A review by _bookishbrina
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Rating: 3/5

WARNING: narcissist parent, control freak, cutting/mutilation, violent crime towards children, small town gossip (claustrophobia), gaslighting/guilt trip

(SPOILER)

''A child weaned on poison considers harms as a comfort.''

This story is disappointing in the sense that it's just another psycho women, and the story focuses a lot on sex (which in retrospective, seems pointless).

I hesitated. Should I give this book 4 stars for the anger, the impatience and de discomfort it generated? Not to mention the violent urge to burn the book and forget about it. Or should I give it 1 star because it feels like a sick story, written by someone who is visibly just as sick? Yes, it stimulated a morbid fascination, I was hooked even if I hate characters like Camille. They never do much except hate on themselves and I wish we could stop glamourizing that.

Because no one in their right mind would write something like that. No one. It could have been about the murders. It could have been about the victims. It could have been about small town culture and how fucked up it is. We sort of brushed all those subjects, but never dug deeply. Not deep enough for me, anyway. I think the aim was a VERY dysfonctional family, but it felt like the arrow missed the target by a fucking mile.

I honestly believe that if this book was to fall in the hands of the wrong person, it could cause a lot of damage, mostly self-harm.

I will say this: the ending is satisfying. Justice is served.

YOU WILL ENJOY THIS BOOK IF:
- You like suspens.
-You enjoy a 'good crime' without it being the main focus.
- You're not easily triggered and you have a solid mental health.

UPDATE (2 MONTHS LATER)
- I still think about that book, a lot. So I guess it was better than I thought... Not ready to give it 4 stars, but maybe more like 3.5. 

I don't know why, but it really disturbed something in me. 
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