirty+ year old taking drugs from a 13 year old" way. I did genuinely like the main plots of the book, but once the MC has a few vastly inappropriate interactions with underage characters I was a little checked out. 
I did keep reading for the mystery though. I was so certain I knew who the killer was but was quickly proven wrong at the end. I thought the characters were very interesting, mostly unlikable, but interesting nonetheless, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how they all responded to the crimes going on in their little town. If you're looking for a multi-layered, macabre mystery, then this will be perfect for you, otherwise I would go looking for something a little lighter and to preserve a little bit of the innocence you may have left.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Alcoholism, Vomit, Mental illness, Bullying, and Child death

Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Classism, Lesbophobia, Cancer, and Cannibalism

littlelines's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Self harm, and Mental illness

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

ahopper7's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Body horror, Death, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Murder, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Addiction, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Chronic illness, and Mental illness

Moderate: Drug use, Cursing, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Animal death, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Misogyny, and Pregnancy