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mimie7ea4 's review for:
The Complete Gillian Flynn: Gone Girl, Dark Places, Sharp Objects
by Gillian Flynn
I first read this book in 2011 which wasn't that long ago and normally I can recall basic story elements fairly well. Not in detail, but general things like plots, endings, and main characters.
Not with this book though. Usually it takes me about a couple of pages into the book to remember the plot and then everything else comes back to me gradually in bits and pieces, but with this book, I had to get to over 40% before I could vaguely recall the main character and the ending... but not much else. This reread was like reading for the first time.
It's not that this book is forgettable. More like the premise has been done too many times before in contemporary mysteries. You have a troubled main character with a turbulent life who returns to her hometown and stumbles upon a mystery that's very close to her heart. It's strange but also familiar to her, and to no one's surprise, it has connections to her trouble past. So she takes it upon herself to investigate this case--she's a journalist, by the way--and chases down every twisted lead. And each lead is a major trigger for her that brings up all sorts of darkness from the past. After a series of close-calls and heart-pounding, page-turning chapters, she solves the case, although not well and gets very little closure at the end.
The one thing that sets this book apart from others like it is the voice. It's told in Gillian Flynn's particular style, like Gone Girl but better and more nuanced imo. The writing more disorganized and less theatrical. More unpredictable and more organic, less tightly controlled. It delves deep into the frayed psyche of a life-long cutter who has never really had a chance to work through any of her problems. There were many moments in which I wished I could have looked away, but couldn't because Flynn had me on the edge of my seat.
Flynn has a way of getting under a character's skin (and my skin), and she projects her voice poignantly on a variety of issues. I don't necessarily like her characters or even enjoy the stories she's telling--although "enjoy" is not the right word here, feels too tacky--but I'm always interested in what she has to say and how she says it.
[...]
[...]
[...]
A word of warning though. Cutting and self-harm are featured heavily in this book, in excruciating detail.
Rereading because I honestly don't remember having read this book. Like at all.
It's like
Just as twisted and disturbing as Gone Girl, but a lot better in terms of execution... (pun not intended?).
Cross-posted at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/sharp-objects-by-gillian-flynn/
Not with this book though. Usually it takes me about a couple of pages into the book to remember the plot and then everything else comes back to me gradually in bits and pieces, but with this book, I had to get to over 40% before I could vaguely recall the main character and the ending... but not much else. This reread was like reading for the first time.
It's not that this book is forgettable. More like the premise has been done too many times before in contemporary mysteries. You have a troubled main character with a turbulent life who returns to her hometown and stumbles upon a mystery that's very close to her heart. It's strange but also familiar to her, and to no one's surprise, it has connections to her trouble past. So she takes it upon herself to investigate this case--she's a journalist, by the way--and chases down every twisted lead. And each lead is a major trigger for her that brings up all sorts of darkness from the past. After a series of close-calls and heart-pounding, page-turning chapters, she solves the case, although not well and gets very little closure at the end.
The one thing that sets this book apart from others like it is the voice. It's told in Gillian Flynn's particular style, like Gone Girl but better and more nuanced imo. The writing more disorganized and less theatrical. More unpredictable and more organic, less tightly controlled. It delves deep into the frayed psyche of a life-long cutter who has never really had a chance to work through any of her problems. There were many moments in which I wished I could have looked away, but couldn't because Flynn had me on the edge of my seat.
Flynn has a way of getting under a character's skin (and my skin), and she projects her voice poignantly on a variety of issues. I don't necessarily like her characters or even enjoy the stories she's telling--although "enjoy" is not the right word here, feels too tacky--but I'm always interested in what she has to say and how she says it.
“It's impossible to compete with the dead. I wished I could stop trying.”
[...]
“I just think some women aren't made to be mothers. And some women aren't made to be daughters.”
[...]
“Safer to be feared than loved.”
[...]
“I ached once, hard, like a period typed at the end of a sentence.”
A word of warning though. Cutting and self-harm are featured heavily in this book, in excruciating detail.
* * * * *
Rereading because I honestly don't remember having read this book. Like at all.
It's like
* * * * *
Just as twisted and disturbing as Gone Girl, but a lot better in terms of execution... (pun not intended?).
Cross-posted at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/sharp-objects-by-gillian-flynn/