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naika 's review for:
The Complete Gillian Flynn: Gone Girl, Dark Places, Sharp Objects
by Gillian Flynn
This was disturbing. I don’t tend to shy away from these themes or have the visceral reactions I did while reading Sharp Objects. Hell, in my line of work I have heard and encountered some hellish things.
There’s so much I took issue with, but the thing I feel bothered me most is that there never seemed to be any sort of repair. Each character was so clearly brutalized and traumatized in their own way and perpetuated the cycle. I knew there wasn’t going to be a happy ending, but some sort of emotional break I felt was warranted.
Granted, in real life, there are people who do not catch a break. They’re mired in their pain. And that is their reality. Ok, I probably would’ve tolerated it more if I understood the book was not going to focus on the mystery I was lead to believe was the premise.
For me, there was no mystery. I suspected quite early on who would be the murderer. (Though I admittedly did not get the connection with the teeth and as I look back, I feel like I should’ve. So many hints were dropped).
I felt the journey to that discovery was so meandering. There was no plot. I felt everything leading up to the final chapters was unnecessarily depraved. Were there not other ways to show us how the MC’s mother had a distorted and unhealthy view of love? Other ways to demonstrate the delicate and unstable emotional state of the MC? That the MC’s sister had a terrible mix of PTSD and a personality disorder? I certainly believe there were other ways.
But given the other reviews, I so clearly am in the minority with my rating. This book wasn’t for me. I had picked it up alongside two other of the author’s work at my library in their “free pile”. I’m happy I didn’t spend a dime and I’m unwilling at this time to even read the others.
I hope I don’t end up in a reading slump as a result of this experience.
There’s so much I took issue with, but the thing I feel bothered me most is that there never seemed to be any sort of repair. Each character was so clearly brutalized and traumatized in their own way and perpetuated the cycle. I knew there wasn’t going to be a happy ending, but some sort of emotional break I felt was warranted.
Granted, in real life, there are people who do not catch a break. They’re mired in their pain. And that is their reality. Ok, I probably would’ve tolerated it more if I understood the book was not going to focus on the mystery I was lead to believe was the premise.
For me, there was no mystery. I suspected quite early on who would be the murderer. (Though I admittedly did not get the connection with the teeth and as I look back, I feel like I should’ve. So many hints were dropped).
I felt the journey to that discovery was so meandering. There was no plot. I felt everything leading up to the final chapters was unnecessarily depraved. Were there not other ways to show us how the MC’s mother had a distorted and unhealthy view of love? Other ways to demonstrate the delicate and unstable emotional state of the MC? That the MC’s sister had a terrible mix of PTSD and a personality disorder? I certainly believe there were other ways.
But given the other reviews, I so clearly am in the minority with my rating. This book wasn’t for me. I had picked it up alongside two other of the author’s work at my library in their “free pile”. I’m happy I didn’t spend a dime and I’m unwilling at this time to even read the others.
I hope I don’t end up in a reading slump as a result of this experience.