Sharp Objects
Ratings646
Average rating3.8
so grateful for Gillian Flynn's bizarre, twisted, horrifying female characters
This took a while because it is kind of hard to grasp when you have little girls around you. I started this having just seen Stranger Things and I thought disappearing and dealing with a Demigorg monster was better than disappearing and dying that kind of death. Murder.
Gillian Flynn really has that dark mind that makes you not want to mess with her. Her characters had always been crazy twisted. Expect her to leave you damaged in a way when you finish her work. This wasn't even horror and I was scared someone might sneak into my back and take me with.
Having known of Munchausen by Proxy weeks before,– after reading that extremely long article made me see the symptoms quickly– immediately I thought that that might be the thing going on here. MBP is a serious condition and is absolutely true as what the article has elaborately declares however in this work of fiction, it gives readers a glimpse of how things goes from a third person perspective in the eyes of Camille Preaker.
This is Gillian Flynn's first book and I have read all others and this I think is her best one. What a wonderful story teller. She got me wrapped around her finger and pulled me into this amazing experience. She's never afraid to write about your secrets, the ones you have kept behind the farthest of your brain where no one would know, secrets so deep just thinking about it made your skin ramble and then you try bury it again but now it wouldn't let you go and it devours you–
And so as the books nears its end, and just when you have a conclusion, just when things are settling down into place, when you thought it has ended, a flicker. A switch turned on. A sudden realization. Quick but lingers. Like vertigo. It comes. And that's when your eyes sparkle and think. Gad. This is one amazing book.
I'm here, I said, and it felt shockingly comforting, those words. When I'm panicked, I say them aloud to myself. I'm here. I don't usually feel that I am. I feel like a warm gust of wind could exhale my way and I'd be disappeared forever, not even a sliver of fingernail left behind. On some days, I find this thought calming; on others it chills me.
“I can be nice, you know?” she said, her brow still furrowed. She seemed on the edge of tears herself.
“I know. It's just that I'm wondering why you've decided to be nice to me now.”
“Sometimes I can't. But right now, I can. When everyone's asleep and everything's quiet, it's easier.”
It's hard to believe this was her first novel, the writing is just so well crafted. By the end of the book I felt like I'd been through the mill with the characters, and yet she managed to do that in just over 300 pages! Yes, it's dark and chilling, and down right disturbing at times, but that's what it's meant to be. Enjoy it for what it is - a very dark, psychological thriller.
I enjoyed this, but felt disconnected. Even though this is a predictable story with very few surprises, I was entertained by our narrator and her interactions lol
This might be my favorite of all of Gillian Flynn's novels. It was so twisted and creepy, and Flynn's protagonist was so messed up and so unaware of it that it was extremely interesting to read. I feel like this was the most disturbing of all of Flynn's novels, and the protagonist was extremely damaged and problematic, which made her narration of the story much more compelling. It was so twisted and gross and it really got under my skin. Flynn does an amazing job of making the most messed up of people seem normal and rational, especially when they're one's parents.
The situations described in this book are exceptional, but she breaks the image of small rural life as being ideal. Terrifying violence and dysfunction lurks beneath the surface and I have to say, she nailed it in terms of describing my small rural home town. As Flynn writes, the idealic quality of small towns is false. A question is - should people go home once they have fled extreme unhappiness? Can they go home and survive it emotionally? Going home almost undoes Camille and as the story is told the readers see from a disturbing first person angle, Camille's personal psychological problems and the extent of her damage. It was terrifying to read about, but I could not put the book down.
This is the most disturbing and darkest book I've ever read.
I was looking for something different and since I saw Gillian Flynn's name everywhere, I simply knew I had to read one of her books, so instead of picking up the famous Gone girl, I went with this one.
The story was great. Not the fast paced suspense I was expecting but a mysterious one full of surprises and crazy theories.
The characters... Oh well, they all are messed up. If you're looking for a book with a great hero, then buy another book. This one doesn't have good characters. All of them are insane in some way. Probably Curry and Eileen are the only ones who are not crazy but they don't appear too much in the story.
Camille is definitely not your classic super heroine type. She only does her job and tries to live with her weird family. Also, she's not mentally healthy and sometimes I was wondering about her sanity too.
The ending was... I still don't know. I guess I'll continue figuring it out because it gave me the creeps.
Maybe, just maybe, I'll buy another book by this author.
In an effort to be brief, I will state two main characteristics about this story. First, the storyline was sufficient. Second, the characters were fantastic. Without such dynamic personalities, this story would not have been worth three stars.
Sorry just didn't love this book. Dark for darkness sake. Seemed contrived and unbelievable to me.
Typical Gillian Flynn - dark and disturbing but unable to put it down. I have a feeling of dread when reading her books but I can't put them down. If I didn't have to sleep or work I would have finished earlier than I did. I do love her books and have now read all of them. Eagerly awaiting the next.
I read all three of Gillian Flynn's books in the last month and I have to say this book is my least favorite. I figured out what was going on by the fifth chapter but I had to finish the book per my reading beliefs. This story really lacked suspense for me, I felt the characters were predictable and flat. I went with three stars because of my love for her other works.
A psychologically troubled women returns to her dysfunctional small hometown, where she tries to uncover the story behind the abduction and brutal killing of two girls. And it's as bad as it sounds.
After reading and loving “Gone Girl”, this is my second novel of Gillian Flynn I started. And one thing's for sure: This women is a master in creating really really messed up characters. I don't know what she must have been through to come up with such terrible people, but I love it.
Sharp Objects it's a downward spiral of terrible people doing terrible things in a terrible town. Spending the few weeks alongside Camille in her hometown was no holiday. The overall atmosphere is intense and oppressive. There's wealth, poverty, broken families, broken feelings, alcohol, really messed up little kids, unhealthy sex as a coping mechanism and a lot of failure. It's a dissection of small towns that are somewhat been halted in time.
I really enjoyed my time with Sharp Objects (as much as you can enjoy such depressive books), but sometimes I just couldn't understand the reason behind stuff that Camille did and didn't do. I wanted to shout at her more than a few times to grow up. Yes, you had a troubled life, but that doesn't mean you have to take this shit from a 12 year old Lolita.
A scary and depressive book. If you're sick of books full of unrealistic love and happiness, go on, Sharp objects is for you. I for one, need something full of unrealistic love and happiness now.
I'm still processing how I felt about this book. Don't mistake five stars to signify enjoyment, rather it's respect: Gillian Flynn is doing something different. As far as I can tell, she's doing something different and creative and she's the best in her genre. I've never experienced anything quite like it.
Do I like it? I mean, I guess. I mean, kind of. I mean, I definitely wouldn't torture myself by rereading this book. I found it compulsive reading. Literally – I would try to put it down, but I would keep thinking about it, about the characters, about the atmosphere, until I just had to pick it up and read more. It was the most disturbing thing I've ever read. You know how, when you're a tween/young teenager, and you and your friends tell gross out stories, because you've realized that the world can be dark and you're trying to figure out the boundaries? This book reads like this. Think of the most disturbing thing you can possibly think of, and that's this book.
On the one hand, that takes all the suspense out of the book, because you know the twist and turn to literally every mystery. On the other, there is all this tension as you read thinking: “Flynn cannot possibly be going there, right?” I was mostly relieved when Camille and Amma went home to Chicago, because I thought: thank goodness I was wrong and Adora was the killer, not Amma. And then I was a little disturbed that I came up with a more morbid ending than Flynn did. And then the final twist happened. And then the teeth went into the dollhouse, which was even more gruesome than I could have imagined
But honestly, I don't read anything just for the gross-out factor, psychological horror or the other type, so there's another reason that I stuck with this book, besides that it made me feel physically ill the way no other novel has succeeded. And that is, Flynn has something really interesting to say about female villains. Sharp Objects is an apt title – Flynn explores the weapons that women, socialized out of traditional violence, use against themselves and each other and the deep damage that everyone involved sustains as a result. There are literal sharp objects: the knives that Camille uses to cut, girls who scratch with their nails, women and girls who bit, scissors that one of the victims once used to stab someone; and infinite metaphorical sharp objects.
Flynn had said in interviews that [b:Gone Girl|21480930|Gone Girl|Gillian Flynn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406511734s/21480930.jpg|13306276] was the book in which she explored feminism by exploring female villains, but I didn't buy it when I read Gone Girl: Amy was too stereotypically evil and stereotypically female and I felt like it was derivative. But in Sharp Objects, Flynn clearly succeeds
It was intriguing, it was dark, it was deep. The ending caught me by surprise but it wasn't unexpected. I was saddened to hear of Richard not ever contacting Camille again but, sometimes people just can't take the horrors others have gone through. Camille lost her entire family in a month. But she regained herself at the end. Great read and great book. On to the next Gillian Flynn book!
“Sharp Objects” is a very dark, deeply disturbing thriller. Flynn pulls no punches when it comes to the subject matter: self-mutilation, alcohol abuse, under-age sex, murder.
It's not a book for the faint hearted. It will linger in your memory long after you have closed it's covers for the final time.
I was craving some horror/thriller reading, and had seen Flynn's book Gone Girl just about everywhere, but this one felt more intriguing. I haven't read a page-turner like this in a while. Creepy as hell, interesting (and very flawed) protagonist. Something about the storytelling that I can't put my finger on just worked for me–I read it in a day, basically, which I haven't done with any book in a long time. It's definitely a book that should come with a bunch of trigger warnings–but if you like your thrillers sick and twisted, pick it up.
There's a lot of great stuff in this book - plot twists and unique characters - but the abrupt ending spoiled it for me. If the end was fleshed out instead of neatly tied up, this would feel less like a first novel.
Chicago reporter, Camille, has to head back down to her small town in Missouri to cover the murder of one little girl 9 months ago and another recently missing. Is this a child serial killer? Camille doesn't want to go home and the reader learns she left this small town with mental and physical scars she scratched all over her own body. Words. Hidden beneath her clothing. As she investigates she learns how much more dysfunctional her family is.
Creepy, chilling, and suspenseful novel. In this psychological thriller is a page turner filled with flawed characters trapped in a dark story. Solid writing. Guess the only problem I have with these type of stories is after you finish them. The story seems far fetched and the characters extreme but I feel it bring a lot to light a dark side to people's actions and personalities.
Meh. This is my third (and least favorite) Gillian Flynn. Stick to Gone, Girl.
Sharp Objects is a truly dark mystery/thriller which I think is rare. A lot of books discuss things that are dark (how can murdering children not be?), but this book is actually, genuinely, dark. It doesn't spare any sensitivities and doesn't shy away from anything graphic. Flynn really captures some of the most unpleasant features of small towns, sex, and mental illness. I'll have to take a break before reading Flynn's more recent novels to let the eerieness wear off though. Honestly, isn't that how you should react? This is not your Kay Hooper or Kathy Reichs author.